As a devoted fan of horror/exploitation cinema, the luckiest you can probably get is by attending the world-premiere of a title that might eventually grow out to become a cult classic. I'm honestly not sure if "Escape" will ever become one, but it certainly has the potential and the entertainment value for it! And should it become a cult classic, I'll be even prouder to say I was there at the world premiere in Belgium, at a lovely little genre festival and in the presence of the director and a large part of the cast.
"Escape" is basically an upgrade of the nasty and cruel "Women in Prison/Hunting Humans" exploitation sub-genre of the 70s and early 80s, in which beautiful girls - in torn clothes and with their breasts hanging out - were beaten, raped, hunted, and killed by sadist prison wardens of perverted yokels. Luckily, times have evolved. The girls here aren't hysterical bimbos that run around like headless chickens anymore, but strong and organized power-women that fight back with a plan.
In Fuerteventura, a criminal gang is targeting attractive young (and exclusively blond) young women on holiday, brutally kidnap them, and lock them up in the basement of a secluded villa in the desert until the group is big enough to ship them off on a container ship to overseas customers. The girls, and especially Karla and Lucy, manage to stay relatively calm given the circumstances, and await the first chance they'll get to escape.
Writer/director Howard J. Ford clearly knows and loves the genre. He knows very well what type of "evil" men to cast as the villains. You know, creeps with scars, eye-patches, and terrible dental hygiene that disrespectfully gaze at women as if they are cold beers on a hot summer day. The girls are obviously cast primarily on their good looks and bikini-bodies, but it's fantastic to see how they also have brains and a strong will to survive. "Escape" - too bad about the numeric title - also features several tense moments, exhilarating action, and a handful of shocking scenes. Of course, there are defaults as well, like the clichéd traumas some of the girls are dragging along, but they are not too bothersome. In my humble opinion a movie like "Escape" is successful if you can barely stop yourself from yelling encouraging stuff to the girls on the screen. That was the case for me during "Escape". I dare you NOT to cheer for the girl holding the scissors to do "her thing" during the climax. You simply can't.
"Escape" is basically an upgrade of the nasty and cruel "Women in Prison/Hunting Humans" exploitation sub-genre of the 70s and early 80s, in which beautiful girls - in torn clothes and with their breasts hanging out - were beaten, raped, hunted, and killed by sadist prison wardens of perverted yokels. Luckily, times have evolved. The girls here aren't hysterical bimbos that run around like headless chickens anymore, but strong and organized power-women that fight back with a plan.
In Fuerteventura, a criminal gang is targeting attractive young (and exclusively blond) young women on holiday, brutally kidnap them, and lock them up in the basement of a secluded villa in the desert until the group is big enough to ship them off on a container ship to overseas customers. The girls, and especially Karla and Lucy, manage to stay relatively calm given the circumstances, and await the first chance they'll get to escape.
Writer/director Howard J. Ford clearly knows and loves the genre. He knows very well what type of "evil" men to cast as the villains. You know, creeps with scars, eye-patches, and terrible dental hygiene that disrespectfully gaze at women as if they are cold beers on a hot summer day. The girls are obviously cast primarily on their good looks and bikini-bodies, but it's fantastic to see how they also have brains and a strong will to survive. "Escape" - too bad about the numeric title - also features several tense moments, exhilarating action, and a handful of shocking scenes. Of course, there are defaults as well, like the clichéd traumas some of the girls are dragging along, but they are not too bothersome. In my humble opinion a movie like "Escape" is successful if you can barely stop yourself from yelling encouraging stuff to the girls on the screen. That was the case for me during "Escape". I dare you NOT to cheer for the girl holding the scissors to do "her thing" during the climax. You simply can't.
