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Released by: Media Blasters/Code Red
Released on: 9/30/2008
Director: Tim Kincaid
Cast: Jennifer Delora, Carey Zuris, Donna Eskra, Marita
Year: 1986
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The Movie:
Tim Kincaid made some rad movies. He also made a lot of gay porn. And then he made Bad Girls Dormitory, which is neither gay porn nor particularly rad, but it is… something. The storyline, such as it is, begins when a female inmate inside a dormitory meant to house troubled young women 'too young for maximum security, too dangerous for juvenile hall' commits suicide for reasons never divulged. It doesn't matter - what matters is that it lets us know in no uncertain terms that this dormitory is a bad place full of bad girls, bad girls in white shirts who don't wear bras and who tease their hair and wear a lot of makeup.
With that unfortunate poor thing dead and done with, we hit the mean streets of New York City for a quick and completely unrelated trip through Times Square before catching up with a couple of troubled young women on the outside. One woman answers an ad for models and is then arrested for selling blowjobs - never mind the fact that she never offers anyone a blowjob or accepts any money for anything - set up by the fuzz and a victim of circumstance. Another is rightly arrested in a drug deal gone bad, left to take the rap for her punk ass boyfriend, a scrawny Hispanic guy with big hair and weird clothes. This set up lets Kincaid and his crew bring us back into the titular dormitory where we see the girls acclimate themselves with a few of the harder edged inmates, girls with names like Rebel (Donna Eskra), a blonde whore who loves to get laid, and the not so tough sounding Lisa (Jennifer Delora, who pops up in at least two R-rated Chuck Vincent movies - Young Nurses In Love and Deranged).
Run by the heavily made up and bizarrely accented Miss Madison (played by the mysterious Marita) and her right hand man, Dr. DeMarco (Dan Barclay), who sells the girls dope in exchange for sex, the prison inexplicably allows the girls to bring in their boyfriends for a strange dance party in the cafeteria (where there are Ms. Pacman games, a Playboy pinball machine, and an unusual amount of hotdog buns and Cadbury chocolate products) before things start to go bad. One girl gives birth to a baby, other girls kill a guard and hide him behind the boiler, while a few of the girls decide to plan their escape.
This film starts off reasonably strong with a weird suicide scene and some cool inner city footage before it basically goes on plotless autopilot for the next hour or so, only to redeem itself in the last half hour with some of the same sort of slow motion violence Kincaid used to finish off the aforementioned Riot On 42nd Street (though never quite hitting that level of insanity). While most (though not all) of the sex happens off camera, Kincaid still manages to pack in a few gratuitous shower scenes - those aren't the stand outs, however, particularly as the majority of the actresses, naked or otherwise, are a little too realistic looking (or, if you prefer, unattractive). The stand out moments in the film belong to the bizarre, awkward fight scenes in which Delora squares off against an Amazonian prison guard resulting in some of the most impressively awful fight scenes outside of The Guy From Harlem. Throw in the bizarre dance scene, a prisoner who looks like a female Joe Spinnell (she ain't pretty), an incarcerated Marilyn Monroe impersonator who probably has a dick, and no regard for narrative or logic whatsoever and you're left with a trashy headscratcher of a film that turns out to be a lot of trashy, brainless fun.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is gritty, grainy and a little dirty - but not without its sleazy charms all the same. Detail is so-so, but for an older low budget production it's not bad considering. There are no issues with compression or noise reduction problems and while minor print damage is evident throughout the movie, it's just that - minor.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 English language track, the only one on the disc, is a bit flat and at times a little muffled but generally free of any serious issues. Be prepared to reach for the remote from time to time to adjust the volume, as there are some fluctuations in the levels here and there, but overall if this won't wow you, it gets the job done.
As far as extras go, the main supplement is an interview with actress Jennifer Delora who talks quite affectionately about her time on this movie, describing director Tim Kincaid in affable terms and discussing how her martial arts training came in handy during the fight scenes. She gives her thoughts on the movie over all, some of her co-stars in general and talks about what it was like shooting the picture in New York City without permits in the mid eighties. Delora also pops up for an introduction that plays before the movie starts, though this isn't called out on the packaging.
Aside from that, look for a still gallery, a trailer for the feature, and trailers for a few other Media Blasters DVD releases. Menus and chapter stops are also included.
The Final Word:
Not quite as flat out fucking loopy as Riot On 42nd Street, Bad Girls Dormitory still hits some pretty high notes and offers up an enjoyably skuzzy, if remarkably poorly made, viewing experience that entertains, often times for all the wrong reasons. Fans of cheapjack exploitation will love it, warts and all, while those looking for something either erotic or sophisticated will likely hurt themselves with this release. Interpret that as a recommendation if you will.
