K-11

Plot synopsis:
Raymond Saxx Jr. is a powerful record producer who wakes from a drug-induced blackout to find himself locked up and classified in the segregated "K-11" unit for LGBT inmates. Plunged into a nightmarish world ruled by a transgender diva named Mousey, Raymond is truly a fish out of water. Complicating matters are a troubled but kind young transgender girl named Butterfly, a predatory child molester named Detroit, and the ruthless Sheriff's Deputy, Lt. Johnson, who sexually preys on inmates and abuses drugs. Ray's struggle to contact the outside world and regain his freedom seems impossible, but he must learn to navigate this new power structure if he is ever going to survive and get control of his life again.
The movie starts with Saxx in an LA prison, so high on drugs that he cannot be questioned. However, prison guard Johnson seems to take a special interest in him, bribes a colleague and puts him in a holding cell for cellblock K-11. With him is a young transgender woman who calls herself "Butterfly". After one night, Saxx is put in block K-11, though Butterfly is to remain in the holding cell overnight. Among others, he meets the self-proclaimed boss Mousey and the burly child molester Detroit. At first, the inmates frighten and disgust him, but he gradually begins to enjoy their company. There is a great trade in cocaine in the cellblock, which is being smuggled in by the guard who put Saxx in K-11, Lt. Johnson. When drug kingpin Ben refuses to give Johnson a bigger cut of the drugs, he is put in general population. Lt. Johnson attempts to rape Saxx during a riot caused by Mousey. After being raped by Detroit twice, Butterfly brutally murders him with a pair of razor blades and the other inmates help her to hide the weapons and they claim not to have witnessed the incident.
Saxx is told that he is being charged with the murder of his associate, songwriter Ian Sheffield, who happened to be having an affair with Saxx's wife. Saxx's lawyer informs him that his wife, the only witness of Ian's death, wants to divorce him, leaving him with only $30,000 and his car. If Saxx does not agree, his wife will testify that the death was a murder; if he does sign, she will tell police the death was an accident. Saxx signs the documents, knowing he will be released soon. He makes a deal with Mousey to get back at the corrupt Lt. Johnson before he leaves: Mousey has sex with Johnson and then files rape charges against him. After prison officers discover Johnson having sex with Mousey, Johnson is charged with rape and the murder of Detroit before being taken into custody and put in a cell next to Ben, who implies Johnson will be punished by other inmates. To complete the deal, Saxx deposits $13,000 in Mousey's account before being released. When he is a free man, his only assets are $17,000 and his car. When he gets into his luxury car, his first step is to get rid of the drug stash hidden in the vehicle.

Tags: violence

Review:
Not great, but not bad..
There will be people hating on this film because of various reasons, but I loved the story, even though it could have been much much better, I'd say this is rather rushed, but I wouldn't say it's bad.
This homosexual prison camp never came across my mind, at least it doesn't seem to exist in my country.
I looked up Doubleday's filmography and found this movie, at first I wasn't expecting much from her but I must say her role as Butterfly is really really fabulous, same for Visnjic, although I think he'd have done better with his emotions.If you have spare time, it wouldn't hurt to check this out as it is a rather different experience with other films..
Better than expected.
I had super low expectations going into this film, but I surprisingly liked it.The characters feel very real and damaged.
Raymond Saxx Jr.'s plight is uncomfortable and unfortunate for him.D.B. Sweeney is solid as the waste of space Lt. Gerald Johnson.
Goran Visnjic gives a sympathetic portrayal of record producer Saxx who got too deep into drugs.Kate Del Castillo as Mousey is not bad.
Portia Doubleday is unnerving and heartbreaking as Butterfly.Obviously, the film is low-budget, but I'm confused why the critics trashed it like they did.
I bet some of them never bothered to watch the film.
Although, this is not the type of film critics would love.
It's not an amazing film, but it's hardly exploitative...so take it for what it is.
I enjoyed the ending and I would watch it again if I saw it television.
An interesting directorial debut for indie director Jules Stewart..
a great concept fails for playing it safe.
I heard about this film and looked it up.
The premise seemed fascinating and the first thing that came to mind is "I must watch this".
