In my ceaseless obsessive quest to watch the most obscure down'n'dirty exploitation features from all over the world I naturally had to have the rotten luck to stumble across this brain-numbing atrocity. Three ladies escape from a hellish women's penitentiary and go on the lam. They decide to get revenge on the various folks who are responsible for sending them to jail. Sound good? Well, it definitely ain't. For starters, director Roy Rosenberg and writer Gary Capra, Jr. both fail to deliver the lowdown trashy goods: The girls don't show any skin during the obligatory group shower scene (we see plenty of bare backs and legs, but no bare breasts or buttocks!), plus there's not even a hint of lesbianism and the standard sexually abusive rapist degenerate guard is notably absent. In addition, the flick abruptly switches gears after the ladies break out and turns into a heavy-handed revenge thriller. Moreover, what little violence we get is depressingly tame stuff (even the expected catfights are nothing to get excited about). Jimmy Yu's surprisingly glossy and impressive cinematography manages to rise above the general ineptitude. Ricky Chan's neatly varied score -- it's a groovy mix of pounding rock, lush orchestral mush, and funky soul -- likewise is quite cool. The film also deserves some faint praise for having the audacity to cast an obvious Asian girl sporting shoe polish on her face and an Afro wig atop her head as the token brassy black babe. But overall this clunker still sizes up as a totally blah and dissatisfying lemon.
9 Reviews
A disappointingly wimpy Hong Kong women-in-prison wash-out
Woodyanders27 August 2008
Warning: Spoilers
"Swann-Yee River"??!
leshaholland4 May 2008
Ah, the time-honored, ancient art of Chinese Blackface!
I came across this "film" in/on a DVD 8-pack, $5.00 for the lot of 'em, and STILL feel ripped off!!!
I am an ardent fan of WIPs (Women-In-Prison; -Peril) and an occasional fan of Hong Kong Schlock (Best In Show: "ROBO VAMPIRE" or maybe "SAMURAI REINCARNATION") but i'm sorry: This thing is simply insufferable! A useful review and/or commentary? Well, no, absolutely not... I just needed to get this little something off my chest! As for the remaining product, well, I only bought the first disc (used) with the following titles: "Raw Force" "Savage Man: Savage Beast"(Not half-bad Mondo Movie) "Women's Camp 119" (AKA: "SS Extermination Camp" & KZ9-Lager di Sterminio") etc. OH wait: I DID get the 2nd disc with it, but all of its contents were execrable!
I came across this "film" in/on a DVD 8-pack, $5.00 for the lot of 'em, and STILL feel ripped off!!!
I am an ardent fan of WIPs (Women-In-Prison; -Peril) and an occasional fan of Hong Kong Schlock (Best In Show: "ROBO VAMPIRE" or maybe "SAMURAI REINCARNATION") but i'm sorry: This thing is simply insufferable! A useful review and/or commentary? Well, no, absolutely not... I just needed to get this little something off my chest! As for the remaining product, well, I only bought the first disc (used) with the following titles: "Raw Force" "Savage Man: Savage Beast"(Not half-bad Mondo Movie) "Women's Camp 119" (AKA: "SS Extermination Camp" & KZ9-Lager di Sterminio") etc. OH wait: I DID get the 2nd disc with it, but all of its contents were execrable!
Laughably bad. Watch it with friends who have quick wits
dbborroughs30 March 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Laughably bad women in prison/escape/revenge flicks. Made in Hong Kong with an allegedly Anglo Saxon crew (I somehow doubt that), this tells the story of a group of women who get hauled off to a Hong Kong Prison, escape and then go after some of the people who got them into trouble. Poorly dubbed the film is as cheap as they come (hey they didn't even hire a black actress but have a Chinese girl in black face and wig playing the part.) There is no nudity, clearly feigned violence (the shootings at the end will have you on the floor laughing). As an actual honest to god watchable movie this film is awful. As a film to watch with friends with the intention of picking it apart its pretty good.(I would have loved to have seen this at a Times Square theater with a vocal audience.)
Worst writing I have ever seen
lastliberal1 August 2007
This is probably the only review of this film that will ever be written. I struggled mightily to get through it and I seriously doubt that anyone else would have such stamina.
An obscure yet tame women-in-prison/revenge flick from Asso Asia films starring Susan Lee, Stella Jone and Laura Sode-Matteson. One "Black" woman is actually an Asian actress in black makeup with an afro wig! The technical quality of this film is really remarkable. The lighting and camera work were impressive. However, the writing was absolutely atrocious. I can only be thankful that the writer and director and main stars, except for Laura Sode-Matteson never got another film to ruin.
