With a title like "Women in Cages", a filming location in the Philippines and salacious posters featuring scantily clad women, it's obvious that this is NOT a Merchant-Ivory Production! It's clearly a low-budget schlock film and without even seeing it, I knew the film would include lots of violence, girl fights and boobs. That is just the sort of film they made in this country back in the 70s.
Although Pam Grier appeared in other Women in Prison films, in this case she does not play a prisoner but a sadistic lesbian matron who delights in abusing her charges. Now you might ask why a Black-American lady is in the Philippines doing this--you can only assume that she's REALLY dedicated to her job (plus I heard they had a great dental plan). In addition, she is able to vent her anger towards White ladies--as, oddly, this Asian prison has an over-abundance of Americans. Eventually, Grier's sadism is too much for some of the ladies and they take their chances escaping into the jungle--a jungle from which no one has ever successfully escaped! Can the sexy young ladies (all who appear about 25) escape? Or, for that matter, does anyone in the audience really care? Overall, this is a trashy exploitation film--the sort you'd have expected to see in sleazy 70s grind houses. Cheap, stupid but entertaining on a VERY base level--it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea! But, if you like unabashed trash, this is as good as any and it delivers exactly what you'd expect.
Although Pam Grier appeared in other Women in Prison films, in this case she does not play a prisoner but a sadistic lesbian matron who delights in abusing her charges. Now you might ask why a Black-American lady is in the Philippines doing this--you can only assume that she's REALLY dedicated to her job (plus I heard they had a great dental plan). In addition, she is able to vent her anger towards White ladies--as, oddly, this Asian prison has an over-abundance of Americans. Eventually, Grier's sadism is too much for some of the ladies and they take their chances escaping into the jungle--a jungle from which no one has ever successfully escaped! Can the sexy young ladies (all who appear about 25) escape? Or, for that matter, does anyone in the audience really care? Overall, this is a trashy exploitation film--the sort you'd have expected to see in sleazy 70s grind houses. Cheap, stupid but entertaining on a VERY base level--it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea! But, if you like unabashed trash, this is as good as any and it delivers exactly what you'd expect.