Review of In Hell (2003) by Kevin H — 21 Sep 2007

I just reviewed another Van Damme movie earlier called Until Death which I thought was Van Damme's best "acting" role of all time....until I saw this.

I know the movie is really un-original other than the whole prize fighting concept to make the warden money, but still Van Damme's character wasn't your typical one we've seen over the years.

The plot is a American construction worker living in Russia named Kyle (Van Damme) comes home to find his wife murdered and days later the killer is set free by the court, enraged Van Damme grabs a nearby policeman's gun and kills the killer, he is then sentenced to life in a Russian prison known for cruel mistreatment of prisoners and in-house fighting.

What intrigued me was Van Damme displayed none of his vaunted martial arts skills but rather than your basic street fighting. This movie reminded me of Bloodsport a lot and they even had the guy who played Paco in Bloodsport in this movie as a prisoner to boot. Watching Van Damme try to keep his sanity while looked up in the sh*thole was really a nice directing job.

The rest of the cast was phenomenal, LT as the philosopher was perfect even when he set the dude in the wheelchair on fire. You also have your gruesome in-house activities such as raping bitches and other stuff I won't get into.

If you're looking for an Oscar winning performance, this ain't it but if you're feeling glum and need to mellow out this is the movie for you. Van Damme's never been better 3 out of 5.