In the future (1997) New York is a maximum security prison, surrounded by a wall guarded day and night. The President of the United States finds himself trapped inside when his plane goes down and its up to an ex-soldier named Snake Plissken to get him out.

John Carpenter has been responsible for some great movies and Escape is one of them. Starring a young, mean Kurt Russell as Plissken and with Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine and Issac Hayes also in the movie, Escape has a great cast that helps set the tone for this futuristic nightmare of a prison.

Made in 1981, the effects have not aged as well as perhaps the film makers would have hoped for but they still do the job. The ‘advanced’ computer graphics of the time are very dated and while they do their job that is all that they do. The music while also being heavy on the synths is instantly recognizable as John Carpenter’s work and as such, rocks!

Kurt Russell does a wonderful job of creating the kick arse character of Snake, who is probably one of the most iconic characters from the early 80s. Escape is a dark tale of the future and how one of the most popular cities in the world becomes the biggest prison in the world.