In hell (2003)
In hell is a 2003 American action film directed by Ringo Lam. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, with a supporting cast of Lawrence Taylor, Marnie Alton, Malakai Davidson and Billy Rieck. An adaptation of the 1978 film Midnight Express. It is the third and final collaboration between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Hong Kong film director Ringo Lam. The film was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on November 25, 2003.
Plot.
Kyle LeBlanc is an American working overseas in Magnitogorsk, Russia. When he hears his wife being attacked over the phone, Kyle rushes home, but is too late to save her. Sergio Kovic, the man who raped and murdered his wife, buys the judge and is found not guilty due to lack of evidence. Enraged by the injustice, Kyle steals a gun from a Bailiff and shoots Sergio multiple times in front of the entire court house, killing him. For this, he is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is taken to Kravavi Prison, which is run by the corrupt warden, General Hruschov.RELATED:
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Once he arrives, he is beaten by a guard for hesitating to give up his wedding ring. The same night, he witnesses a fellow 21-year-old American inmate named Billy Cooper being taken to another cell by the guards to be raped by prison fighter and member of the Russian Mafia, Andrei.
The next morning, a beaten and traumatized Billy is taken to infirmary by the guards as Andrei leaves the cell. Kyle gets into a brawl with Andrei, who provoked him in a way similar to his wife’s murderer, and is put in solitary confinement. In solitary, he goes on a hunger strike and then tries to hang himself to commit suicide,
but both fail. When he experiences flashbacks of his wife, he realizes he must survive. Eventually, he is transferred to a cell with Inmate 451, an African-American prisoner with a reputation for killing his cellmates, something the sadistic Chief of the guards Lieutenant Tolik believes he will do to Kyle. However, over time, they begin to trust one another. He soon meets Billy in the prison yard, who explains he is serving a year-and-a-half sentence for driving whilst intoxicated and crashing into a restaurant with a girl he met. He also meets Malakai, another American prisoner bound
to a wheelchair who explains the politics of the prison and the gangs within it, including the Russian Mafia’s alliance with the guards.
The corrupt General Hruschov, who runs the prison, gambles by betting on fights between rival gangs. Kyle, who is constantly bullied by Andrei and his goons, begins training himself for these fights, but his motivation concerns 451. In his first match, Kyle faces Andrei and (despite the Russian fighter’s experience) manages to win by savagely biting a large chunk out of Andrei’s neck, killing him in agony. He immediately suffers a mental breakdown while covered in Andrei’s blood as the prisoners and guards watch in horror.
Reception.
Robert Pardi of TV Guide rated it 1/5 stars and called it a “pokey exercise in cellblock sadism” that does not live up Lam’s previous work. Jason P. Vargo of IGN rated it 5/10 stars and wrote that it is “strictly for Van Damme fans only”. Beyond Hollywood wrote that although the film has many stock characters, it enjoyably plays onRELATED:
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the usual conventions of a Van Damme film. an Jane of DVD Talk rated it 3/5 stars and called it “a pleasant surprise” and the best of Van Damme’s recent films. David Johnson of DVD Verdict wrote that although the film attempts to bring a new facet to Van Damme’s films, it only ends up being clichéd in different ways than his usual films.