Hellblock 13 (1999) User Reviews

Low budget horror anthology. Not that good.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 22 January 2006]

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.

He hit me with a porterhouse. I just can't take it anymore.

[lastliberal · 4/10 · 13 July 2008]

Tales of murder and horror written by a serial killer (Debbie Rochon) on death row.

The first is a Susan Smith tale of a woman (Amy R. Swaim) who drowned her kids because her boyfriend didn't like children. No life-in-prison for her, or the boyfriend. BWahaha!

The next story is a redneck husband who beats his wife (Jennifer Peluso). Fortunately there is a witch living across the street. Unfortunately, the girl doesn't follow instructions very well.

Debbie ends with a story of a biker gang who perform a bizarre ceremony in a graveyard. Jasi Cotton Lanier and Brittany-Anne put on a spectacular show amidst the strange rituals. In the end Rhonda (Jennifer Peluso, again) does her job.

What a wild ending!

Surprisingly, I liked it.

[reiss-ferlance · 5/10 · 31 May 2006]

Hellblock 13- I first watched it on The Horror Channel in the U.K.. I found it quite interesting. The storyline is quite unusual-A crazed female serial killer is getting the electric chair, the executioner (played by Gunnar Henssen, whom most of us remember from the Texas Chainsaw) is disgusted by the woman- Tara. She reads him some stories that she has written. The stories were quite interesting and good. The first story-"Watery Grave-" is about a woman who drowns her 2 children so she can live with her rich boyfriend without them, but her 2 children rise from the grave as zombies and want revenge. Watery Grave is the best story out of the three. The second story is called "White Trash Love Story." This story is about a woman who is abused by her husband. She tries to change him by getting help from a witch (the witch prefers to be called alchemist) but that goes horribly wrong.White Trash was quite funny and the story was good, but not as good as the first story The final story was called "Big Rhronda." A group of bikers dig up a body of a girl called Rhronda. Rhronda was the least entertaining story out of all the three, but still O.K.. The unusual nature of the storyline is what partly made this film good. The acting is O.K.. but not great. So overall I'd give Hellblock 13 3 stars out of 5. ***/*****

This film just plain reeks...

[Cemetery Man · 24 June 2002]

Jailed serial killer (Rochon) spins three horror yarns to her executioner in a haunted prison cellblock. The film as whole just plain reeks of mediocrity, the acting, sets and special effects are below even b-movie standards. The only saving grace is the performances of Rochon and Hansen and the second story which is tolerable.

For Debbie Rochon fans only!

[zmaturin · 1/10 · 17 April 2000]

Let it be said: This movie isn't very good. It runs the gamut from boring to stupid to ugly to cheap. Sometimes it achieves all four of those things at once.

It's an anthology flick with three short stories, but they move so slow you'll feel like you're watching a six hour pain-fest. In the first unengaging tale, a woman's kids are missing, and some dull things happen. Then there's "White Trash Love Story", by default the best segment in the movie, although it moves so slow you'll be asleep before the pretty good effects at the climax. Then there's the embarrassing tale of the over-age bikers who try to resurrect the late "Big Rhonda", mainly through some "hot" girl-on-girl action.

The film's saving grace is the beautiful Debbie Rochon's fun performance as the jailed serial killer Tara, who spins the pathetic tales of "terror". Luckily this movie is available on DVD, so you can skip directly to her parts in the movie.

But you're not gonna wanna even watch that much, because this movie really stinks. It falls below even Troma's admittedly low quality standards. Perhaps if they packed it with ideas like "Tromeo & Juliet" and gave it a sense of humor it would have been bearable, but as it stands, it is a big juicy crap burger.

K-e-r-a-p

[NowDoINotLikeThat · 1/10 · 5 October 2006]

Now don't get me wrong i do love my ham low-budget and low-brow horror but this is really quite wack stuff even at your most haphazard silly level. Three relatively boring short stories told by a woman on death-row to her prison guard just before her execution.... incidentally the girl who's on death-row who tells the "stories" is fit and ...er...yeh...is probably about the only decent thing in this forgettable film. The three short stories that are told are simply very ,very , very weak stuff and frankly just straight up uninteresting. The first story is so painfully acted by everyone involved its a relief once it's over ...the mundane "suspense" of the story isn't helped by some awful camera continuity , wack editing . The one highlight admittedly is the slightly amusing second short story of a wife beating redneck....completely silly and seemingly made-up as they were filming storyline is reprived by it's bemusing off-the-wall ending. Third story...i dnno some biker devilish cult malarky promises something but again ends up crap.

