BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Nightmare-Maker If you like anthologies in the style of CREEPSHOW, CREEPSHOW 2 and TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, this is just for you.It feature 3 great little stories (around 20 - 25 minutes each), with a decent wraparound story to it. It has a nice amount of gore in it as well, if that's your thing.All the stories are good...that's the surprising thing - the third just edging it for me.It feature Debbie Rochon (gorgeous as ever) and the original 'LEATHERFACE' Gunnar Hansen, in the wraparound tale which is good in itself.I picked this up off ebay for a really small amount (£1.70, around $3.00) worth every penny, so if this sounds your thing, get on ebay or look on AMAZON.COM,and grab it...you should'nt be disappointed.

Paul Andrews Hellblock 13 starts in a prison as the state executioner (Gunnar Hansen) walks around death row surveying the female inmates. He comes across Tara (Debbie Rochon) a particularly nasty serial killer & someone who is due for execution by electric chair that very day, however Tara wants to leave a legacy behind her. That of a book she has wrote & hopes will be published, she decides to read the executioner some of it...The first story is entitled 'Watery Grave' & has selfish Mother of two Sherry Simpson (Amy R. Swaim) wanting a nice peaceful life with her new, & rich, boyfriend Bob Simms (Kirk Bair) so her kids have to make way. However her offspring want revenge for their untimely deaths...The second segment is called 'White Trash Love Story' & features Heidi Mae (Jennifer Peluso) who is abused & beaten by her husband Joe Mark (David G. Holland) & just has to put up with the black eye's. That is until Heidi Mae discovers that a witch (co-writer Michael R. Smith) lives just across the road...The third & final story goes by the name of 'Big Rhonda' which features a gang of bikers making a drugs pick-up to Mexico when they stop off en-route to pay homage to a former member Big Rhonda (J.J. North) who watches over & protects them...Edited, co-written, co-produced & directed by Paul Talbot I thought Hellblock 13 wasn't a particularly good example of the anthology sub-genre. The script by Talbot, Smith & co-producer Jeffrey Miller misses the point of these anthology films, each story needs to be pacey & have a nice twist ending. Unfortunately these basic requirements are sadly lacking in Hellblock 13. The first story Watery Grave is so predictable it's untrue, you will easily guess what will happen within the first few minutes & it plays out exactly like you anticipate it to. Having said that I think this is the best segment & with a bit more time & better plotting could have made for an effective tale. White Trash Love Story is strange & has little in the way of a twist at the end & I thought this segment was all rather pointless although it's not as predictable as Watery Grave. Then there's Big Rhonda which again I just found too predictable, as soon as the word sacrifice is mentioned I knew the outcome, besides that Big Rhonda is the weakest of the three segments & just dull. All three stories lack any sort of life or effective twists & in this particular type of film that's an absolute killer. The first two stories also deal with unpleasant subject matters, the murder of children & wife beating. I know it's only a film & I'm not against exploitation but these issues sat uneasily with me in such a trivial & poorly made film. On a positive note it's watchable & since each segment only lasts for about 25 minutes it's not that boring.Director Talbot doesn't do anything to distinguish the film & as a whole Hellblock 13 lacks any sort of tension, excitement or atmosphere. The closest it ever comes is in Watery Grave which at least takes place at night & tries to create a spooky mood & I also liked the way the children sent threatening messages by rearranging toy blocks with letters on to spell words. There isn't much blood or gore, a couple of decapitated heads, a few poorly made-up zombies, some green slime vomiting, skin bulging, an awful looking witch & a few stabbings.Hellblock 13 is a poorly made film throughout & deserves the straight-to-video status that it got. The music, special effects, cinematography, sets & general production values are poor. Apparently it was filmed in 1997 but was released in 2000 by Troma which says everything you need to know. The acting is awful from everyone involved but Rochon looks quite nice I suppose.Hellblock 13 is an attempt to make an old school horror anthology like Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965), Asylum (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973), Tales from the Crypt (1972), Creepshow (1982), Creepshow 2 (1987) & Body Bags (1993) but, it goes without saying, it fails although at least it's watchable.

bfan83 Debbie Rochon gave a downright creepy performance as Tara! A serial killer. The stories were all well done. Especially "White Trash Love Story." I never laughed so hard before in my life. But in a good way. The other two stories had goosebumps running up and down my spine. They were all very chilling and suspenseful. But the standout in this movie was Debbie Rochon who gave a performance so chilling I had to turn the light on! Anyways, rent this movie if you're a fan of anthologies and get prepared for a scary, good time.

Are-you-having-your-period This is a great collection, even though it is clearly low budget! It is entertaining throughout, and even though it is clearly low budget, the first and second story holdyour attention throughout, and the third is voyeuristicly entertaining! The girl is the wraparound is beautiful, and is worth renting for her alone! A good collection, well worth renting!