Sweet young innocent Michelle (a winningly perky performance by gorgeous blonde Shari Shattuck) gets sent to a brutal women's penitentiary on a trumped-up bank robbery charge. While serving hard time in the joint Michelle runs afoul of both mean corrupt warden Diane (veteran B-movie actress Angel Tompkins in peak ruthless form) and ferocious predator Rita (essayed with lip-smacking wicked relish by the foxy Christina Whitaker). Writer/director Paul Nicholas tells the entertainingly trashy story at a brisk pace and maintains a perfectly seamy tone throughout. Moreover, Nicholas does an ace job of covering all the satisfyingly scuzzy babes-behind bars bases: A generous amount of tasty gratuitous female nudity, lesbianism, a group shower set piece (natch), a leering pervert racist rapist guard (a deliciously disgusting portrayal by Nick Benedict), a few fierce catfights, and the inevitable climactic riot. This movie further benefits from sound work by Lucinda Crosby as eager rookie guard Rhonda, Stacey Shaffer as friendly and spunky ex-junkie Amy, John Terlesky as Michelle's wormy sleazeball boyfriend Willy, Faith Minton as fearsome top con Sheila, and Aude Charles as tough black inmate ringleader Brenda. Hal Trussell's glossy cinematography provides an appropriately glittery sheen. Christopher L. Stone's syncopated score hits the funky pulsating spot. Recommended viewing for fans of this ever-worthwhile exploitation cinema sub-genre.

I love campy movies like this. The dialogue is a hoot, the scenes of women in jail are so preposterous but who cares? It's a cheap thrill to watch women slap, stab, pull hair and lez out. Even the warden (Angel Thompkins) is a hot babe who gets off being sadistic. In my opinion Faith Minton steals this picture as tough inmate who looks like she just came off of the pro-wrestling circuit. She has the best lines in the movie, my favorite being when she tells a muslim inmate "Nothing you sh#$heads do concerns me!" Sit back, watch and turn your brain off and you will have a good time. Yes, the language is quite foul but when there is this much unintended comedy it loses it shock value. Not the best of this genre (Chained Heat, Concrete Jungle) but close.

Standard fare about female criminals and a female penitentiary certainly doesn't have the best acting in the world and relies heavily on predictable material. Why bother?

"The Naked Cage" is a textbook anthology of "Women-In-Prison Drama" cliches (innocent heroine, sadistic warden, lesbianism, catfights, stabbings, riots, etc.). Watching it, you feel as if you're wallowing in a cesspool, and the fact that leading actress Shari Shattuck is not believable for a minute certainly doesn't help matters. At least Christina Whitaker is spirited and fun as the "wild" Rita. (*1/2)