Overall it's mostly an uninteresting , generally non-sensical bunch of stories filmed badly and directed badly , edited and sequenced in a way that struggles to convey any decent viewing. It really isn't worth the time or effort to make even the most passive of viewing ...even at this most botchit level of low-budget horror.

the talents of Debbie Rochon go to waste in this sea of tedium

[movieman_kev · 2/10 · 29 March 2009]

A psychotic serial killer (the delectable Debbie Rochon who sadly keeps her clothes on throughout the film) on death row, regales her potential executioner (old Leatherface himself, Gunnar Hansen) with three horror stories.

The first is about a sad pathetic woman who drowns her kids (she's under the impression that her boyfriend didn't like them) only to get her just desserts when the duo of drowned tykes arise from their watery grave for revenge. This was the most predictable, and dare I say boring, of the three stories. Over-acted by all and I just couldn't get into it. It was reminiscent of Creepshow's 'Something to Tide you over' segment, but not nearly as good or entertaining.

The second story, and best if only by default, features a battered wife who's at the end of her rope when she decides to visit the local witch of the neighborhood for help. Of course unsurprisingly, things don't go exactly as planned. This was a bit better then the dreary first one, but still wasn't halfway decent. I enjoyed the acting a tad better, but the horror expect of it doesn't really come into play until the tale is almost over. This one would've been more suited for an, particularly lesser, episode of the beloved "Monsters" series.

The last tale has to do with a bizarre & sacrilegious ritual that's performed by a group of bikers and also centers on the gang's newest member who may not be who he seems. While this final story was kind of on the boring side, at least it had tits to liven things up. Trust me I don't usually fixate on such a base thing as that and tend to prefer decent characterization, good acting and an interesting story, but hey any port in the storm as they say. The film concludes with the wraparound featuring a laugh/cackle that is repeated and like nails on a chalkboard to listen to. Drector/Writer/Producer Paul Talbot sure likes horror anthologies, this being his third one, you would think that he'd get better at them. He hasn't...

Eye Candy: Roxanne Micheals & an unknown actress get topless and lightly make-out

My Grade: D

A nice'n'nasty little low-budget horror anthology romp

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 14 August 2006]

I was a big fan of Paul Talbot's enthusiastically gory debut horror anthology feature "Campfire Tales," so I naturally watched this follow-up fright film omnibus outing expecting a pleasingly gruesome and straightforward ghoulish good time. Fortunately, this lowdown gritty affair doesn't disappoint, for it measures up as a nice'n'nasty little low-budget indie winner.

The sturdy wraparound segments center on Tara (a fabulously fiery'n'feisty performance by gorgeous Troma movie regular Debbie Rochon), a deranged murderess who's about to have that fatal onetime only sitting on Old Sparky. Prior to getting strapped, capped and zapped, Tara whiles away her last few hours on earth relating a trio of scary stories inspired by the tortured souls of past inmates to her mean, cruelly impassive jailhouse executioner (gruffly essayed by Gunnar Hansen; Leatherface in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"). First and most unnerving yarn - A young mother shows no concern whatsoever when her two kids mysteriously disappear. The hideously bloated and grotesque spirits of the drowned tots start haunting their mom's dreams and eventually exact a harsh revenge. Second and most ironic vignette - A battered trailerpark housewife uses witchcraft to rid herself of her viciously abusive jerk hick husband, only for things to go disastrously awry -- her brutish hubs transforms from a figurative monster into a literal one! Third and most delightfully trashy anecdote - A rowdy biker gang en route to an annual Mexico drug run stop off at a cemetery to pay their respects to legendary bad-a** motorcycle mama Big Rhonda (busty blonde babe J.J. North). After the expected excessive boozing, doping and making out, Big Rhonda's body comes to life as a gnarled machete-wielding zombie so it can kill the undercover cop posing as one of the dirtbag chopper hounds.