Anticipating, from the visuals and advertising, this film would be a trippy ride through prison lane.
Unfortunately as soon as I started watching, I got the sense of a very sanitized film with actors who I am sure had lots of terms and conditions imposed on the filmmakers prior to diving into making the film.
In one word, the film just does not seem authentic.
A simple a word as that maybe, it is the lifeblood of films of this type.
If you are going to go through the troubles of doing a prison drama, get in there and get your feet wet.
Not sure if the script was written like that or what happened between the production and final cut.
Whatever may have happened in the process, it is obvious many things got chopped and with them the fear and tension that this sort of situation brings about for any straight attorney who would have been wrongly classified in a prison system.
If you are going to do something like this..
You would never see obviously real women in a K-11 section and that is what spoiled it for me.
Sometimes playing it safe can inhibit your film from all of the wonderful possibilities that could have been effective if more time and effort was placed in finding actors who could accurately portray a grim situation successfully in a rather dark place.
My suspension of disbelieve got interrupted several times and at every attempt I made to try to immerse myself in the reality of what should have been a very dark, disturbing, spine tingling situation for the viewer.
In other words I expected something around the realm of "OZ" the very successful cable series that did exemplify the tensions and fears that prison life entail.
Sad to say, I felt instead of OZ I got something along the lines of "the wizard of OZ" version sprinkled with mild to light tension.
K-11, the film critics reviewed without seeing..
What I realize after having seen K-11 is that virtually none of the critics who gave this film zero stars even saw it.
If you see the term "CAMP" or "EXPLOITATION" or here them claiming "it couldn't decide what it was" you know that those critic's wrote a review on the trailer and not the film.
This film has one problem only to them , Jules Stewart is Kristen Stewart's Mom .
They attack her even after Kristen was intentionally NOT cast in K-11 http://gawker.com/5990662/kristen-stewarts-mom-wanted- her-to-play-a-character-thats-raped-repeatedly.
Interviewers will start asking about the film and then turn to Kristen , helpless in their own lack of imagination and drawn finally to a personality that blinds them to everything around them.
Years from now when Kristen is no longer a young star people will re-examine this film.
Kristen is not even in this film , intentionally.
K-11 is a straight film, not exploitation or camp.
Portia Doubleday ,Goran Visnjic , DB Sweeny and most of all, Kate del Castillo, are brilliant.
They use the term "its like " because they need something to compare it to.
Its an incredibly good first film.
Making a film of this kind for a first time director is virtually impossible because everyone "knows better".
Jules stuck to her guns, finally taking the film back from her first editor and recutting it to the original script.
The films most memorable quote "Bad things happen to bad people" .
This is a great little film that stands on its own and the cast and crew did a terrific job..
'Bad things happen to bad people.'.
Someone likely had a good idea in planning this film: place a straight man in a prison cell area reserved for homosexuals and all variations of gender role playing.
But as written by Jared Kurt and Jules Stewart and especially as directed by Jules Stewart the film loses all semblance of originality, for one reason - because it casts women in the roles of transsexuals and transvestites so as not to offend the actors or the audience with same sex variations.But that is only one reason this film sinks.
The script is tepid to poor, a story is practically nonexistent, and the characters are tropes played by actors who seem embarrassed by what they are asked to do.
What little story there is can be summarized as follows: a wealthy but drug addicted and alcoholic record produced named Raymond Saxx (Goran Visnjic, one of our stronger actors usually) passes out, is arrested for homicide, and thrown into LA County Jail in a unit reserved for Homosexuals and sexual deviants K-11.
From there it is a power struggle run by transvestite Mousey (the first female - Kate del Castillo - cast as a male and it doesn't work).
Cocaine and other drugs are readily available through the corruption of Ben (Jason Mewes) who works in the office of the deputy Sgt. Johnson (DB Sweeney) who is likewise drug addled and preys on the inmates for sexual favors.
Bad things happen, such as the murder of child molester Detroit (Tommy 'Tiny' Lister) by transsexual Butterfly (Portia Doubleday) and Raymond finally comes out of his cloudy drug abused head and figures a way out of this very odd confinement, but not without a series of meaningless circumstances that serve only to point out the depravity of the inmates.Yes, it is that bad.
