''Prison'' is a 1987

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Renny Harlin Renny Harlin (born 15 March 1959) is a Finnish film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter who has made his career in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood and Cinema of China, China. His best-known films include ''A Nightmare on Elm ...

and starring

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. R (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist. Born and raised in the State of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he also lived in Argentin ...

Tom Everett Tom Everett (born October 21, 1948) is an American actor known for his performances in political films such as ''Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft c ...

Kane Hodder Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Americ ...

Lane Smith Walter Lane Smith III (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor. His well-known roles included newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', Walter Warner in ''Son in Law'', coll ...

, and

Tommy Lister Tommy Deebo "Tiny" Lister Jr. (born Thomas Duane Lister Jr.; June 24, 1958 – December 10, 2020) was an American character actor and occasional professional wrestler known for his roles as the neighborhood bully Deebo in the 1995 film ''Friday ...

. It was filmed at the Old State Prison in

Rawlins, Wyoming Rawlins is a city in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carbon County. It was named for Union General John Aaron Rawlins, who camped in the locality in 1867. Demographics ...

, with many residents on the cast and crew.

Plot

In 1956, inmate Charlie Forsythe of Creedmore Prison was executed via electric chair for a murder he did not commit. When Creedmore Prison is reopened after thirty years, Charlie Forsythe returns from the afterlife to exact revenge on Ethan Sharpe (

) – the officer who stood by as Forsythe was executed. Inmate Burke (

) and all other inmates soon realize that they will all be slaughtered unless Forsythe is allowed to repay his long-standing debt.

Cast

Prison Staff *

Chelsea Field Chelsea Field is an American actress. Career Field started her career as a Solid Gold Dancer, and one of her first television roles was on ''Airwolf''. She also played Teela in the 1987 film adaptation of ''Masters of the Universe''. She b ...

as Katherine Walker *

as Warden Ethan Sharpe * Arlen Dean Snyder as Captain Carl Horton *

Hal Landon Jr. Hal Landon Jr. is an actor most notable for portraying Ted's Dad in the ''Bill & Ted'' franchise. In 1986, he appeared in Highway to Heaven. Life He was a member of the South Coast Repertory in Orange County, California, most notably playing th ...

as Wallace * Matt Kane as Johnson Prisoners *

as Burke *

Lincoln Kilpatrick Lincoln Kilpatrick (February 12, 1932 – May 18, 2004) was an American film, television, and stage actor. Biography Career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Kilpatrick attended Lincoln University and earned a degree in drama before he began acting. ...

as Cresus *

as Rabbitt * Ivan Kane as Joe 'Lasagna' Lazano *

André DeShields André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...

as Sandor *

as Tiny * Stephen Little as 'Rhino' Reynolds * Mickey Yablans as Brian Young *

Larry "Flash" Jenkins Larry "Flash" Jenkins (May 10, 1955 – April 25, 2019) was an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life, family and education Jenkins was born on Long Island, New York. He graduated from Fenger High School in C ...

as Hershey *

as Charlie Forsythe * Joseph Garcia as inmate getting hair cut

Production

The film was shot on location at the former

Wyoming State Penitentiary The Wyoming State Penitentiary is a historic and current prison in Rawlins, Carbon County, Wyoming, which has operated from 1901. It moved within Rawlins to a new location in 1981. In 2018, it is a Wyoming Department of Corrections state maximu ...

. The facility had been vacant since its closure in 1981 after the construction of a new State Penitentiary, and was made freely available for film production after producer

Irwin Yablans Irwin Yablans (born July 25, 1934) is an American independent film producer and distributor known for his work in the horror film industry. His brother, Frank Yablans, was also a producer. Life and career Yablans was born to a Jewish family ...

approached the State during a search for abandoned prison facilities as the setting for a prison horror movie. Because the facility was slated for demolition, little regard was given for its preservation, and the production crew was offered free license to make permanent, oftentimes destructive modifications as necessary. This included drilling a large passage through the prison's reinforced concrete perimeter wall, which was mocked up as a vehicle gate for the film. A majority of the extras portraying prisoners were real-life inmates of the Wyoming State Penitentiary, including former stuntman Stephen E. Little, who was serving a sentence of manslaughter at the time. His

SAG SAG, SAg, or sag may refer to: Land formations * Sag (geology), or ''trough'', a depressed, persistent, low area * Sag pond, a body of water collected in the lowest parts of a depression People * Ivan Sag (1949–2013), American linguist ...

membership dues were paid and current, and he was cast in a speaking role as "Rhino." The execution chamber shown in the film is the Penitentiary's original

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. Histor ...

, which replaced hanging after 1936 as the legal method of execution for condemned criminals in the State. The chamber was never used for electrocutions in reality.

Release

The film was given a limited theatrical release in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

by the Eden Distributing Company in March 1988. It grossed $354,704 at the box office. The film was released in 1988 on VHS by

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...

. It had originally been released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

overseas, but not in the United States, save for bootlegs. However, on February 19, 2013, Shout! Factory released the first official

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...

and DVD and the first through their new subdivision

Scream Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

References

External links

* * * * {{Renny Harlin 1987 horror films 1987 films Films set in 1956 American supernatural horror films Empire International Pictures films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Renny Harlin Films produced by Irwin Yablans Films set in prison Films scored by Richard Band Films shot in Wyoming American ghost films 1980s prison films 1980s American films Films about miscarriage of justice