Terror on Alcatraz

Frank Morris (Aldo Ray), the only man ever to escape from Alcatraz (in 1962), is also something of a sadist as demonstrated by a charming opening sequence of him burning his mistress' breast with a lit cigarette and slashing up a former prison guard with a straight razor. Eventually, he follows a tour group to Alcatraz island in an attempt to retrieve a key to a safety deposit box full of cash and jewels. Know-it-all Alcatraz buff Greg (Scott Ryder) recognizes him and, along with five others, sneaks back onto the island for a "cell block party" and to find out what Frank is up to. Frank, of course, is none too happy with the interfering, grabs a butcher knife and starts hacking away. After our heroine Terry (Lisa Ramirez) tricks Frank into falling off a cliff and he's believed to be dead, he turns up again in San Francisco to claim his fortune. 20 minutes later (!?) Frank gets his in a ludicrous, out of left field surprise shock ending.

Production values are low and the acting is pretty bad, but the premise is serviceable, the location work is decent and the gore FX are pretty good, plus we get a long and informative history lesson on Alcatraz from a tour guide...played by Mohammed Ali's wife, Veronica Porsche Ali! Clint Eastwood played the same Morris character (albeit a wee BIT different) in 1979's ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ.

Score: 4 out of 10