The Hot Box (1972)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Four American nurses -- sensitive Lynn Forrest (an excellent portrayal by the ravishing Margaret Markov), sassy Ellen St. George (a marvelously fiery Rickey Richardson), feisty Sue Pennwright (luscious brunette stunner Laurie Rose), and vacuous airhead Bunny Kinkaid (busty blonde babe Andrea Cagan) -- working in the oppressive war torn third world country the Republic of San Rosario are kidnapped by a ragtag army of revolutionaries who are in desperate need of proper medical assistance. The naive and apathetic ladies all get a harsh crash course in bitter world politics, with Lynn in particular eventually becoming a firm believer in the rebel army's cause. Director Joe Viola, who also co-wrote the sharp and engrossing script with Jonathan Demme, relates the gripping story at a constant snappy pace, stages the exciting rough'n'ready action set pieces with considerable brio, further spices things up with amusing moments of inspired humor, and certainly doesn't skimp on the tasty gratuitous female nudity (all four gorgeous leads have topless scenes). The violence is extremely bloody and brutal while the overall tone is properly gritty and tough-minded. The radical left-wing politics are a tad too strident at times, but still on the money sincere and provocative. This film scores bonus points for its refusal to neither glamorize nor sanitize the revolutionary way of life: It's shown as pretty grungy and thankless, with danger lurking just around the corner. Moreover, this movie cites various credible and interesting reasons for why people join a revolution: Some are noble, others not. The sturdy cast all contribute sound performances: The actresses playing the nurses are all earnest and appealing, Carmen Argenziano shines as dedicated and passionate army leader Flavio, Charles Dierkop makes for a perfectly hateful villain as the slimy and vicious Major Dubay, plus there are nice turns by Zaldy Zshornack as consummate soldier Ronaldo, Rocco Montalban as scuzzy bandito leader Carragiero, and Jose Romulo as zealous hunter Ronaldo. Restie Umali supplies a deliciously funky, rattling, get-down groovin' score. Felipe Sacdalan's fairly polished cinematography boasts a few flashy scene transitions. Well worth seeing for 70's grindhouse aficionados.

As other reviewers have already mentioned, "The Hot Box" has been mis-marketed as a Women-In-Prison film, when in fact it is a low-budget action film with four American nurses getting caught up in a revolution taking place in the "republic of San Rosario". This was one of the earliest scripts that Jonathan Demme ("Silence of the Lambs") wrote in his career, and personally I found the structure a bit heavy-handed. I assume that the goal was to make the viewer root for the revolutionaries and against the oppressive government, yet for the first half of the movie most of the revolutionaries we meet are little more than cackling sex maniacs! And even the more "civilized" ones treat the four American women - who are nurses, mind you, not their enemies in any way - pretty horribly. In the second half, they are subjected to even worse treatment by the government side, and finally the revolutionaries are starting to come off as "the good guys" (by default!). Wouldn't it be wiser to try to build more sympathy for them earlier on? I also didn't like the small comedic touches in the film, they felt awkward given the generally grim and unpleasant content. What I did like are the four female leads, who make a likable and good-looking team; their unabashed nudity is most welcome. Is it just me or would Margaret Markov (who plays the most "idealistic" of the four) have been perfect for the part of an angel in a fantasy? (**)

In the jungles of South America. Lynn, Bunny, Ellie and Sue are American nurses working at a hospital clinic in the Latin-American republic of San Rosario. They are kidnapped by some bandits, who were hired by Flavio the leader of 'Peoples Army' to bring back to them. Were they would help their poorly treated civilians back to health and teach them of important medical practices. The girls are forced into it, despite attempts of escaping. Lynn after a while sees their reasoning, but the others just want to escape and they do. However they come to be captured by a brutal Army officer who abuses them, but they manage to flee back to Flavio.Executive producer Roger Corman is at it again, with another mildly entertaining low-budget trashy exploitation fare made in the Banana Republic with some beautiful actresses to burn up the screen. The tone has a minor comic book feel to it, but the mechanical plot (co-scripted / produced by "Silence of the Lambs" director Jonathan Demme. Who he would also go onto pen the Corman films "Caged Heat" and "Black Mamma, White Mamma) is politically hounded with manipulative propaganda and heavy on the moral card. It's straining for depth and meaning as it tries to over-explain points in the surprisingly capable script, which in spurts it manages to capture some meaty moments and the few token unpleasant details (rape, beatings, torture, groping and violence) never takes over the show. It actually quite grounded in its low-brow elements, which might disappoint people looking for something sleazy. However plenty of nude topless scenes involving Margaret Markov, Andrea Cagan, Ricky Richardson and Laurie Rose make there way in. The acting from the sultry four, comes off as too strong and dramatised, but this vibrant quality gives the film some edge and personality. Markov ( The Arena, "Black Mama, White Mama") gives it a sensitive touch, Cagan playfully turns it up, Richardson goes at it in a collect manner and Rose (The Woman Hunt, The Abductors) keeps it wilful. Carmen Argenziano (Grave of the Vampire, Caged Heat, Crazy Mama) potently dons the role as Flavio and Charles Dierkop snarls it up perfectly as the brute of a Army officer. Workmanlike direction by Joe Viola is solid, without going out big. He churns out one effective surprise. It can meander and certain scenes are awkwardly forced, but it packs enough heat when it counts. Like two drawn-out, crackerjack combat onslaughts involving everyone going gung-ho with bullets, arrows and explosions. Gotta love the over-use of the sound when people die. It becomes funny, as you constantly listen to their painful expressions when they croak it. Leering camera-work gets up close, by suffocating you with the muggy air of the vividly exotic locations. The spotty music score gets into the right groove and flavour of the setting. Let those beating jungle drums go! A waring though, this is a cheap revolutionary action story than say a Women-In-Prison yarn.Somehow it manages to feel fresh with its familiar ingredients, mainly due to the fact it's not just another WIP film and it wants to tell an actual story with a purpose than just to exploit. Entertaining low-end kitsch that's evidently more competent than most of its field.

Hellcats (aka The Hot Box, 1972) continues the jungle sleaze tradition, co-written by the future director of Silence Of The Lambs, Jonathan Demme. Director Joe Viola and Demme had already worked for Corman on the low-budget biker flick Angels Hard As They Come. They now headed to the Philippines to film the story of four deliberately vacant nurses (including its token black actress) kidnapped by the 'Peoples Army', a ragtag bundle of greasy drunks and lechers, and forced to spend most of their incarceration topless. Despite their hysterical over-acting, they slowly become politicized gun-toting radicals, once they are shown parallels between the corrupt local government and the Nixon administration. It's a real pre-Watergate oddity, doling out its heartwarming liberal sentiments while blatantly exploiting its female flesh.