Prison

R

1987

1h 42m

Horror

List

40%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

34%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

An innocent convict returns from the grave and seeks vengeance against the warden responsible for his death 25 years ago.

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Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

A horror film in which staging gruesome deaths becomes a lame substitute for creating tension and eeriness.

Rated: C-

May 4, 2005

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A low-budget chilling jailhouse ghost story drama.

Rated: B-

Dec 21, 2015

Full Review

Steve

Dread Central

Prison is a gritty and gorgeous horror flick that's not only well acted and engaging but also delivers some shockingly fun and grisly deaths.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 6, 2013

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Aug 1, 2005

Full Review

Scott Weinberg

eFilmCritic.com

Has its limited prison-grime charms, but nothing for the horror freaks to write home about.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 3, 2005

Full Review

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Steve D

A good cast and not much else.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/04/23

Full Review

Beetle W

SOMEBODY HELP HOW DO I DELETE A REVIEW I CLICKED THIS ON ACCIDENT AAAAHHHHHH

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/06/23

Full Review

johnathon w

Underrated horror that holds up as a fun B-movie with the occasional A-list quality. The cast is solid, with Viggo Mortensen already making an impression as the stoic car thief Burke, while Lane Smith brings nice gravitas as the warden (you actually believe he could run a prison). Behind the camera, director Renny Harlin brings a nice visual style and terror to the story from the simple story (it's essentially a haunted house in a prison) and you can see how he got the "Nightmare on Elm Street 4" job from this. The fact it was shot in a an actual prison, with real prisoners as extras and even actors, give it a real authenticity. Granted, the overall mystery of why the prison is haunted is never fully used, but the visual effects are surprising for the budget (the victims get some nicely gory deaths). Overall, a fun b-horror that makes great viewing for the October/Halloween season.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It spends half the time trying really hard, but failing, to keep a straight face and the other with a ridiculous smirk that pisses us off more than anything.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

Some cool special effects scenes, and the bully from Friday, but ultimately I was not that engaged by this supernatural prison thriller.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

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Audience Member

I like most of Prison. Some of the prisoner and guard characters were interesting, and gave a real interesting dynamic. The ghost was interesting, and a couple of the killings were interesting, but overall it didn't work. Viggo was a little too subdued.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

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Renny Harlin

Director

Lane Smith

Warden Eaton Sharpe

Viggo Mortensen

Burke

Chelsea Field

Katherine Walker

Andre De Shields

Sandor

Lincoln Kilpatrick

Cresus

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Synopsis

An innocent convict returns from the grave and seeks vengeance against the warden responsible for his death 25 years ago.

Director: Renny Harlin
Producer: Irwin Yablans
Screenwriter: C. Courtney Joyner
Production Co: Empire Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Feb 19, 2013
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Surround