Director/co-screenwriter/co-editor Paul Talbot directs with tremendous flair and gusto: he keeps the pace constantly brisk, creates a perfectly spooky atmosphere, lays on the graphic bloodshed by the gleefully explicit bucketful, and stages the shock scenes with lip-smacking brio. Better still, the general tone is grimly serious, with amusingly warped touches of pitch-black humor sprinkled throughout. Paul Cornwell's rough, grainy cinematography contributes greatly to the overall flesh-crawling ooga booga creepiness. Ditto the spare, shivery synthesizer score by Andrew Scott Foust, Eric Martin and Kirk Luther. And the expertly used South Carolina locations give the picture a deliciously tart'n'tangy downhome regional flavor.

Debbie kills it ,fhis is indie horror

[darkoneskip · 7/10 · 10 March 2019]

This was an amazing anthology. I normally dont like em but this one was great and gunner and debbie very cool stuff here needs to be seen. Check ot out

Great Anthology Fun

[Nightmare-Maker · 8/10 · 29 July 2008]

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.

Great horror anthology from the folks at Troma.

[bfan83 · 22 December 2003]

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.

A great collection of horror stories, despite the low budget!

[Are-you-having-your-period · 8/10 · 7 August 2002]

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!

I was Tromafied

[bozotheripper · 19 June 2001]

If you are a true Troma fan,you will love this movie. Debbie Rochan showed a great performance. Gunnar Hansen,the original Leatherface, also makes a appearance as their warden. Most of the stories are like most Troma movies with multiple tales of terror(such as chillers), they have a story that is all right and interesting. But they all have a real good ending. Also the ending of the main story is an excellent climax. I give it a 97/100

HellBlock 13

[BHorrorWriter · 19 August 2002]

I had heard nothing but good things about this film, so being a Troma and Debbie Rochon fan, I picked up the DVD. Truthfully, I was expecting the sick-out, slapstick, comedy that Troma delivered with a vengeance in TERROR FIRMER, but it was not here. And I was very happy. I loved TERROR FIRMER, but I wanted a true, back-to-the-roots horror story. This is exactly what you get with HELLBLOCK 13.

This anthology movie consists of 3 dark and twisted tales told by a female serial killer (Debbie Rochon), before her execution. Each story is starightforward and to the point. The horror is there, though at times the gore is lacking. And at times the originality is not there.

Story #1: A mother drowns her two children so she can have the life that she wants, with her new boyfriend. However, things don't go accordign to plan when her children arise from their watery grave to seek revenge.

This was a pretty decent short. The atmosphere of this film was creepy and the story disturbing. However, this story has bee told before, in different films, in different ways. Still, a good horror yarn.

Story #2: White Trash Love Story--An abused 19 year-old white trash girl is married to an abusive, redneck husband. Sick of all the beating and berratings, Hedie Mae seeks the help of a neighborhood witch to solve her problem. Though, things don't work out as planned!

This was a good story as well. Though at times a little slow, it still worked. The witch costume was lame and looked really cheap and cheesy, but the ironic twist of the story was delievered like a punch to the stomach.

Story #3: Big Rhonda--A biker gang, on a run to Mexico to pick up dope, make a pit stop in a "Biker Graveyard" to preform a ritual to their own diety. A bad-ass biker chick who died many years ago in a terrible accident. Big Rhonda! Though, there newest member, Chaney, isn't exactly who they though the was. But Rhonda knows!

The longer of the three stories, this one was pretty good, though lacked in the scary and creepiness of the other two stories. However, this was one of those stories that leads up to an ending. Not alot BS or filler. It is a story with a quick, complete ending, that isn't really explained. It keeps you wondering!

Overall, this is a good movie, with some good stories. At times it does seem like you're watching an episode of Tales From the Crypt, with a smaller budget. Still, the stories are acceptable and the end...between Debbie Rochon and Gunnar Hansen is In Your Face Creepy and and excellent end to these tales.

8 out of 10