Movie Review: Prison Canings

Producer:
Miss Marchmont (released in 2002) (the DVD can be purchased here)

Entire Story In Fewer Words Than Are In This Sentence:
Prisoners get thrashed because of new corporal punishment law

Victim Appeal:
Writing my recent Bars and Stripes review, I was reminded of this little gem. It is a fabulous video and has a place on my list of Kinky Island Discs. Much of my fondness comes from the interesting cast, three kinky British ladies by the names of Candy Pierce, Emma Carrington and Kate Mc Croy. This is the only film I've seen any of them star in, but it's readily obvious that they are all brave girls with a passion for severe chastisement. Emma Carrington wrote the script herself, and if what I read years ago on the British Spanking Community is correct, one of the victims complained afterwards that the thrashing she received wasn't quite hard enough. That's the spirit!

In any case, the three spankees seem to have put much heart and soul into the production, and it shows. The final result feels like someone's intimate fantasy come to life, a far cry from the assembly line CP action we get from some other companies. The victims' demeanor (I hesitate to say "acting") is natural and unforced. They all look genuinly nervous, scared and subtly excited. The chemistry between tops and bottoms is sublime, with a lot of erotic tension and intense anticipation in the air. As well as that, the girls have a pleasant delinquent-next-door look that fits the setting and is quite beautiful to me, in a quirky sort of way.

Gratuitous Sadism:
Here is the story: in an effort to curb crime, the government introduces a controversial policy. Each convicted criminal is caned immediately upon arrival in prison, and any misbehaviour there also results in corporal punishment. Pierce and Carrington play two new inmates who get the new welcome procedure. In seperate scenes, they are made to strip out of their street clothes, get a fully body search and don their prison uniforms. After that, the girls are tied over a stool and caned on the bare. For the final scene, Mc Croy takes the role of a veteran inmate who is birched for molesting other prisoners.

The action is the real deal and not for the squeamish. The three segments are not overly long, but crisp and effective - a welcome illustration of the fact that CP scenes don't need to show 50 or 100 strokes to venture into seriously severe territory. Quality always surpasses quantity, and a properly applied classic "six of the best" can delight the most fastidious sadist. The two canings here are a prime example: Pierce takes 14 strokes and Carrington 11. Not extravagant amounts, but every single one is unabatedly vicious and given with masterful accuracy. Each girl receives a wonderfully sexy, evenly spread set of stripes, on the verge of drawing blood. Focused and intense, one of my favourite scenario types.

The two doms do a magnificent job and revel in their duties with obvious sadistic glee. While one thrashes the victims with enviable skill, the other ogles their reactions, often squatting in front of the girl, grabbing her hair and holding her head up to savour every grimace and yelp. There is a lot of cruel banter between the prison guards: "Make her jump, I want to see that twist!", "Is she feeling these now?", "I knew she would sing!", "Watch her suffer!" and many similar lines. It's all rather mean and in-your-face, but naturally dominant and not without a sense of subtlety. I certainly found it entertaining.

Best Reactions:
Emma Carrington takes the prize. Not only is she a pretty blonde with gorgeous pleading eyes, she also shows the most satisfying reactions to the punishment: vocal, agitated and thoroughly contrite by the end of it. No surprise that the guards seem very pleased with their work, as one of them even adds a hint of tenderness to his stern routine - taking the girl's face into both of his large hands and stroking her cheek for a moment.

Best Line:
At the end of Candy Pierce's segment, when she has clearly reached the end of her tether, the caner casually asks: "One more for luck?" His buddy replies: "One more for me!"

Nice Psychological Touch:
The second new inmate, played by Carrington, tries to bribe one of the guards. She gives him a (simulated) blowjob in the hope of avoiding the cane. Needless to say, it doesn't work and she ends up getting beaten even harder: "You want to be a slut, you'll be treated like a slut!" As an extra touch, the guards stuff her panties into her mouth as an impromptu gag (she spits it out after a few strokes). Guard number two, who naturally played along with the "bribe attempt", jovially reminds the girl of her foolishness: "I promised. I lied!"

Carrington wrote the script and apparently found it exciting to take on the most "sluttish" role among the three. Catharsis or just tongue-in-cheek fun? Probably the latter, but an interesting little question.

How Good Is It Really?
Miss Marchmont always had fairly high standards, and this is one of their best titles. True, it is a straightforward "women in prison" scenario without any novelty value, but competently filmed and acted. There is a palpable ambition for authenticity and procedure that gives the movie an almost documentary feel. The CP action is pleasantly realistic and severe, too.

What elevates "Prison Canings" to the status of an excellent film, rather than a merely good and interesting one, is the chemistry: all players seem completely absorbed in their roles and I think it is safe to say that everyone involved had a jolly good time. On the surface, the prison setting and no-nonsense plot make for a nicely dark and brooding experience - especially as the girls appear genuinly and understandably nervous through most of it. But underneath, one can sense much edgy fun and excitement. It's very watchable and, as I wrote in the beginning, feels like intimate fantasy come to life - one of those spanking movies where the final result is probably very close to the original vision.

What You Learned:
I hadn't seen "Prison Canings" in years. Digging it up again for the review, I was reminded, once again, that the demise of Miss Marchmont is a very sad loss for the spanking community. Our world became a less interesting place when this talented and all too short-lived team disbanded, and you couldn't say that about every producer.