merklekranz This television exploitation movie is certainly entertaining, but relentlessly downbeat. Exploring, how two college coeds are thrown in a Southern prison farm on trumped up charges, the film has many fine qualities. The acting by a largely recognizable cast is solid and character development is totally acceptable, but there are problems relating to the film's resolution. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no payoff for the audience. "Nightmare in Badham County" is loaded with reprehensible characters, along with two heroines who elicit tremendous sympathy. With that setup, a more upbeat conclusion might have been better. - MERK

sasser-michael Whatever happened to Kim Wilson who played "Emiline?" She was the first victim of the evil Robert Reed. (Sorry for putting this in the review section, but there is no message board.) Want a review? Two cosmopolitan coeds from UCLA get arrested on trumped up charges in Mississippi. They can either put out for the sheriff, or risk a stint in the county work farm. These girls opt for the work farm, where they encounter sexual exploitation, physical violence, and even murder. Of course, every town in the south at this time was ruled over by corrupt law enforcement and had a county work farm to oppress women, African Americans, and other minorities. Unsuspecting, virtuous northerners were regularly imprisoned in such towns. Everyone knows this, right? Television icons Robert Reed (The Brady Bunch) and Tina Louise (Gilligan's Island) play villains in a departure from type casting. Despite the clichés this movie can be fun to watch so long as your expectations remain check.But, the real question is, where is the lovely and talented Kim Wilson?

aftercareforiowa This movie forever left an impression on me. I watched it as a Freshman in High School and was home alone that night. I think I lost all respect for Robert Reed as an actor having been a huge fan of the "Brady Bunch". I also thought the role of Chuck Connor was horrendous and evil. However, this movie made such an impact on me that I am now a volunteer in the women's state prison doing bible studies and church services and trying to change womens lives, one at a time. What fascinates me is that so few people actually watched this movie. None of my friends watched it and my family is clueless to this day when I discuss this movie because they didn't see it.

Vince-5 Combining horror and women-in-chains elements, this little gem is quite scary indeed. The star-studded cast is in great form, with many effectively cast against type--Della Reese as a prisoner with an almost-broken spirit, Robert Reed as a perverted rapist, and especially Tina Louise as a sadistic trustee. Deborah Raffin and Lynne Moody--two highly underrated actresses--are very sympathetic, and the film has a cheap, seedy atmosphere reminscent of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Last House on the Left.Nightmare in Badham County was shown theatrically, in a much more explicit version, outside of the U.S. This version is available on videotape and is the one I've seen. It's memorably depraved, with brutality and full-frontal nudity abounding. One skin-crawling scene in this version has a naked, repulsive lesbian guard (Lana Wood, I think) exchanging food for sex with a terrified inmate. Another has Louise pawing and whipping a naked girl. Still another has a large group of women wrestling in a field until a hose is turned on them; clothes are ripped, and one woman's panties fall down as she stands up. This version could've been a big drive-in hit in the States, but alas, it was shown here only as an ABC movie of the week.Whichever version you get, this oppressively grim torture epic is worth watching if you're an exploitation fan. An obscure cult classic with a very powerful ending.