Lust For Freedom (1987)
Studio: Vinegar Syndrome / Troma
VHS Release: July 1987
DVD Release: April 8, 2014
Director: Eric Louzil
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
Let me start off by saying that most sensible film fans will hate Lust For Freedom. It's not a good film, honestly. The movie is uber-cheap, the acting awful, the script is a mess, there are film flubs and continuity problems throughout, the movie is just bad. And dear readers...I absolutely loved this movie. If you are a fan of films like Miami Connection, Plan 9 From Outer Space, The Big Bird Cage or even The Room, then Lust For Freedom may be a film you need to seek out.
The opening action scene that takes place before the opening credits may be the best sequence in the entire film as an undercover female cop and her partner/lover are infiltrating a drug operation when their cover is blown. With guns blazing, cheap blood effects spurting and martial arts fist fights throughout, one will not be able to contain their laughter or awe. When an entire building blows up with the film's credits flying right at the viewer, its hard not to cheer. One knows right away what kind of movie they are in for and it just gets sleazier as it goes along.
As Officer Gillian Kaites (played by the lovely Melanie Coll in her only role) decides to take some time off after the botched bust, she gets caught up in a small town white slavery ring that is lead by Warden Maxwell and the prison's head guard Ms Pusker (Judi Trevor, who looks like a cross between Adrienne Barbeau and Kim Hunter in her Planet of the Apes make up). Gillian is brought up on bogus drug charges and is thrown in jail with a bunch of innocent young women that have been brought up on the same charges. As Gillian fights both the guards and other inmates, she knows that the only way out of this nightmare will be to kill all of her captors in any way possible. With the help of other inmates, they decide to take over the jail and lead a bloody revolt.
Mixing both the cop thriller and the women in prison genres, Lust For Freedom will be a hard movie that one will find boring. With ample amounts of nudity and violence to appease exploitation fans, Lust For Freedom is just one hell of a nutty and ridiculous movie. It's a party film, one that friends will laugh about and even quote lines from. Some of my favorites are: "Ms. Pusker was straight out of some low budget prison movie. But this wasn't a movie... this was real." and "They had screwed up my mind so that I couldn't think. Thanks to my police training they hadn't screwed up my body... yet." The best lines of dialog come from Gillian's dull and unnecessary narration. If you don't laugh during some of her "words of wisdom", you may need to seek help. And what makes Lust For Freedom so enjoyable is that the movie is played completely straight!
Although Troma released Lust For Freedom on VHS in the 80's, Vinegar Syndrome somehow got the rights to the film and released a pretty decent DVD. The 16 mm film stock still looks pretty bad but Vinegar did try their best at fixing up the picture and the mono soundtrack. Still, the picture is very grainy and will annoy certain viewers who may be expecting a pristine print. There is a quick video interview with Troma's own Lloyd Kaufman who is shockingly more serious and subdued than his usual interviews, giving praise to direct Eric Louzil who also went on to direct Troma's Class of Nuke' Em High Parts 2 and 3. The audio commentary by Louzil is also very informative and fun to listen to as the man knew what kind of film he made but doesn't seem embarrassed by the lack of budget or talent that is on hand. Rounding out the extras is a theatrical trailer.
Corrupt cops, prison rape, a snuff film being filmed, full frontal nudity, shootings, stabbings, and explosions: yeah Lust For Freedom is a must-see. Oh and just try to get the theme song out of your mind after the film is over. It's close to impossible.
Movie: [Rating: 4]
DVD: [Rating: 3]
VHS Release: July 1987
DVD Release: April 8, 2014
Director: Eric Louzil
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
Let me start off by saying that most sensible film fans will hate Lust For Freedom. It's not a good film, honestly. The movie is uber-cheap, the acting awful, the script is a mess, there are film flubs and continuity problems throughout, the movie is just bad. And dear readers...I absolutely loved this movie. If you are a fan of films like Miami Connection, Plan 9 From Outer Space, The Big Bird Cage or even The Room, then Lust For Freedom may be a film you need to seek out.
The opening action scene that takes place before the opening credits may be the best sequence in the entire film as an undercover female cop and her partner/lover are infiltrating a drug operation when their cover is blown. With guns blazing, cheap blood effects spurting and martial arts fist fights throughout, one will not be able to contain their laughter or awe. When an entire building blows up with the film's credits flying right at the viewer, its hard not to cheer. One knows right away what kind of movie they are in for and it just gets sleazier as it goes along.
As Officer Gillian Kaites (played by the lovely Melanie Coll in her only role) decides to take some time off after the botched bust, she gets caught up in a small town white slavery ring that is lead by Warden Maxwell and the prison's head guard Ms Pusker (Judi Trevor, who looks like a cross between Adrienne Barbeau and Kim Hunter in her Planet of the Apes make up). Gillian is brought up on bogus drug charges and is thrown in jail with a bunch of innocent young women that have been brought up on the same charges. As Gillian fights both the guards and other inmates, she knows that the only way out of this nightmare will be to kill all of her captors in any way possible. With the help of other inmates, they decide to take over the jail and lead a bloody revolt.
Mixing both the cop thriller and the women in prison genres, Lust For Freedom will be a hard movie that one will find boring. With ample amounts of nudity and violence to appease exploitation fans, Lust For Freedom is just one hell of a nutty and ridiculous movie. It's a party film, one that friends will laugh about and even quote lines from. Some of my favorites are: "Ms. Pusker was straight out of some low budget prison movie. But this wasn't a movie... this was real." and "They had screwed up my mind so that I couldn't think. Thanks to my police training they hadn't screwed up my body... yet." The best lines of dialog come from Gillian's dull and unnecessary narration. If you don't laugh during some of her "words of wisdom", you may need to seek help. And what makes Lust For Freedom so enjoyable is that the movie is played completely straight!
Although Troma released Lust For Freedom on VHS in the 80's, Vinegar Syndrome somehow got the rights to the film and released a pretty decent DVD. The 16 mm film stock still looks pretty bad but Vinegar did try their best at fixing up the picture and the mono soundtrack. Still, the picture is very grainy and will annoy certain viewers who may be expecting a pristine print. There is a quick video interview with Troma's own Lloyd Kaufman who is shockingly more serious and subdued than his usual interviews, giving praise to direct Eric Louzil who also went on to direct Troma's Class of Nuke' Em High Parts 2 and 3. The audio commentary by Louzil is also very informative and fun to listen to as the man knew what kind of film he made but doesn't seem embarrassed by the lack of budget or talent that is on hand. Rounding out the extras is a theatrical trailer.
Corrupt cops, prison rape, a snuff film being filmed, full frontal nudity, shootings, stabbings, and explosions: yeah Lust For Freedom is a must-see. Oh and just try to get the theme song out of your mind after the film is over. It's close to impossible.
Movie: [Rating: 4]
DVD: [Rating: 3]
Post a Comment