Escape from Hell
"The Warden's Just Handed Down A Stiff Sentence!"
A remote women's prison camp sits deep in a tropical rainforest where cruelty is part of daily routine. Harsh guards and an especially brutal warden enforce rules with violent punishments, and the inmates endure increasingly unbearable conditions. The camp doctor, appalled by what he witnesses,... Read more
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About Escape from Hell
A remote women's prison camp sits deep in a tropical rainforest where cruelty is part of daily routine. Harsh guards and an especially brutal warden enforce rules with violent punishments, and the inmates endure increasingly unbearable conditions. The camp doctor, appalled by what he witnesses, turns to alcohol to numb his conscience. Tensions rise as the prisoners bond and plan to resist, looking to the doctor for help in a risky bid for freedom. The story follows their escalating desperation and the narrow, dangerous options they consider as they try to slip away from the camp without giving anything away about how it ends.
Released in 1980, Escape from Hell was directed by Edoardo Mulargia and credits Sergio Chiusi, Roberto Estévez, and Leslie Daniels among its creators. The cast includes Anthony Steffen, Ajita Wilson, Cristina Lay, Cintia Lodetti, and Luciano Pigozzi, and the film reflects the era's low-budget Italian exploitation production style.
Box office records for Escape from Hell are scarce, and it didn't register as a mainstream commercial hit. The film likely saw limited theatrical runs and later circulation in home video and grindhouse venues, but no reliable worldwide gross is available.
Among fans of exploitation and women-in-prison cinema the film has a certain notoriety for its bleak setting and blunt depictions of cruelty. It surfaces occasionally in discussions of obscure Italian genre movies from the late 1970s and early 1980s, and viewers who collect rougher, fringe titles often point to it when mapping the era's grimmer offerings.
Critical response has been mixed to negative, reflected in a modest user rating around 4.6 out of 10 on niche databases. Viewers note its straightforward plotting, unflinching depiction of institutional abuse, and a lead role that highlights moral compromise and alcoholism. The film is best approached by those interested in exploitation history rather than mainstream thriller audiences.
Details
- Release Date
- March 27, 1980
- Runtime
- 1h 33m
- User Ratings
- 26 votes
- Type
- Movie
- Genres
- Adventure, Crime, Thriller
- Country
- Italy
- Studio
- SNPC - Società Nazionale Produzioni Cinematografiche +1 more
- External Links
- View on IMDB
Cast
Anthony Steffen
Doctor Farrell
Ajita Wilson
Zaira
Cristina Lay
Vivienne
Cintia Lodetti
Katie
Luciano Pigozzi
The Warden
Serafino Profumo
Martinez
Gilberto Galimberti
Luis
Maite Nicote
Mary
Yael Forti
Marika
Zaira Zoccheddu
Lucy
Director: Edoardo Mulargia
Written by: Sergio Chiusi, Roberto Estévez, Leslie Daniels