Previously released in 2003 from Sony, Firstlook Studios saw fit to release a limited 'Steelbook' edition of Jean-Claude Van Damme's 'In Hell' - a prison pic that actually finds JCVD trying to, gasp!, act. Not a great film by most standards, this is still a slight cut above other standard DTV action entries.
When I think of great cinematic pairings of director and star - Ford and Wayne, Kurosawa and Mifune, Scorsese and DeNiro - I usually come to rest on one pair. Yep, that's Hong Kong director Ringo Lam and Van Damme in which 'In Hell' marks their third collocation after 'Maximum Risk' and 'Replicant' (and Lam went on to do some uncredited polish on the later 'Wake of Death').
All kidding aside, it's probably Lam that deserves most of the credit for not letting this attempt at a legitimate story and thesping in a DTV Van Damme flick go down in low-budget flames. Lam knows his way around a prison as he made two great prison pics with Chow Yun-Fat back in the late eighties - the two 'Prison on Fire' flicks - and while 'In Hell' doesn't come anywhere close to those, points to VD for trying to stretch.
Although the opening scenes might worry you a bit - A Frenchman, Kyle LeBlanc, is stationed in Russia with his American wife, and one rainy night while talking to his wife on the phone, he overhears an intruder attack her. Struggling to get home in time, he finds his wife raped and murdered and goes after the killer.
When the killer gets off, LeBlanc murders the punk right in the courthouse and gets sentenced to a life term at a Russian maximum security prison that makes Alcatraz look like Sesame Street. Naturally, there's enough corruption, beatings, warring gangs and rapes to go around.
Snapping, he gets put in solitary confinement and attempts suicide once and is thinking about it again until a CGI moth meant to embody his dead wife sends a message of hope.
He soon learns of fights set up between the inmates so the guards and inmates alike can bet, whoop and holler in the background like those goofy pixilated fools in the backdrop of 'Street Fighter II' matches.
When released from solitary confinement, he's become a shaggy-haired, ripped 'Savage' (the international title of the film) who starts to take part in the fights and lets loose in the matches in decidedly un-Van Dammage fashion (he rips the throat out of one of his opponents with his bare teeth!).
Eventually, he comes to realize these matches are meaningless and only serve the corrupt prison officials whose pockets are getting lined with money and he refuses to fight. The officials try to make an example of him but don't want to make him a martyr but it's too late, all 'Hell' breaks loose.
Van Damme does a serviceable job in the role and might even be convincing once or twice in the more thematic scenes. The fight sequences are also kind of fun and more down and dirty than recent Van Damme pics (but still not as bloody as VD's previous prison flick 'Death Warrant') with a feral gnawing and swiping that reminded me of a neutered, declawed Wolverine.
There are some lame attempts at 'Shawshank' style heaviness with sporadic narration by an African-American prisoner who goes by '451' (when things get burnt yo). His musings on prison life are neither interesting nor witty and don't do the film any favors. If there's a major fault of the film, it's that it takes itself a little too seriously.
Presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, the film looks okay for what it is. It's dark, dank and gritty so grain kind of goes with the whole feel of it. A Dolby Digital 5.1 track and English and Spanish subs are also provided. Special Features include a short featurette with interviews of Van Damme and Ringo Lam, the films theatrical trailer and a few other previews.
Of his post-theatrical work here in the states, I've seen most of his films and this pic stands near the top of the heap. Not a good film but comparatively watchable when taking into account 'The Hard Corps' or, ugh, 'The Order'. For Van Damme fans, it might be worth checking out but for everybody else, just go watch 'Shawshank' again.
In Hell is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
Your Talkback on this Story