The Naked Cage from Shout! Factory

[El_Fez]

And here I was, prepared to drop my impressions on you guys about the new disc from Shout: The Naked Cage - but we don't have a thread about it. Fine, here's one!

The Naked Cage (1986) - Official Trailer (HD) - YouTube

[El_Fez]

Ah, the Women In Prison movie - longtime staple of drive in theaters, cornerstone of so many seventies exploitation studios. The Big Dollhouse, Black Mama/White Mama, The Concrete Jungle, The Big Birdcage - all pretty damn good flicks. And somewhere along the way, I had managed to miss seeing Cannon's take on the genre.

(Actually, I'm kind of shocked that Cannon didn't do more WiP flicks or Teen Sex Romps beyond The Naked Cage and The Last American Virgin. But that's a discussion for another day.)

Shot in 1986 as the genre was winding down, we get the usual WiP stuff: hawt looking women in various states of undress, lesbian sex, cat fights, corrupt prison officials who use the inmates for their perverse pleasures, rape scenes, shower scenes, and gratuitous nudity. Lots and lots of gratuitous nudity. In short The Naked Cage ticks all the Women In Prison boxes.

What we don't get, weirdly enough, is any sleaze. The movie doesn't have the super low rent, shot in the Philippines for a buck ninety-eight feel that all the Roger Corman flicks have. It feels slick and clean - and oh so very eighties. So much feathered hair! Why are all the prison uniforms all pastel colored, off the shoulder ensembles that look like they were stolen from the set of Flashdance?

Even more shocking? The film is really well put together and well shot. Some of the lighting and composition choices are really artsy and director Paul Nicholas has a pretty skilled eye. Not at all what you'd expect to see in a grindhouse flick. Sure it's kind of campy and you could set your watch by the set pieces, but the story is solid enough and the acting isn't that bad. For a Women in Prison flick, you could do much worse - and now I'll have to go check out Nicholas' earlier work - an imprisoned Linda Blair in Chained Heat.

[Member-167298]

I am trying not to do many blind-buys anymore, but that Cannon logo makes this very tempting.

[saprano]

Originally Posted by El_Fez

Ah, the Women In Prison movie - longtime staple of drive in theaters, cornerstone of so many seventies exploitation studios. The Big Dollhouse, Black Mama/White Mama, The Concrete Jungle, The Big Birdcage - all pretty damn good flicks. And somewhere along the way, I had managed to miss seeing Cannon's take on the genre.

(Actually, I'm kind of shocked that Cannon didn't do more WiP flicks or Teen Sex Romps beyond The Naked Cage and The Last American Virgin. But that's a discussion for another day.)

Shot in 1986 as the genre was winding down, we get the usual WiP stuff: hawt looking women in various states of undress, lesbian sex, cat fights, corrupt prison officials who use the inmates for their perverse pleasures, rape scenes, shower scenes, and gratuitous nudity. Lots and lots of gratuitous nudity. In short The Naked Cage ticks all the Women In Prison boxes.

What we don't get, weirdly enough, is any sleaze. The movie doesn't have the super low rent, shot in the Philippines for a buck ninety-eight feel that all the Roger Corman flicks have. It feels slick and clean - and oh so very eighties. So much feathered hair! Why are all the prison uniforms all pastel colored, off the shoulder ensembles that look like they were stolen from the set of Flashdance?

Even more shocking? The film is really well put together and well shot. Some of the lighting and composition choices are really artsy and director Paul Nicholas has a pretty skilled eye. Not at all what you'd expect to see in a grindhouse flick. Sure it's kind of campy and you could set your watch by the set pieces, but the story is solid enough and the acting isn't that bad. For a Women in Prison flick, you could do much worse - and now I'll have to go check out Nicholas' earlier work - an imprisoned Linda Blair in Chained Heat.

Looks interesting enough i might buy it.

The only WiP movie i've seen is Caged Fury when it aired on HDNet.

[slasherdisc]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

I am trying not to do many blind-buys anymore, but that Cannon logo makes this very tempting.

This was a great blind buy for me, I loved it!

[Member-167298]

Ordered.

Couldn't resist the promise of Cannon insanity.

Will report back after I watch it in a week or two.

[Adam C.]

Originally Posted by slasherdisc

This was a great blind buy for me, I loved it!

Same here! I'd never seen it before, but I was pleasantly surprised (and VERY entertained) by the cheesy '80's-ness of it. Definitely made me nostalgic for the good 'ole "Video Store" days, that's for sure. A proud addition to my 'CANNON' library!

[slasherdisc]

Originally Posted by Adam C.

Same here! I'd never seen it before, but I was pleasantly surprised (and VERY entertained) by the cheesy '80's-ness of it. Definitely made me nostalgic for the good 'ole "Video Store" days, that's for sure. A proud addition to my 'CANNON' library!

Hell Yea! Looks great man!!

[Member-167298]

Contamination was a Cannon release?

[The Great Owl]

I'm behind in my women's prison movies. I should get this and Women's Prison Massacre soon.

[Adam C.]

Originally Posted by slasherdisc

Hell Yea! Looks great man!!

Thank-you, Sir!

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

Contamination was a Cannon release?

No, not 'technically' speaking. But it's listed on the Wikipedia page of 'CANNON' related/released or distributed Films, so I went ahead and added it to the line-up.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List...on_Group_films

[Member-167298]

This was a blind buy for me that I purchased solely on the strength of the Cannon name. The positive things I read in advance of making the purchase turned out to be pretty accurate. The Naked Cage is a surprisingly competent film. There is actually character development, the performances are acceptable, and the production is fairly well directed overall (I loved the opening shots of the red boots and sunglasses in particular). All the right pre-requisites were checked with violence and nudity, without too much sleaze to make you feel like you should be ashamed for watching it. Haha. Plus, the picture quality was really solid. Good work, Shout!

While this was definitely a decent flick, I don't necessarily see myself ever needing to watch it again. I am not a huge fan of this sub-genre of exploitation and if I ever have the urge to watch women behind bars, I think the Women in Cages Collection Blu-ray set will covers all my needs quite nicely (you can't really do better than the combo of Pam Grier and Jack Hill, in my opinion). I am trying to keep my collection from growing out of control, so this one is destined for eBay. However, I have no doubt that anyone who loves Cannon movies and/or WIP films will not be disappointed checking out Shout! Factory's release of The Naked Cage.

[Phobics]

Ordered this and prison massacre. I really hope these do okay enough for more WiP stuff. I really want Red & Caged Heat though!