Netflix's original title The Platform puts the terror of being locked away at the forefront of viewers' minds, especially since it was released in the midst of people being trapped due to quarantine. The movie itself is also one of the most relevant discussions of hoarding amidst isolation and one of the most terrifying examples of imprisonment as well.
The idea of prison is awful on a general level because of real-life systems, but watching different ideas of being locked away is a horrific experience with the right director. With this in mind, let's take a look back at the worst movie prisons to be sent to.
When one considers Face/Off, sci-fi usually isn't the first thought that comes to mind considering most of the movie feels grounded--except for the face swap plot. That said, as most fans will remember, Face/Off had a prison sequence that floated science fiction ideas. And the logistics seemed terribly unstable in concept.
Mainly because all that separates one person from not killing the other person in a horrifying way is a magnetic boot, which keeps all the prisoners at bay from one control box. And if things get dicey--as they did in the movie--the island still has one trapped. Plus, if one misbehaves, the guards juice the culprit with what seems to be shock therapy. In summary, this island prison is not the Four Seasons.
Just like The Shawshank Redemption, Frank Darabont's second Stephen King adaptation The Green Mile was anything but a pleasant portrayal of a prison. And the inmates sitting on death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary have quite an unstable environment. Not even Paul (played by Tom Hanks) can make it seem comfortable.
Between entitled grown-up brats like Percy Wetmore and "Wild Bill" Wharton, getting locked up in "the mile" puts one at risk of being executed in a horrifying manner or getting peed on by Sam Rockwell. But hey, at least John Coffey might save the day.
The Dark Knight Trilogy's greatest theme was overcoming fear and with the third entry, Bruce Wayne had to finally accept that fear as being a weapon to survive by climbing out of Bane's Pit without a rope. Between a broken back and being in an inescapable hole, The Pit gave even Batman a sense of hopelessness. And while Christopher Nolan might have got a few things wrong about Batman, The Pit was exceptionally realized.
Because of this, this prison would easily be a psychological battle for the common man. Having no sunlight or any means of seeing the outside world, and knowing the time of day except by peering up at unattainable freedom would be a claustrophobic nightmare.
Of course, how does one make a prison list without including The Platform itself? As stated, the film dives into themes about classism with the person at the top eating the best and the person at the bottom withering away-- and the Vertical Self-Management Center is a test that no one seems to pass. Even the main character Goreng flirts with cannabilism to survive.
Between questionable platform roommates, monthly level changes that make participants hope for a higher level each month, and 200 plus stories of pure anxiety--the Vertical Self-Management Center is the antithesis of peace and tranquility.
The film Escape from New York is a masterclass on how to make a high-concept film on a small budget. It's also a uniquely terrifying vision of what a large scale prison could be.
The 1981 film by John Carpenter with Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken, depicted Manhattan as being a free for all area for anyone convicted of a crime to do as they pleased--murder, mayhem, etc. If wrongfully convicted, this place would make San Quentin seem like Chuck E. Cheese.
Demolition Man is such a fantastic throwback full of hilarious futuristic ideas. This included iconic concepts such as The Three Seashells, citations for cussing, Taco Bell being the only remaining restaurant, and so many more. But one futuristic idea that sounded horrible when thinking about it further was the cryo prison.
In the film, John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) gets placed in a prison where people remain frozen in a block of ice for years. And Spartan makes the claim he was awake watching his wife beat against the ice devastated for the whole sentence. This means he was self-aware for decades wide awake in below-freezing temperatures. Just imagine being ice cold for 40 years and unable to do anything.
Azkaban from the Harry Potter franchise has to be the worst prison imaginable. If Azkaban were real, it would be the ultimate punishment. If someone is sentenced to life in Azkaban, they will find any sense of happiness and safety quickly sucked out of their souls from the guards, the dementors.
Ultimately a version of purgatory, one that has no way out, there is nothing to bring hope to this place that is known for sucking out inmates' souls slowly and taking away any chance of hope, which is the worst part of all. Azkaban doesn’t just threaten the physical body, it destroys the inner self.
The Shawshank Redemption is a movie about hope but Shawshank Prison itself is anything but a hopeful environment. And while some of the prison inmates make it seem survivable, the people who run the prison make it feel like a 20-year version of hell for Andy Dufresne.
Throughout Andy's time in the prison, he gets sexually assaulted, inmates get beaten to death, or to the point they can no longer function, people get killed to cover things up, and corruption within the system is rampant. Thankfully, Morgan Freeman's narration makes it easy to wash down.
The South Korean mystery/thriller Oldboy has many disturbing aspects. Some of them are extremely violent, some of them we can't speak of because it breaches spoiler territory. But one of the most haunting aspects of Oldboy is Dae-Su's forced imprisonment inside a hotel room with no windows for fifteen years.
The film (directed by Park Chan-wook) featuring a prison cell/faux hotel room takes social distancing to the absolute extreme, with Dae-Su having zero human contact, sunlight, or explanation to the purpose of his isolation. Plus, being gassed every night takes a toll on the human condition. The motivation behind him being kidnapped and isolated makes it easily one of the worst prison moments in cinematic history.
The 2008 french film Martyrs is not for the faint of heart. It's brutal, excessively violent, and borderline traumatizing to behold. And at the film's peak point of brutality, it becomes downright unbearable.
In the film, a family has a secret underground prison chamber underneath their house run by a society that tortures victims to the point of achieving spiritual enlightenment. And nothing about the film's final act seems euphoric at all. The protagonist Anna who the audience hopes will escape gets put through some of the worst torture in the prison chamber imaginable and the result is nightmarish.
