Before Escape from New
York and before No Escape, there was Terminal Island, the original
Stick-a-Bunch-of-Prisoners-on-an-Island-and-Let-Them-Kill-Each-Other movie. Since the prison island is co-ed, it’s much
more interesting than your usual prison flick.
Because of the presence of beautiful (but still capable and deadly)
women, the film also falls into the Women in Prison genre. Unlike most of those pictures, the men who
try to humiliate and brutalize them aren’t guards or wardens; they’re fellow
inmates.
Another reason that
makes Terminal Island stand out from the rest of the pack was that it was
directed by a woman. Stephanie (The
Working Girls) Rothman handles the action with an assured hand. The finale, in which stuff blows up real
good, is solid and proves that she can deliver the goods as well as her male
counterparts.
Rothman also takes time
to establish and build both the male and female characters alike. While Phyllis Davis and Barbara Leigh do some
fine work as two of the busty female prisoners, it’s a pre-Magnum P.I. Tom
Selleck who takes the acting honors as a junkie doctor who kicks the habit in
order to help the women rise up against their male oppressors. What makes it even more fun is the presence
of Magnum’s Roger E. Mosley as one of the barbaric badasses who rule the island
with an iron fist.
The film is also filled
great music. The soundtrack is really
funky and adds to the gritty atmosphere.
Plus, the theme song “It’s Too Damn Bad” is thoroughly awesome and is
sure to be stuck in your head for days after.
Although Terminal
Island is consistently entertaining throughout, it’s not quite sleazy enough to
be considered a classic. We do get a
healthy dose of nudity (including a solid skinny dipping scene) and a funny
scene involving some bees. However,
those expecting a more exploitative type of Women in Prison picture might walk
away a tad disappointed.
AKA: Knucklemen.
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