Superjail (The Complete Series)
Superjail (The Complete Series) – David Wain, Teddy Cohn, Christy Karacas – DVD (Revolver)
Wow. I feel like I’ve spaced out on really bad acid and trapped in hallucinogenic hell for the last two hours, and even though the “trip” was sort of bad, and a little out there, it was also kind of fun. Demented, bizarre and perverted, but fun nonetheless. ‘Superjail’ is a head on collision between ‘Oz’, ‘Beavis And Butthead’, ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’, ‘The Freak Brothers’ and ‘Monty Pythons Flying Circus’ as directed by Terry Gilliam, satisfying a strange compulsion to bury himself in extreme ultra-violence and gore. ‘Green River Rising’ meets Roald Dahl pumped full of mescaline. I’d like to say it’s odd, but that doesn’t even begin to cover a show in which the warden comes across like a meth-crazed ‘Willy Wonka’, the head guard is the scariest (and biggest) bodybuilding low-rent nymphomaniac I’ve ever seen (so that would be out of the five I’ve seen, and one I’ve actually known. Ahem…), the head accountant is usually the wardens fool or ‘bitch’ (depending on your point of view) and in every single episode lots of prisoners (and other folks) die in horrible, nasty ways. It’s absolutely insane, twisted, a little psychotic and thoroughly addictive; it’s madness hooking me in halfway through the first episode. But, be warned ‘Superjail’ is high on Marmite-o-meter. You’re either going to love it or hate it, there’s no middle-ground and if you don’t like “weird”, you’d best leave well alone. One thing is absolutely certain, once you’ve seen it; you’ll never forget it… Tim Mass Movement
