a.k.a. Prime Target

Directed by: Henri Charr 
Cast: Wendi Westbrook, Barbara Niven, Taylor Leigh, Stephanie Ann Smith, Sai Tyler 

The only thing this meandering film has going for it is nudity, and there is plenty of it displayed in lingering gratuitous fashion. 10 sets of naked mammalian protrusions, ranging from natural A cups all the way to silicon injected D cups are constantly on display. In order to further promote sales to the foreign market, and take advantage of this direct to video release, the producers also throw in a heavy amount of bush. Unfortunately more time was spent on the casting couch then the script because Under Lock and Key slowly meanders all over the place. We start with a naked inmate on the first shot, and are kept in the dark on who the characters are for the first 15-20 minutes of the film. Many of the nude inmates look so similar the continuity appears out of whack .

Random fights and naked ass eventually give way to some one dimensional character development around the 30 minute mark. At this point the film becomes a Mafia revenge/cop buddy film, and the WIP elements are left behind. The plot revolves around undercover FBI agent Danielle (Wendi Westbrook), supporting bikini tan lines after a reported 3 month stint, posing as an inmate to get information on the whereabouts of a drug dealers secret code book by his former girlfriend. We briefly get to meet a female prison guard who is into shower room strip searches, but this does not even begin to enter Franco territory. After a kickboxing prison fight, and a conjugal visit from the head of the FBI (?), the two girls are transported to another muff motel. Drug lord Carlos Vega (original, huh?) decides to have his hit girl Slash (Taylor Leigh) stop the transport, and retrieve his ex-girlfriend. The whole bust out goes bad with Slash accidental putting the girlfriend on ice. The prison guard, and FBI agent make a lame escape, and end up bonding after a whining 3 minute Defiant Ones sequence. The metal wannabe Slash, the most interesting character, reports back to Vega that one of the prisoners must of been a cop. Not knowing who she is, he tells some thugs, “There is a woman, I want you to find this woman now!” Within a span of maybe 45 minutes from the bust out, the psychic thugs kidnap Danielle’s daughter from a grocery store parking lot. The next 45 minutes of the film are the typical cop buddy clichés.

The loose cannon gets kicked off the case, she doesn’t listen and faces a suspension. Disregarding orders she goes after Vega with the help of the prison guard, and a street smart sassy model friend. Blah, blah, blah. Carlos gets nabbed, and everyone lives happily ever after. This film is basically a piece of shit. Director Charr is starting this film off in a prison probably because he had the set left over from Cellblock Sisters. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but the rest of the production seems ridiculously cheap. The low budget feel is also enhanced by the poor sound quality of the film. One actress who must of been beyond bad has her voice dubbed, and the dialogue is not even in sync!

The major problem I have with this film is that it wants to be mediocre. This film was geared to sell to a specific market, and was never concerned about being good, or fun for the viewer. In the hands of a more inept director who cared about the film, Under Lock and Key might of been bad yet good entertainment. As for the massive amounts of nudity, members of the whack pack would be better off with one of the Vivid Bad Girl films.