Try as you may to find a saving grace to this film is without success.
Perhaps if the writers and director had had the courage to use an all male cast instead of putting female actors in the roles of men who are range from simply nelly to butch to surgically transformed (in various stages) into transsexuals the film may have had a reason for being made.
As it is, it is an embarrassment for Goran Visnjic, and DB Sweeney and the rest of the actors who for some reason signed on to this poorly conceived and made project.
This film is set in a jail "reserved for homosexuals".
So, upon seeing seeing trans-women in the jail too, I thought, "Oh, they're going to touch on how trans-women are misgendered in the prison system--wonderful!", but that was wishful thinking.
Since none of the other reviewers have touched on this yet(or seem to think the words "transsexual" and "transvestite" are interchangeable), I'll be the one to say it.Transgendered women are women.
This film blatantly implies that we're simply men who transition our bodies to look like women for the purpose of sexual deviance--not only in the premise, but in the dialog from trans and cis-gender characters alike.
Contrary to popular social belief, we were not born as men; we're born as women with a male body.
Films like this only further serve to set back the leaps and bounds of progress we're making within society to achieve a sense of normality.
To be clear, being trans-gender has absolutely nothing to with sexual orientation.This film isn't overtly hateful towards trans-women, but it does further the many misconceptions we suffer from on a daily basis.
Horribly misinformed, but I liked the dark nature of it....
First and foremost, when will the film industry learn that trans women are WOMEN and not men playing dress-up.
This film is not overtly mean to trans-women, but completely goes on to reinforce all stereotypes of trans women.
Matters of transgender women and men should never be a joke, but this film uses them to try and get cheap laughs.I did like there wasn't a truly good protagonist.
This is the part I like.
A bunch of darkness in a world of darkness.Overall, barely watchable even with a hot main character.
It isn't that I wish I could have my 90 minutes back, but this film was solely a time-waster to distract me from my illness, and nothing more..
Goran Visnjic gives a sincere performance in the lead role, but really that is all that is halfway decent about K-11.
And this was from actually seeing the movie and giving it a fair chance, so there goes that rather ignorant assumption.
Some people probably didn't even see the trailer and saw it only for Visnjic, myself belonging in this camp.
The script is confused, it is not sure whether it wants to have exploitation laughs or sombre tragedy.
Instead it tries to incorporate both and neither work, the comedy being forced and can fall into the distasteful category for some and the tragedy being mawkish and you never care enough for the characters to genuinely feel it.
Another major failing is the story, it is slow and almost non-existent and you don't feel any of the tensions and fears of prison life.
Part of the reason why you are not engaged with anything here is because the movie in an attempt to trying not to offend plays it too safe.
There are also campy elements that are too artificially done and while the comic exaggerations are played for shocks, there was little that came across as genuinely shocking and instead it was too exaggerated and too overdone.
There are cheaper-looking movies out there, however K-11 does nothing interesting with the photography or the single-room cell-block, they are just there with no signs of life.
I couldn't care less about who Jules Stewart's family is- that's never been an overriding factor in my judgement of movies, never has been, never will be and also it shouldn't be- what really matters is whether her involvement in K-11 worked in its favour.
It didn't, it had intent sure but turned out to be every bit as confused as the script.
Visnjic gives the only good performance, the rest struggle with the cardboard characters and give cartoonish caricatures in the process.
All in all, apart from Visnjic- who deserved better than this- a messy movie that played it too safe and didn't know what to do with itself.
Such an odd film.
Man wakes up in jail, and finds himself in a strange prison cell; it appears to be a ward for gay and transgendered people.
Goran Visnjic is "Saxx", and he tries to navigate survival; everyone he meets is either a friend or foe.
From the start, we're shown one main corrupt officer that we can tell is going to be trouble.
And we're also shown "Mousey" (Kate del Castillo), who runs the joint.
The main plot here is that Saxx says he doesn't belong here, and he keeps making phone calls for help.
(yes, they are making Clerks III, so we'll see Jay and silent Bob again).
It's a prison, so expect anything to happen.
And the ending is a little cheesy, but not bad for a first film.
( Stewart is also Twilight star Kristen Stewart's mom!) Will definitely look for more projects from Stewart.
