I went into Hellblock 13 not really knowing what to expect. All I knew about the film was that Debbie Rochon was in it and it was a horror anthology. I've been burnt on watching a random Troma pickup before, so I was a bit weary when putting Hellblock 13 into my DVD player. However, I ended up being pleasantly surprised.

Debbie Rochon stars as Tara, a serial killer on death row. After eating her last meal (raw meat, as she requested), her executioner (Gunnar Hansen, the original Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) stops by to let her know her electric chair's all set up, when Tara begins to tell him that she's an aspiring writer. The fact that she'll be put in the electric chair later excites her, as she feels that it will give her enough publicity to get her stories published. The executioner listens to three tales of Tara's, which make up the segments of the anthology:

"Watery Grave" - A woman drowns her children in an attempt to convince her boyfriend to marry her. It all goes well, until the police become suspicious and her children return from the lake. Very similar to the Leslie Neilsen segment from Creepshow, but it's unfortunately not as good.

"White Trash Love Story" - Heidi Mae is fed up with her wifebeating white trash husband, Joe Mark. She eventually seeks the assistance of a witch that lives across the street from her trailer and concocts a potion to kill Joe Mark. However, a small mistake causes the spell to make Heidi's life even worse.

And the third segment (which the DVD insert does not title, so I won't either) is about a biker gang that's making a drug run with their latest recruit, Chancey. On the way, they stop by a graveyard and dig up the corpse of a legendary biker named Big Rhonda (J.J. North). When their new recruit turns out to be an undercover cop, Rhonda comes to the rescue of her still living friends.

Hellblock 13 is a pleasantly surprising little b-movie. Though there's not much in the way of originality and most of the film is pretty hokey, it's still a pretty fun little film. It kind of reminds me of the horror films that USA Network used to show on weekend afternoons. The cast fares pretty well, with Debbie Rochon delivering an excellent performance as usual. I don't think I've seen a movie with her in it where she didn't do a good job, despite how bad the film is. Gunnar Hansen's acting is a bit too wooden, especially when contrasted against Debbie Rochon, but it's still good to see Leatherface without the mask on.

If you're in for some harmless b-movie fun, pick up Hellblock 13. While it's not the best Troma pickup I've ever seen, it still fares pretty well. It'd also make a great companion piece to Troma's other horror anthologies, like Chillers and Tales From The Crapper.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars