Turn up the heat in the prison, as a ghost is killing off the killers. This low budget horror tale seems to have been developed because somebody knew about an old prison that could be used for the flick.
When a prison guard at Black Gate Prison commits suicide, Detective Michael Turner’s (Michael Pare) investigations lead him back to the prison. The guard was helping to clear out a disused portion of the aged prison by supervising the prisoners (Ja Rule and Danny Trejo to name two) in their task.
The guard came upon something in the abandoned furnace of this section and then went home and blew his brains out. Turner teams up with prison doctor Ashley Carter (Jenny McShane) to uncover the mystery behind the mayhem. Not only does Turner have to deal with ghosts and prisoners but also one of the prison guards (Tom Sizemore) is a disgraced police officer who wants to do Turner in for revenge.
Turner and Carter discover that a fiery specter is behind the killings, but can they figure out the mystery and lay this terror to rest before they too get burned?
Furnace joins a long line of ghosts in the prison films, perhaps a genre unto itself, but it doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from the others. It seems that the filmmakers knew of a prison that they could use for the film and came up with the storyline to make use of that location, or that’s my take on things.
They cast rapper Ja Rule as one of the prisoners, rappers in horror films – another genre as well, but he’s not given much to do except wait for his turn to be the next victim. He does to a rap song, I think, during the final credit roll but it seems rather silly and superfluous but if you’ve got him on the cast list I guess you better make use of him.
The haunting angle isn’t much of an original one either and what’ s more confusing is that there’s a final credit sequence that makes the finale of the film appear to have all been for naught.
I didn’t think that the film was very original, but it could entertain if you’re not too picky. That being said, I found it mildly entertaining with an uncreative storyline, but a creepy prison to set it all in.
Furnace is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include cast interviews with Danny Trejo (4 minutes), Ja Rule (14 minutes), and Tom Sizemore (16 minutes).
There are also about 9 minutes of alternate scenes, the 82-second trailer for the film, and a trailer gallery of other horror DVDs.
I guess if you find a creepy old prison and sign a rapper on then you might as well make a movie. However, if you do try and make a movie that differentiates itself from the others or has some creativity to it. This one may have some minor entertainment value but it doe nothing to set itself off from other horror films in a prison setting.
Furnace (Unrated) is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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