Prison

Scrolling through Viggo Mortensen’s acting resume on IMDB, one is reminded of all the work it takes to become a “name” actor. The bottom line? You need a lot of talent and even more luck. Before The Lord of the Rings franchise, Viggo slugged his way through 36 roles in minor (and a few major) films. But he actually had his first lead role way back in 1988 playing a nearly mute – but undeniably cool - convict in Prison, a slick horror vehicle directed by Renny Harlin who would move on to the big-time two years later with Die Hard 2…and leave Viggo in the dust.

A collaboration between cheapie-horror producer Charles Band and independent big-shot Irwin Yablans (Halloween 4, 5 and 6), Prison seems to exist for one reason only: up until that point there had never been a horror movie set inside a penitentiary. That gimmick seemed enough to greenlight a confused script that involves a previously executed prisoner whose spirit seeks revenge against the mentally unbalanced warden (Lane Smith). Plenty of poltergeist activity ensues offering the inmates and the guards no chance to escape.

Viggo may be the star, but it’s Renny Harlin’s movie. Prison has all the flash and panache you’d expect from a director trying to prove himself in Hollywood. There’s a strong music video influence on the lighting, but Harlin even justifies that as some sort of “spirit energy” that can blast holes in those unfortunate enough to get in the way. All of Harlin’s movies seem huge in scale, and he takes full advantage of the setting to turn a low-budget movie into something that could compete with a major studio’s output.

That said, the movie itself is a bit of a bore. The “kill” scenes are atmospheric and effective. Viggo – looking much more buff than at any point in his career – carries himself with a sort of James Dean blasé that works for his character. But the story never generates enough suspense or momentum to make you care about the fate of anyone involved. The finale, in particular, despite featuring an electrical apparition and several explosions just sort of fizzles out.

But as usual, Scream Factory has put together a blu-ray / DVD combo package that presents the film in its best light. Harlin contributes a director’s commentary to go along with an interesting Making Of plus the original first-draft screenplay in PDF format.