Laura Gemser appeared in a long string of Italian softcore films as Emanuelle. Note that the name is spelled with a single "m" to differentiate the character from the one appearing in the official Emmanuelle films that began in 1974 and originally starred Sylvia Kristel (though Gemser appeared in a small role in the original series' sequel Emmanuelle 2). Gemser's Emanuelle films were often from the seamier side of the exploitation spectrum. Emanuelle in America, for example, saw the title character investigating the production of snuff films and featured scenes of hardcore sex (without Gemser) and a dalliance with bestiality that makes the donkey show in Clerks 2 seem Disney-esque.

Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (a.k.a. Trap Them and Kill Them) saw the softcore porn series crossing over with the cannibal film craze of the time, and the film we're here to discuss today, Women's Prison Massacre, brought the character into the women-in-prison genre. This entry in the series is directed by Bruno Mattei, a man of staggeringly little talent. Admittedly, his ultra cheezy post-apocalyptic epic Rats (for which he used his frequent pseudo name Vincent Dawn) is a guilty pleasure of mine, but other films of his like Virus (a.k.a. Hell of the Living Dead and Night of the Zombies) sap my will to live.

In this outing, Emanuelle has been framed and incarcerated on drug charges. We first see her as she and two other inmates are presenting a bizarre performance art piece on the nature of their identities. I'm sure Mattei saw this as deep, but it comes off as silly and pretentious. The warden (Lorraine De Selle of Make Them Die Slowly and The House on the Edge of the Park) warns Emanuelle against any further performances as it may inspire insurrection.

An inmate named Albina, unconvincingly made up to look albino, has it in for Emanuelle as do several of the guards, leading Emanuelle to believe there is a conspiracy led by the District Attorney that had her wrongly imprisoned. Everyone soon has bigger fish to fry, however, when four convicted male murderers, are brought to the prison for temporary holding. The four (led by Crazy Boy played by Gemser's real life husband Gabriele Tinti) quickly overpower the police officer who is escorting them, a situation that could have been avoided had the law man in question not been a complete nitwit. A hostage situation ensues, with the lives of the prison staff and inmates alike being threatened if the killers are not set free.

All of this is liberally seasoned with the type of sleaze one would expect from the genre including softcore sex scenes both lesbian and hetero, murder, rape, and torture. One of the most memorable scenes comes when one of the butch guards in attempting to break up an arm wrestling match shrieks "Stop, it! I've had enough violence!" So had the editor, obviously, because the scene immediately shifts to two women making out in the prison shower. The biggest surprise here is that Gemser, who made a career out of being naked on film and doing it well, remains covered throughout. Not a great film, but it never slows down long enough to get boring. All in all it's a gleeful slice of depravity, and if you don't find that description off-putting then you'll probably enjoy this.

This new DVD version of the film is due for release on May 20 as a two-disk set from Retro Shock-o-rama and contains the widescreen print of the film prepared by Grindhouse Releasing. The fullscreen version is not as sharp and the aspect ratio looks off with the picture appearing a bit squashed. The most interesting of the bonuses is actually another feature length film called Caged Women (a.k.a. Violence in a Women's Prison) that on some levels is downright confusing.

Like the main feature this is a women-in-prison flick in which Mattei directs (under the Vincent Dawn pseudonym) Gemser stars as Emanuelle, De Selle once again plays the warden, and the two films share many cast members, but this time they are playing completely different characters. The story is completely different as well, with investigative reporter Emanuelle this time going under cover to investigate inhuman treatment of prison inmates. Some sources claim Women's Prison Massacre is a sequel to this film, but it seems more like Caged Women is the other film's counterpart from that alternate universe where Spock had a beard. IMDB lists the two films coming out a year apart, but the disk's liner notes claim they were shot back to back. The main feature is the better of the two films, but Caged Women is essentially more of the same shenanigans.