In Hell

 

 

Create your own review

Something happened to Van Damme in the new millennium which very few film goers,other than his hardcore fans,really picked up on.Many of his films became much edgier and in the last decade he has produced some of the best and more compelling films of his career;and In Hell(released June/03) is no exception.This hard edged film starring Van Damme and directed by the eccentric Ringo Lam,is their third collaboration together.The film starts out nice and easy but gets grittier and grittier as the film progresses with terribly graphic and violent action,and populated by some pretty dysfunctional characters.
The plot involves Van Damme as Kyle,an American who works in Russia with a pretty wife.On his way home from work one evening while talking to his better half on the cell phone,their connection is disrupted on her end when she is confronted by an unknown assailant.Kyle hears the struggle and races through the streets to get home.He finds his wife on the floor dead and the perp still in the house.Kyle gives chase but he is cut short by the police who mistake him for the perp.They do end up catching the assailant who goes on trial for the murder of Kyle's wife,but gets off scott-free.Kyle is so despondent at the verdict that outside the courtroom he grabs a security guards gun and shoots the man dead.This leads to Kyle's trial for murder,and of course he gets sent to a Russian prison.
It is a terribly tough environment for inmates in the institution and Kyle,along with other new inmates,quickly learn their place in the prison pecking order.A young man that enters with Kyle is immediately pegged as the "pigeon",shall we say,for one particular prisoners' "delights".Kyle is himself constantly picked on and more often than not,he is sent into confinement in a cold,damp cell through which the prison waste flows.He loses himself eventually,even tries to commit suicide unsuccessfully but after a few visits by a moth(who he believes is his wife),he decides to take on the prison system on its terms and begins to train to fight while in confinement and out.
Fight after fight ensues and Kyle becomes the prisons favourite,bet on by all the prison staff,including the warden.When his young friend eventually succumbs to one too many "encounters",it wakes him up and he decides not to fight a special inmate transferred in from another prison.He is put in chains outside day and night for his disobedience and the prison inmates finally rebel and all refuse to fight.Kyle does not give in and when he is returned to his cell,his cell mate tells him he can get him out and hands him a book listing every murder that the prison staff have committed over the two decades he has been there.Kyle,in order for the escape plan to go through,must fight one more time.The warden has told his guards to kill Kyle after the fight,and when the dust settles and Kyle's nemesis is defeated,he is escorted to a large garage to be driven out of the prison.It is here his cell mate jumps one of the guards which enables Kyle to take care of the other.It's a prison staff car and he makes a clean break out of the prison.His cell mate confronts the warden,tears his tongue out and drinks the wardens blood from a decanter.Due to his diary Kyle gives to the authorities,the prison is shut down two months later.
When you read this scenario you might think,oh great here's another movie where Van Damme karate chops and kicks his way through more film footage.Not the case.What makes this totally UN-Van Damme-ish is the fact that for the first 45 minutes he is constantly getting the crap beat out of him.And when he finally realizes its' better to join them than to beat them,there are few if any fancy karate kicks or spins that you usually associate with him.He's like his fellow prisoners and just uses his fists.There is a startling scene where Van Damme(with scraggy long hair,not like his usual looks),is fighting the man that not only continually hounded HIM,but constantly raped his young friend.The man has got Van Damme down and there is no way he's winning as he is being dragged around the grounds in a delirium.Just when you think the guy is going to deliver Van Damme a final blow,Van Damme pulls it out from somewhere,gets the guy down,jumps on him and chews on the guys neck.The guards pull him off and he turns over screaming with blood all over his face,as if it had brought him back to life,like a vampire.Startling and gross,yes,and doubled in impact(double impact...hmmmm)because it's again not what we expect from him.
Technically speaking this DVD comes in BOTH widescreen and fullscreen,unlike the Amazon blurb which just lists fullscreen.It is also available in Dolby 2.1 or 5.1 sound,with or without subtitles.There is also a 15 minute featurette on the making of the movie.By and large the film is clear and crisp but it does at times get a bit grainy.
All in all this film is one of the most Un-Van Damm-ish movies you will ever see,especially when it involves the amount of physical action this does.It starts out nice and easy but gets edgier and grittier as the film roles along with alot of "ewww" and turn your head moments when the action gets white hot.
This is just one of many of Van Damme's better films from the last decade.He has improved so much over the years as an actor and a director.The trouble is the larger general audience seems to be oblivious to this fact.Maybe his upcoming appearance/exposure in the Expendables 2 will hopefully correct some of that.

