If you like violence, this movie might interest you.
This movie is about a foreigner(a Spaniard in Dominican Republic) who's child has been murdered by a hit-man/robber. He's been told his son's killer has been sent to La Victoria (a Maximum security prison and maybe the worst in Dominican Republic, or who knows, maybe the worst of the within whole Caribbean sea islands); he decided to pursue this killer up to the prison, where he is inducted as another convict; once in the slam he must determine which prisoner is the real killer.
Director spent much of the film trying to capture the essence of this place (La Victoria), using real convicts, shooting in the whole environment, giving a glimpse of the brutality and wildness breathing in this Slam City (it's a crude movie, must be rated R at least). You will see some chocking scenes, violence, abuses (of all kind, including sexual); and all to express how bad is living in this Jail-house, and all the pressure and difficulties the convicts and their relatives are exposed to. Maybe that's why by the end the storyboard writer ran out of ideas and decided to come out with a quick End; they fail to develop the plot, to cause enough suspense/thrill; this movie is more like "a Day in Prison Documentary" rather than a real movie.
Photography is regular (average), camera is sometimes to close you can't figure out the whole environment (stage), maybe they could take some other shots (landscapes, aereal, wide) the spectator doesn't have an idea of how big is the place, how dirty, how populated, and no one would know there's a village just next to the prison(where the people come from at weekends to a fairy/party with the convicts, this is a real fact).
Audio es just what the director needed, this is not a super-mastered-ac3-with-lots-of-audio-effects-flick, but you can easily hear what you need to hear; it doesn't have a great soundtrack (there are no well-known songs). I don't know if it has to do with the theaters and their quality, but in several dialogues voice seems to be out of synchronism.
In several cases some behaviors denote overacting; that's why I only consider Richard Douglas' interpretation as remarkable. He portrays a mobster a Provó/Padrote (kingpin/boss, somebody with influence among the prisoners and the prison authorities), a really interesting character; and he success in performing as one of the real Lords of La Victoria (even though in some scenes his overacting too). Others have almost acceptable and just over regular performances.
