Hellhole: Blu-Ray Review
Arriving on Blu-ray this week is 1985’s “Hellhole”. Originally planned for an HD release last year, Scream Factory had to locate missing footage in order to put out the complete film. Fans of “Hellhole” will no doubt be happy with how this transfer turned out.
I had actually never seen “Hellhole” prior to this release and if you are a fan of the women-in-prison exploitation sub-genre, then this one is definitely for you. The story centers on Susan (Judy Landers), a young woman who suffers memory loss after witnessing her mother get murdered by a deranged killer named Silk (Ray Sharkey). Silk was working for a well-connected doctor who wanted specific documents that Susan’s mother had.
For the bad guys to keep their eye on Susan, they place her in a mental hospital. To make matters worse, the hospital happens to be connected to a boiler-room set prison in which Dr. Fletcher (Mary Woronov) conducts illegal experiments on the patients. It doesn’t take long for Susan to realize that she is in danger. Silk has been placed as an orderly in the hospital, and though she doesn’t recognize him, he still manages to creep her out. There are also the sadistic guards, one of them played by the late Robert Z’Dar. The only one on her side is Ron (Richard Cox) who is secretly trying to take down the evil Dr. Fletcher.
If you have been waiting for “Hellhole” to get the Blu-ray treatment, then your wait is over, although it lacks in bonus features, it does include a new interview with Mary Woronov.
By: Marc Ferman