Written and directed by Jules Stewart, based on an original story by Jared Kurt.
It is prison, after all.
I'm no film critic, a media student yes, but I've never written a review before, to be honest I've never needed to.
Usually every film I come across can be expected to have hundreds of reviews by users on IMDb, most far better than any I could ever write.
Disappointed by the lack I found when reading up on K-11, I decided it was time to watch the film, and share my experience.
I had the usual expectations going into this film in terms of the prison film genre.
It's set in a prison, there will be violence, drugs and rape.
What I wasn't expecting from the directional debut of Jules Stewart was such a captivating story.
The interesting scenario our main character Raymond Saxx finds himself in, the characters that surround him and the interesting dynamic of K-11 make for a sometimes difficult but ultimately rewarding experience.
I found it an important tale to tell, unlike most films out there.
It had thought and meaning behind it, and the actors truly brought the film to life.
Would I recommend those of you curious about this film to watch it?
That's a definite yes..
I like the concept of how it was done and the story.
Though, some scenes felt like that it was plain acting, it could have been done better or just more convincing?
The Character's personality seemed inconstant at times too but I like their base character.
Especially the person who played Butterfly (though I'm sad for her story...)!Also I was sure that Mousey had large junk in the shower scene, what happened to it?!
Ray was so miserable with killing someone and then he is a bad ass in the end with a gangster driver?!
I wish it was explained!) Plot holes people!
I wish they had a time skip explaining how the person Ray killed died, if he got revenge on his ex-, or if he got Butterfly out and is caring her.Overall I enjoyed it..
Spoiler Alert...the bad guys lose..
It was really entertaining, I especially love how the bad guys get it in the end and the "better guy" (can't really call him the good guy because he isn't "good") tosses his illegal substances out of the window when he is released.
My daughter was confused because they had women playing 2 of the main (can't believe the word for biologically male ladies is prohibited!!) characters, but it works, they just look like REALLY authentic alternative persons.
Butterfly was also one of my favorite characters, just wish someone would have stepped up and saved her, angered me that everyone around just let it happen and didn't do anything.
All in all great movie.
All in all great movie.
Stark look at life in a homosexual prison wing.
CELL K-11 is an odd little prison movie with grindhouse sensibilities.
This one steps away from offering a realistic approach to instead go all-out with over-the-top characters and outlandish situations.
The main character, as played by former E.R. actor Goran Visnjic, is the usual innocent guy who wakes up one day and finds himself thrown into the homosexual wing of a Los Angeles jail.This film seems more occupied with detailing transsexual culture more than anything else.
The cast features a bunch of actresses playing transsexual or transvestite characters and many of them are believable in their parts, particularly Kate del Castillo, who steals the show as the completely convincing Mousey, the woman who runs the wing.
Others like Portia Doubleday (MR.
ROBOT) fare less well but still deliver kooky performances.The main problem with this film is the story, or rather lack of it.
It seems to slide along aimlessly, giving a good example of prison life but failing to involve the viewer in any way.
The supporting players are more interesting than the lead, including D.B. Sweeney's slimy prison officer, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister as the resident rapist, and Jason Mewes as, unsurprisingly, a drug dealer.
The usual sex and violence fills the screen, giving this a hard grindhouse edge..
Not really all that bad.
I watched this film on a whim, didn't think much of it when I viewed a trailer of it.
Let me tell you, although it does have some dramatic elements, 'K-11' was hilarious, especially during the beginning stages of the main character's introduction to a whole host of drug addicted inmates.
Kate del Castillo (Mousey) was totally outrageous and fun to watch, trust me you'll understand why once you see her in action.
Yes it was obvious K-11 was short on budget, but hey, they made due with what they had and did a good job considering.
K-11 did not lack on the entertaining factor due to the various wacky characters, which is why I'm not bashing this film.
I could guarantee you the cast had loads of laughs during filming.
K-11 is not gratuitous, violent or vulgar as it could have been, but still manages to make you 'drop jaw' a few times throughout the film.
So-called real film critics will pan this film, but don't let that sway you from viewing it.
It's really not all that bad as they (real critics) may lead you to believe.