prison be set in wyoming where work on a new prison have hit a problem so the state board decide to re open an old state penitentiary that have be close for 20 year and warden eaton sharpe ( lane smith ) be put in charge . 200 odd prisoner be ship in and they be put to work fix the rundown prison up include burke ( viggo mortensen ) who be order to break into the old execution chamber and he duly oblige but when he penetrate the bricked up door an intense beam of light shoot out and all the electric and gas and fire around the prison go crazy for a few minute . burke have unwittingly unleash a deadly evil force which be in the mood for some killing and no one be safe . direct by renny harlin i think prison be a poor late 80 horror flick that seem to forget about the small point of have a story . the script be by empire picture regular c. courtney joyner who be responsible for write such classic a class of 1999 ( 1990 ) and puppet master iii represent toulon revenge ( 1991 ) and puppet master vs. demonic toy ( 2004 ) amongst other low budget horror crap that even i haven not hear of and seem to take itself very seriously . the big problem i have with prison be that it far too slow and it over 30 minute into the film before the evil force be even release although the pace do pick up towards the end but by then it be too little too late as far a i be concern and then there the fact there no discernible storyline here at all . for a start it never try to explain why there an evil force bricked up in the old execution chamber and it never explain why this force decide to kill random inmate when it suppose to be out on a revenge mission or why it just doesn not kill warden sharpe straight away and no explanation be give to where burke fit into it even though he look exactly the same a the prisoner who be electrocute and have come back and there no real explanation a to how the warden be connect to everything that go on apart from two early nightmare sequence in which he seem to be remember something although it never reveal what it be or why . to be honest i couldn not really give you a plot synopsis a the film doesn not have a rigid story which it follow all the way through . the character be dull and forgettable and the murder be few and far between and the pacing be way off and the whole film be a mess and even ghost can not shoot straight when it come to try to shoot the hero . a less than satisfactory way to spend 100 odd minute and there really be good thing you could be do . director harlin full american flick debut he do a good job and there a decent atmosphere but after over an hour of constant drab and dull and dark prison cell and corridor i start to get bore . i just think the look of the film be far too repetitive and bland and frankly lifeless . i do not think it be scary and the gore be pretty tame apart from the best moment in the entire film when a police guard get kill when a load of barb wire wrap itself around his body and face with a nice close up of his throat be torn open . other than that there a burnt corpse and a mangle body which fall from the ceiling and very little else . there be a scene when the warden burn all the prisoner mattress in front of them and then make them stand all night in their underwear in the yard and i be watch this scene and think that you would never get away with do something like that . over here prisoner have right and if the warden do something like that there would be a national outcry from all those humanitarian and every prisoner would sue the warden and the prison service and the government for everything they have and they would win . with a supposed budget of about $ 4 and 000 and 000 prison actually have a pretty healthy budget although it doesn not really look like it on screen and sure there a decent cast and the few special effect that be include be good but overall it set in the same location with limited ambition . prison be actually shoot in a real wyoming state prison so it certainly look the business . the acting be alright and prison prof that sometimes hollywood star not only have one crap horror film skeleton in their closet but in the case of mortensen he have two with this and the awful the return of the texas chainsaw massacre ( 1994 ) both of which i be sure he would like to forget about . prison be a dull and lifeless and colourless and humourless waste of 100 minute and despite one good gore scene i do not like it at all a i actually prefer my film to have a story rather than seemingly random event and incident cobble together with no narrative sense .