Kyle's (Jean Claude Van Damme) wife is murdered and, though the culprit is caught, when the case goes to trial, there's not enough evidence to convict him. Taking matters into his own hands, Kyle kills the man himself right after and is sentenced to life in Krava prison in Russia. Once there, Kyle discovers the crooked warden hosts fighting battles on the grounds and bets with other wardens who bring fighters in from other prisons.

At first content to fight, Kyle makes a name for himself as someone not be messed with, but when a close friend is killed, he decides to lower his hands and fight no longer. Following his example, the other inmates no longer fight as well, and the entire order of the prison is challenged.

But one of the inmates has a secret and in order for the prison to be brought down once and for all, Kyle must step into the ring one last time.

I got to say I was really impressed with this. This was the first Van Damme prison movie I've seen since Death Warrant and, frankly, had a blast watching it. This flick has a strong story and isn't your usual fair of Van Damme merely fighting and winning the "big one" at the end. Instead, it's the story of one man's journey to do what's right inside prison walls and learning when it's time to walk away.

As for the fighting, though, yeah, much more realistic than other JCVD flicks. Lots more wrestling, arm holds, close toe-to-toe stuff, and, dare I say, didn't have a single patented Van Damme 360-kick in it. The matches were also pretty much 50-50 in terms of blows exchanged, instead of Van Damme winning all the fights until the final guy, then gets his butt beat for ten minutes, before having a big comeback where he dominates and wins (with that 360-kick). The fights in this flick were more blow-for-blow, with one guy winning after the other guy gets knocked out.

I really enjoyed this, so if you're in a JCVD mood but also want a good story that sucks you in from the start, In Hell is the way to go.

Recommended.

A.P. Fuchs
Canister X

I saw this movie last night, and all I can say is I'm impressed. I wasn't expecting anything spectacular from this movie, but Van Damme really surprised me. Great acting, a lot of action, and very dramatic at the same time. This one is a great surprise and a must see.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 39 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good prison action/drama
I'm really sick of reading these negative 2 to 1 star reviews of this film by people who are pissed there are no high flying kicks. Read more

Published on July 11 2004 by Sinthetik Devil

5.0 out of 5 stars Please Support This
Please support this movie. In Hell is a movie that attempts to fill it's dark, prison combating with more than meets the eye, and even though In Hell isn't an entirely successful... Read more

Published on Jun 29 2004 by jamespen

4.0 out of 5 stars BEST
i freaking love this movie its one of his best ive seen from this time. Replica was cool and this one was something i wasnt expecting . Read more

Published on Jun 17 2004 by AleX

4.0 out of 5 stars WOW, A fresh Van Damne movie that is good
Van Damne delivers a great new movie, thank god, because if he did another bad movie, and see and hear bad comments, he will prolly call it quits but no he still got it. Read more

Published on Jun 14 2004 by Chase

2.0 out of 5 stars Call it a quits Claudia
Im a big fan of his movies but this shows thats his time is up. he needs to retire. the whole movie, there was no karate moves and it was basically all street fighting. Read more

Published on April 29 2004 by J. Caceres

5.0 out of 5 stars The return of the Silence of the Lam
Van Dammage depicted in a bloodfest, raw with carnage and insanity. If you want a synopsis for this film, you can read any number of reviews below for they all pretty much tell... Read more

Published on April 9 2004 by Shadowrun

1.0 out of 5 stars Every time when I think it can't get any worse, it does.
I used to be a big Van Damme's fan, and still love Blood Sport, Cyborg, and other "old" movies. Read more

Published on April 1 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Van Dammage
I've read some critical reviews of this movie, and I realize the frustration. People who pick up a Van Damme movie expect high-kicking martial arts, and 'In Hell' is not... Read more

Published on Mar 28 2004 by Shadowrun

1.0 out of 5 stars Van Damme is washed up.
All of Van Damme's latest movies seem to be weak, and this is just another one with weak storyline and fights. Read more

Published on Feb 29 2004 by S. Kuy

4.0 out of 5 stars Animal Regret
Jean Claude Van Damme's Kyle LeBlanc character is interesting. He's apparently passionate enough to execute his wife's killer after the courts let the killer free. Read more

Published on Feb 17 2004 by Lee Armstrong

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 39 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!