PUNISHMENT PARK (1971)

Streaming on Tubi!
Directed/Written by Peter Watkins.
Check out the trailer here!!

Set in the near future, though it was filmed in 1971, in order to deal with the overcrowded prison system, the government has set up a program in the middle of the California desert where prisoners can choose their full sentence or elect to spend three days in Punishment Park. If they choose the park, they are set loose to race 13 miles through the desert with armed soldiers keeping them within the park and hunting them after the first 12 hours have passed. A group of protesters against the war are round up and believe they are choosing the easy route by choosing Punishment Park, but they are very, very wrong. Filmed in a mockumentary format, which I like to call a shockumentary, a camera crew follows the prisoners through the desert on their arduous journey.

Are the actors successfully acting like they aren’t acting?
Everyone proves to be extremely convincing in their respective roles. In fact, if you didn’t know this was a movie, one might mistake it for some kind of unearthed secret documentary filmed by the government. It is said that both the Judicial Tribunal and the protesters were actually believers in either side of the hippie movement, so much of the arguments and interactions between the two distinct groups in the interrogation scenes were very real and feel absolutely authentic. The only actor I recognized from the film is Carmen Argenziano who usually played a cop in later roles and is known for starring in STARGATE SG-1, but everyone else are authentic protesters. All of the performances are fantastic. The true standout being Radger Greene who plays the federal marshal overseeing the officers. His performance is ruthless as he seems to enjoy every torturous second he gets to torment these protesters. It’s a role that is done so well that you really do hate this guy by the end of it all.

Does the footage found seem authentic and untouched by additional production (which means there is no omniscient editor making multiple edits between cameras or an invisible orchestra providing music)?
PUNISHMENT PARK is made in a documentary style, but it all is very much cinema verité which means they are making it as real as they possibly can. So, no music. No artsy cuts or creative angles. Just a bare camera capturing the atrocities going on as the most barbaric sides come out in all parties.

Why don’t they just drop the camera and get the hell out of there?
Apparently, the camera crew recording all of this is supposed to be from Britan and somehow are immune to being attacked by the police, the soldiers, or the prisoners. While this might not be feasible these days, there was a sort of understanding back in the day that the press were off limits from harm. Still, the lives of the crew become in danger as things start going sideways and those behind the camera feel that the only thing keeping them alive is to keep rolling film.

Is there an up-nose BLAIR WITCH confessional or a REC-drag away from the camera?
Nope. This came out long before any of those films were made. This is uncliched as can be and feels like it all actually happened.

Does anything actually happen? Is the lead in too long and the payoff too short?
The film does a great job of cutting in between the protesters being let loose in the park and back to individual interviews of each of them receiving their time in court in front of the tribunal. Because the arguments are so compelling and the actors are so passionate about what they are saying, it’s hard to find a boring second in this film.

Does the film add anything to the subgenre and is it worth watching?
Honestly, I’m surprised I hadn’t heard about this film before happening upon it on Tubi. More people should be watching this one. It definitely was an eye-opener for me. If anything, PUNISHMENT PARK confirms that despite the fact that protesting has become trendy and quite prevalent in today’s culture, it seems to have always been that way as many of the arguments had between these protesters and the tribunal are just as relevant today as they were then. I’m not taking sides. This film peels away all pretense and shows all parties in a very harsh light. It definitely paints the government and the police in quite a brutal and callous light, but also subtly shows that even within the most pacifistic movement, there is always a chance for humans to devolve to their most base and violent natures. PUNISHMENT PARK came long before BLAIR WITCH, THE LAST BROADCAST, MAN BITES DOG, and CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and while it might not exactly be considered a horror film, it definitely has all of the found footage qualities we’ve come to know and love with a handheld camera capturing a reality that feels as authentic as possible. I found this movie to be riveting, thought-provoking, and as terrifyingly real as it gets.