This is a perfect drive-in flick as there would be nothing on the screen to distract you from what you are doing in your car.
Laura Sode-Matteson actually played Jack Lord's secretary on Hawaii 5-0 for seven episodes and then went on to a long career as a location manager, most recently for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
An obscure yet tame women-in-prison/revenge flick from Asso Asia films starring Susan Lee, Stella Jone and Laura Sode-Matteson. One "Black" woman is actually an Asian actress in black makeup with an afro wig! The technical quality of this film is really remarkable. The lighting and camera work were impressive. However, the writing was absolutely atrocious. I can only be thankful that the writer and director and main stars, except for Laura Sode-Matteson never got another film to ruin.
This is a perfect drive-in flick as there would be nothing on the screen to distract you from what you are doing in your car.
Laura Sode-Matteson actually played Jack Lord's secretary on Hawaii 5-0 for seven episodes and then went on to a long career as a location manager, most recently for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
Beyond Awful
Michael_Elliott27 February 2008
Strike of the Tortured Angels (1982)
BOMB (out of 4)
Women in Prison flick from Hong Kong by those who must have never seen a WIP flick before making this. It tells the story of various women who are suffering in prison but they team up to strike back. Okay, I'll let a horror movie slide without any nudity but not a WIP flick for Heaven's sake. How in the hell can someone make an exploitation film and then leave out all the nudity? There is a small amount but for the most part the director and screenwriters like to tease. You know, girls will get naked but the camera never hits them. Besides that this film contains some of the worst dialogue I've ever listened to and the performances are downright bad. Really, really worth film. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the Asian woman pretending to be black with blackface on and a bad Afro wig.
BOMB (out of 4)
Women in Prison flick from Hong Kong by those who must have never seen a WIP flick before making this. It tells the story of various women who are suffering in prison but they team up to strike back. Okay, I'll let a horror movie slide without any nudity but not a WIP flick for Heaven's sake. How in the hell can someone make an exploitation film and then leave out all the nudity? There is a small amount but for the most part the director and screenwriters like to tease. You know, girls will get naked but the camera never hits them. Besides that this film contains some of the worst dialogue I've ever listened to and the performances are downright bad. Really, really worth film. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the Asian woman pretending to be black with blackface on and a bad Afro wig.
Bad Even By Exploitation Standards
gavin694229 November 2010
The story of some girls in Reform School in Hong Kong. One of them, Susan, is in love with a doctor, but her sister is pregnant with his child. Things get a little hairy, but after a while the girls break out of the school and then the real fun starts.
This movie is directed by Roy Rosenberg, who has never done anything in film before or since.
The film is spoken in English, though a (what appears to be) Swedish subtitle is embedded in the Fortune 5 DVD version. I believe this film is from Hong Kong, which would explain the combination of English and Asian people.
The women are forced to strip naked and throw their clothes in the sewer. You would think that this would get a lot worse, being an exploitation film, but it actually stays pretty tame -- and quite boring -- through most of the picture.
"We promise to eat whatever is given to us." This is a huge problem, especially when a girl is given a block of wood. Of course, again, this could have been a lot worse.
There is a dancing scene with people dancing wildly, and one man spasming uncontrollably, with the song playing being some knock-off version of the Bee Gees' "Tragedy". And what is up with the Asian girl in blackface and the afro wig?
This movie is directed by Roy Rosenberg, who has never done anything in film before or since.
The film is spoken in English, though a (what appears to be) Swedish subtitle is embedded in the Fortune 5 DVD version. I believe this film is from Hong Kong, which would explain the combination of English and Asian people.
The women are forced to strip naked and throw their clothes in the sewer. You would think that this would get a lot worse, being an exploitation film, but it actually stays pretty tame -- and quite boring -- through most of the picture.
"We promise to eat whatever is given to us." This is a huge problem, especially when a girl is given a block of wood. Of course, again, this could have been a lot worse.
There is a dancing scene with people dancing wildly, and one man spasming uncontrollably, with the song playing being some knock-off version of the Bee Gees' "Tragedy". And what is up with the Asian girl in blackface and the afro wig?
No torture, more's the pity.
BA_Harrison22 December 2017
Teenager Susan discovers that her mother, a hospital supervisor, is having an affair with a doctor; the same man has also been sleeping with Susan's sister, who is now pregnant (and who later takes her own life). Upset at the situation, Susan takes her anger out on a bloke at a discotheque, bottling him over the head. As a result, she is sent to a girls' reform school, but vows to escape to take revenge on the philandering doctor.
