Directed by Cirio H. Santiago
cast: Jayne Kennedy, Jeanne Bell, Rosanne Katon, Trina Parks

The Muthers kicks off with some waka jawaka guitar as a group of pirates in a boat called “The Muthers” raid a cruise ship. Two sassy sisters named Kelly (TNT Jackson's Jeanne Bell) and Anggie (Playmate Rosanne Katon from Ebony, Ivory, and Jade) lay down a spray of automatic gunfire, and jive talk the jewels from the bourgeoisie. Thus begins this Filipino director Cirio H. Santiago’s strange blaxploitation hybrid film that combines women in prison with pirate themes and Kung-Fu. Sound interesting? Well, for the most part it is. The girls that head the Muthers have a rivalry with another pirate of the Long John Silver mold.

This conflict keeps rising up through most of the film, and provides the most gun blazing entertainment. The meat of the story has one of the girls searching for her lost sister. Under threat of prosecution from the some island law, the girls agree to infiltrate a coffee plantation that is a front for a white slavery ring. Since the sister lies somewhere inside, the two agree to be the latest victims of Montiero Plantation. The plantation looks identical to the location of The Big Bird Cage complete with the poles to hang gals by their hair. Montiero (Tony Carrion) is the whitey warden who forces girls to pick coffee beans, and then turns them out. His main ho is played by former sportscaster/TV star Jayne Kennedy who keeps a queen bee like relationship with all the poor tortured inmates. There isn’t much nudity in this flick, but it is well paced.

The editor really botches the escape sequence by never cutting to the captors in hot pursuit, so there is never a sense of urgency in their escape. Santiago always has a lame sense of camera placement, but the kung-fu hijinks and gun play keep it lively enough for anyone to enjoy. This film really screams 70’s Drive-In. The 82 minute VCE version I saw didn’t appear to be cut, but rumor has it a 101 minute version exists.