Prison (1988)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Renny Harlin

Writers:

Irwin Yablans (story)
C. Courtney Joyner (writer)

Release Date:

14 April 1989 (Finland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Horror Has A New Home.

Plot:

The spirit of a long-dead prisoner returns for revenge, haunting the prison's new governor.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Electric Chair | Haunting | Revenge | Supernatural

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Viggo Mortensen	...	Burke / Forsythe Electrocution
Chelsea Field	...	Katherine Walker
Lane Smith	...	Warden Eaton Sharpe
Lincoln Kilpatrick	...	Cresus
Tom Everett	...	Rabbitt
Ivan Kane	...	Lasagna
André De Shields	...	Sandor
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	Tiny (as Tom 'Tiny' Lister Jr.)
Stephen E. Little	...	'Rhino' Reynolds
Mickey Yablans	...	Brian Young
Larry Flash Jenkins	...	Hershey
Arlen Dean Snyder	...	Captain Horton
Hal Landon Jr.	...	Wallace
Matt Kanen	...	Johnson
Rod Lockman	...	Kramer

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) (1990) | Finland:K-18 (heavily cut) (1988) | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2009) | Australia:R | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:(Banned) | West Germany:18 (re-rating) | Iceland:(Banned) | Argentina:18

Filming Locations:

Rawlins, Wyoming, USA

Company:

Empire Pictures

Trivia:

The water that Viggo Mortensen runs through in his underwear was real. That part of the prison had been flooded for years, the temperature in the room was below 50F and the water temperature was 46F. Mortensen's shivering is real. He insisted on shooting the scenes without a double, and only at being forced to relented for some close up scenes.

Quotes:

Lasagna: I hear you can take anything on four wheels, man, and fly it away to heaven.
Burke: Well don't believe everything you hear.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

Soundtrack:

Choas

Excellent horror film!

Renny Harlin's first American film was one of the best of a slew of prison-set horror films(like "Death House" or "The Chair")in the late 80's.Twenty years before,guard Lane Smith had wrongfully executed a condemned man.Now,he is the warden of the newly re-opened prison,and the man's ghost is back for bloody revenge.This atmospheric and very moody film features lots of gruesome gore and violence.Viggo Mortensen,Tiny Lister,Tom Everett and Kane Hodder are onhand for the entertaining carnage.