The sassy, tough black woman is a familiar figure in the 'women in prison' genre. The makers of Hong Kong exploitation flick Strike of the Tortured Angels can't be bothered to hire a black performer for the role, instead putting an Asian actress in blackface with an afro wig. It's both cringeworthy and very funny. The film's unintentional hilarity is about all there is to recommend to fans of exploitation cinema, the rest being a very poor show indeed, with little of the sleaziness one expects from the genre.
While there are the obligatory shower scenes and catfights, none of it is very graphic, with only one bare ass in terms of nudity, virtually nothing in the way of gore, and absolutely no torture at the hands of sadistic guards (despite the promise of the title). And with at least half the film spent following the girls avoid capture after fleeing their prison, it's also rather boring for much of the time.
Recommended only to those who must see absolutely every WIP movie in existence, or anyone actively seeking a bad movie for s**ts and giggles. 3.5 out of 10, rounded up to 4 for IMDb.
The sassy, tough black woman is a familiar figure in the 'women in prison' genre. The makers of Hong Kong exploitation flick Strike of the Tortured Angels can't be bothered to hire a black performer for the role, instead putting an Asian actress in blackface with an afro wig. It's both cringeworthy and very funny. The film's unintentional hilarity is about all there is to recommend to fans of exploitation cinema, the rest being a very poor show indeed, with little of the sleaziness one expects from the genre.
While there are the obligatory shower scenes and catfights, none of it is very graphic, with only one bare ass in terms of nudity, virtually nothing in the way of gore, and absolutely no torture at the hands of sadistic guards (despite the promise of the title). And with at least half the film spent following the girls avoid capture after fleeing their prison, it's also rather boring for much of the time.
Recommended only to those who must see absolutely every WIP movie in existence, or anyone actively seeking a bad movie for s**ts and giggles. 3.5 out of 10, rounded up to 4 for IMDb.
WE COULD BE FRIENDS
nogodnomasters6 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
"Tortured Angels" and "Strike of the Tortured Angels" is the same film. I watched mine from a multi-pack which was in English with Dutch subtitles. This is perhaps the worse prison girl film I have seen to date.
The film centers on Susan (Susan Lee- lone film credit) whose mother and sister are both having an affair with the same doctor while her father is at home dying. She gets upset and strikes some boy with a bottle and winds up in reform school, run like a prison. Later she escapes with two friends and the plot becomes more inane with one of the worst black mailing schemes I have ever seen.
The girls in the film wear break away clothing, although the film is edited to prevent the viewer from seeing any nudity except for one quick butt scene. The girls shower behind a wooden partition that allows shoulder up, knee down voyeurism. The prison has a kindly guard and a straight female warden. Kudos for breaking with the cliche sadist guards and aggressive lesbian warden, but if they are not there, why the heck would we watch it?
The film has some MST camp material. I had to laugh at the disco scene. While the music was clearly a Bee Gees instrumental version of one of their songs, the young people dancing did not allow the music to influence how they moved. I need to apologize to my brother-in-law. He is not the worse drunk dancer in the world, although I still wish he would leave his shirt on.
I recommend passing on this film unless you are learning Dutch.
The film centers on Susan (Susan Lee- lone film credit) whose mother and sister are both having an affair with the same doctor while her father is at home dying. She gets upset and strikes some boy with a bottle and winds up in reform school, run like a prison. Later she escapes with two friends and the plot becomes more inane with one of the worst black mailing schemes I have ever seen.
The girls in the film wear break away clothing, although the film is edited to prevent the viewer from seeing any nudity except for one quick butt scene. The girls shower behind a wooden partition that allows shoulder up, knee down voyeurism. The prison has a kindly guard and a straight female warden. Kudos for breaking with the cliche sadist guards and aggressive lesbian warden, but if they are not there, why the heck would we watch it?
The film has some MST camp material. I had to laugh at the disco scene. While the music was clearly a Bee Gees instrumental version of one of their songs, the young people dancing did not allow the music to influence how they moved. I need to apologize to my brother-in-law. He is not the worse drunk dancer in the world, although I still wish he would leave his shirt on.
I recommend passing on this film unless you are learning Dutch.
Surprisingly tame, given that title
Leofwine_draca9 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
STRIKE OF THE TORTURED ANGELS is a cheap women-in-prison feature, made in Hong Kong by a cast and crew hiding behind made-up Westernised names. The film has possibly one of the greatest exploitation titles ever, but the film itself will be a disappointment to most as more than anything else, it's boring. The subject matter is surprisingly tame for this genre - there isn't even any nudity - and the drama mainly comes from low rent action hokum. A bunch of female prisoners - including one in blackface and an Afro wig - are abused before escaping into the jungle. The emphasis is on characterisation more than anything else, but it's all so inept that this is a struggle to sit through.
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