Reform School Girls – Vinegar Syndrome (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1986
Director: Tom DeSimone
Writers: Tom DeSimone, Daniel Arthur Wray, Jack Cummins
Cast: Linda Carol, Wendy O. Williams, Pat Ast, Sybil Danning, Charlotte McGinnis, Sherri Stoner, Denise Gordy, Laurie Schwartz, Tiffany Helm, Darcy DeMoss

Release Date: March 29th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 94 Minutes 29 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $39.98

"The Pridemore Juvenile Detention Facility isn’t just a place for troubled teenage girls to serve their time. Instead, it’s a living hell filled with sexual depravity and violence. Jenny, a fresh inmate, becomes the de facto protector of Lisa, an innocent young girl forced to be a plaything to anyone after her body. Then there’s Charlie, a hardened teenaged lesbian who torments her fellow prisoners through brutal acts of sexual sadism. But no one instills more fear in even the toughest girls than the sadistic Edna who, with a blind eye turned by money-hungry Warden Sutter, delights in terrorizing her beautiful prisoners. However, the girls have had enough and things are about to change at Pridemore…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm interpositive."

Reform School Girls comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.3 GB

Feature: 26 GB

The source used for this transfer looks impeccable. Color saturation, image clarity, contrast, and shadow detail are solid, and the grain looks organic.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English, and included with this release are removable English SDH subtitles. The audio sounds excellent, the dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and appropriately robust.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, theatrical trailer #1 (2 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), theatrical trailer #2 (56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), video footage from the play Women Behind Bars (22 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with author and critic Breanna Whipple on the life and career of actress Wendy O. Williams titled Ode to Wendy (6 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), an interview with theatrical producer Alan Eichler titled Pat Ast Superstar (7 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), a four-part making-of documentary featuring brand new interviews with cast and crew: part one (10 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), part two (11 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), part three (16 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), and part four (16 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), an archival commentary track with writer/director Tom DeSimone, an audio commentary with Queer film historian Elizabeth Purchell and an embossed slipcover limited to 5,000 units.

Summary:

The Reform School Girls was directed by Tom DeSimone, whose other notable films include Hell Night, The Concrete Jungle, and Angel III: The Final Chapter.

Though Tom DeSimone had previously worked in the WIP (Women in Prison) genre before Reform School Girls, his other WIP film, The Concrete Jungle, is more in line with what one expects from this genre, while Reform School Girls is a tonally polar opposite film that's overflowing with camp.

From its opening moments, it becomes clear that beautiful women parading around in various stages of undress and catfights are going to play a significant role in the story at hand. With the scene that introduces all the girls in the dormitory, perfectly setting the tone for what follows.

The entire cast all delivered enthusiastic performances, especially Wendy O. Williams, who’s essentially portraying her persona from her band Plasmatics. That said, the most memorable performance is Pat Ast’s delirious portrayal of Edna, the head matron at the Pridemore juvenile detention facility. Another performance of note is Sybil Danning (Chained Heat) in the role of the warden.

From a production standpoint, there’s not an area where Reform School Girls does not deliver and then some. There’s rarely a dull moment, and a very satisfying finale provides the perfect coda. Another strength is the visuals, which do a phenomenal job of reinforcing the mood. Ultimately, Reform School Girls is a highly entertaining mix of exploitation and camp.

Reform School Girls gets a definitive release from Vinegar Syndrome, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer