Fortress

by | Sep 25, 2025 | Film, Fun, GlibFlick | 123 comments

This movie suffers from “crappy posteritis.” So I am posting a still. Even the stills I found are not great.

Fortress (1992)

Yusef got me thinking a bit about libertarian movies. There are definitely some obvious ones to discuss, but if everybody knows the film already, it’s not going to make anybody say anything new. I kept scanning through the intertubes and I came up with this. Very timely, very much where we were headed before Trump came to office. Hell, it may be where we are anyway 10 years from now. Commie globalists are not even close to being defeated. So what is it about?

In 2017, John Henry Brennick and his wife Karen are captured at a US immigration point with an illegal baby during population control. The resulting prison experience is the subject of the movie. The prison is run by a private corporation bent on mind control. — Courtesy Mark Allyn <allyn@netcom.com>

This has been described as the best movie you never saw, which makes it a great candidate for GlibFlick. I will point out this is directed by Stuart Gordon, of Reanimator fame, and it is written by a team of screenwriters who were also responsible for Enemy Mine, if you remember that. Below I have some initial thoughts about this particular dystopian film. Might be a spoiler or two, so skip if you are concerned:

  • As is par for the course in dystopian films of the 1990s, Stuart Gordon was more concerned about the rise of prisons and “threat to democracy” under Reagan and Bush, he had no idea what our future would really be like. Bush was definitely the first arm of globalism but the dems took to it like ducks in water and here we are.
  • The “intestinators” as behavior controls: The society-controlling aspect of cell phones and the emergence of social credit scores wasn’t even on the radar in 1992. Nobody could have seen how people voluntarily adopted the craziest ideas without any coercion.
  • In addition, nobody would run to Canada anymore for safety. Stuart and his writing team couldn’t foresee how Canada fell to globalism before the U.S.
  • The collapse of Malthusian ideas: The premise of the film was only one pregnancy per couple, anything else was illegal. China tried that. We ended up down a similar path with voluntary abortion. It did not turn out well at all. This might well have been the dumbest leftist idea since central planning, and with any luck it may lead to collapse of marxism/socialism in the states.

Okay, it has been a crazy week. I am glad I got a post schedule together through October and submitted this post. It’s late, but at least it is done. Enjoy!

So watch! Or don’t! everything is voluntary, at least for a while… We creep closer to the plots of dystopian movies all the time. Next week, we kick off the month of October with Teenage Exorcist starring Brinke Stevens! A proper B-movie to start the month-long Halloween celebrations!

About The Author

R.J.

R.J.

Hello. My name is R.J. I am a Tulpa with extra cheese and sour cream.

123 Comments

  1. Common Tater

    Reanimator is the only good Lovecraft movie.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      Uhh… The Thing?

      • Common Tater

        What did have to do with Lovecraft?

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        It is the single most Lovecraftian movie about existential horror.

      • Common Tater

        Howard Hawk’s Thing From Another World and John Carpenter’s The Thing? Lovecraft had nothing to do with either.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        John Carpenters, and it is considered to be the film most influenced by him. No, it isn’t from one of his stories, but nothing captures the feeling of aloneness and dread, and it has one of the most bleak endings of any hollywood film, keeping the theme.

        I am not the only person who feels this way, just check google: https://search.brave.com/search?q=john+carpenter+the+thing+most+lovecraftian+movie&source=desktop&summary=1&conversation=2e43e911ae874d29306015

      • Common Tater

        “it is considered to be the film most influenced by him.”

        There are films directly based on his stories.

        Having seen those, read Lovecraft, and derivative works in his style, and seen all of Hawk’s and Carpenter’s films, I’m just not seeing it. The Thing is very concrete, unlike Lovecraft.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Well, I have read all of his works also, along with I Block’s and Howards Mythos tales, and I completely disagree with you. I haven’t seen the Hawks movie, but I have read the story that the movies are based on, John W. Campbells Who Goes There, and it is clearly influenced by Lovecraft, also.

        It is definitely concrete, but works on the themes of alienation, being alone, not being able to trust anyone, existential dread, and so on.

        And, again, look online for other opinions about this, as I am not the only one. Heck, the HPLovecraft film festival even superimposed HPLs image onto the movie poster for The Thing one year. https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-hunh8nsn/images/stencil/1280×1280/products/1375/1798/poster_hplff2007__60631.1353980561.jpg?c=2

      • Common Tater

        “themes of alienation, being alone, not being able to trust anyone, existential dread, and so on”

        Hardly unique to Lovecraft.

        Even if we are just picking Carpenter’s films, I’d go with In The Mouth Of Madness.

        Carpenter’s movie is based on Hawk’s. Yay Team America with a side order of BDSM isn’t Lovecraft at all.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Well, you are minority in that opinion. And it is just a better film than Mouth of Madness.

        As far as Hawks, we aren’t talking about his movies, so I don’t know why you would bring that up. Carpenters movie is based on the story, not the previous movie, which doesn’t really follow the story or take inspiration from HPL.

  2. Common Tater

    “with any luck it may lead to collapse of marxism/socialism in the states”

    No idea how that would work.

    • R.J.

      They stop making babies, lose influence, lose everything they fought for in a sea of conservative children. It’s already started.

      • Common Tater

        Schools indoctrinate the children though.

      • R.J.

        My daughter is junior high age. I see more conservative kids than I ever thought possible. Nobody even cared about politics when I was in Junior high. These kids are pissed with indoctrination and they are rebelling by going conservative. It’s a big deal.

  3. Ted S.

    I’ve argued it before, but The Mating Game (unfortunately not available on free streaming) is one of the most surprisingly libertarian movies to come out of Hollywood.

    • R.J.

      I’ll mark it down for you. It will turn up at some point.

  4. Rat on a train

    It’s not believable. Red Forman wouldn’t run a prison like that.

    • Common Tater

      The guy from Robocop would.

  5. rhywun

    The collapse of Malthusian ideas

    Not seeing any evidence of that; if anything the Dem/left is more death cult than ever.

    • R C Dean

      In the genpop, though, I think the quasi-Malthusian WEFers and climatistas are definitely on the outs. Sure, there’s a hard core of troo bleevers, but you can find those for any fringe belief system.

  6. Bob

    Thanks for the hat tip r j.
    We just arrived at the beautiful Sunset motel in Moriarty NM. I mentioned it in the past, rought the boss and she loves the retro feel

    • R.J.

      You are welcome! I hope you have a great trip.

    • PutridMeat

      rought the boss and she loves the retro feel

      Euphemism?

      • R.J.

        I speak Bob.
        He brought his boss and she loves the retro feel.

      • R C Dean

        Yusef brought the boss, you say? Heh, heh. Heh heh heh heh heh.

  7. Common Tater

    This would be better if it were a woman’s prison. We didn’t even get to see highlander’s penis.

    • R.J.

      Next week will be back to basics with Teenage Exorcist!

    • Akira

      When I worked at the women’s prison, my friends used to joke around with me and ask if I’d met Mrs. Right yet… I always told them that it’s the un-sexiest place imaginable. First off, a high percentage of them are former prostitutes and/or IV drug users, so TONS of STDs going around. And the stress, depression, and anxiety of being in prison doesn’t do much for a lady’s appearance. And a lot of them decide to get face tattoos for some reason (naturally, done with a sharpened paperclip dipped in ink from a broke-open pen).

      • Tres Cool

        Likewise- when I tested the boilers at Marysville I would get asked the same. The trustees we saw in the powerhouse were rough.
        I just said, “Its not like the movies or “Orange Is The New Black”.

      • J. Frank Parnell

        Damn it, next you’ll tell me sororities don’t have naked pillow fights every night.

    • Ted S.

      Did they search through Mrs. Comey’s underwear drawer?

      • Common Tater

        WTF, Ted?

      • Tres Cool

        They wouldn’t be searching Ms. Strozyk’s drawer. I hear they’re divorced after the texts came out.

      • Ted S.

        It was a reference to the FBI going through Melania Trump’s underwear drawer.

    • rhywun

      extraordinary escalation […] to prosecute his political enemies

      🙄

      I don’t remember Donald campaigning on exactly this the way many of his enemies did.

      • B.P.

        The AP’s subhead: “The case was filed days after President Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies.”

        Yeah, Trump started this whole prosecute-your-political-rivals thing, right out of the blue. I don’t remember the AP, et. al., framing the summer 2024 stories this way.

    • Chafed

      Comey is a scumbag but lack of any announced facts of claimed perjury makes me skeptical.

  8. Gustave Lytton

    Rip Claudia Cardinale.

      • rhywun

        Yikes! That’s awful.

      • CPRM

        It is thought the injury was caused when he collided with a concrete wall, but the club has not confirmed this.

        That’s some hardcore shit right out of American Gladiators if they are putting concrete walls on soccer fields. I’d watch that shit.

    • The Hyperbole

      The last of the primary stars of the best western (maybe best film of any genre) ever made.

      • Common Tater

        Clib

      • Common Tater

        Why does that keep happening?

        Clint Eastwood is still alive.

      • The Hyperbole

        Clint, isn’t in TBWOAT, sure Unforgiven is great but no Morricone = no GOAT.

      • Common Tater

        TBWOAT?

      • R C Dean

        Twerking Butts With Ogling Assfan Twinks?

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        She isn’t in McCabe and Mrs. Miller?

        She was breath taking in The Leopard, though.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Oh, and Unforgiven is probably Eastwoods worst western.

        It isn’t even a watch again movie.

      • rhywun

        Ogling Assfan Twinks was my side project back in the nineties.

      • J. Frank Parnell

        Clint Eastwood is still alive.

        Okay hold on, did we switch timelines again? I was 100% certain that he died a couple months ago, but I just checked and he’s still alive. WTF.

    • The Bearded Hobbit

      Enjoy Moriarty. That area, east of the Sandias, was my old stomping grounds in teenage-hood. The DMV in Moriarty was well-known for being lax on rules; for example, that’s where I got my fake ID made into a NM drivers license.

      • Bob

        Ill be damned, nice little town, far enough from Albatweeker

  9. The Artist Formerly Known as Lackadaisical

    The movie sounds really depressing RJ.

    • R.J.

      It’s… Not totally depressing.

  10. juris imprudent

    Nobody could have seen how people voluntarily adopted the craziest ideas without any coercion.

    Huxley sorta did.

    • Common Tater

      Lots of drugs and eugenics though.

      • Tres Cool

        Your point?

      • Common Tater

        We’re way far from Brave New World at this point.

      • juris imprudent

        That people would give up their freedom pretty easily, as long as they got the things they wanted.

      • Chafed

        So, Portland?

  11. Gustave Lytton

    the best movie you never saw

    But what if you saw it?

    • R.J.

      Then I salute the depth and breadth of your movie knowledge.

    • slumbrew

      I guess my choice of an American Leather couch was a good idea.

    • Chafed

      National security!?! He’s not even trying anymore.

  12. Evan from Evansville

    My bad computer decided to suddenly die.

    Off to work in the morning. A blissful rest to all you pre-reprobates.

  13. Bob

    Cadillac xt6, 2020,
    510 miles on a tank of gas, loving it

    • Bob

      OTOH, these 1500 miles in 2 1/2 days is getting hard for us.
      62 and 72 years old, its taxing

    • Bob

      Bolo?

      • Bob

        Ah thanks

      • Ted S.

        Criminals should be forced to wear those shitty cowboy neckties.

    • Bob

      You can kill arsonists with no penalty, attempted murder and all

  14. Evan from Evansville

    Old computer has restarted; New work(week) begins; Munchkin (re)connected.

    Getting driven to work, but incentives, there, await. A friendly, soon-giggly(?)) face awaits.

    Bro’s ain’t it. Slacker can’t hack ‘er.

    Be well, y’all, and take it to the hoop.

    • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

      How are you this fine morning Sean?

      • Sean

        I’m good. And at work. >.>

        You?

      • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

        Awake, not at work

  15. Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

    Where de white wimmin at?

    Morning all!

    • Ted S.

      Planet Earth, obviously.

      • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

        Morning TedS!

  16. Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

    Running the final calibration frames after getting the telescope setup running again. Last imaging for the trusty Canon 5D MkII, got about 3 hours of M33 (Pinwheel Galaxy) in Triangulum. First dedicated, cooled astrophotography camera arrives Monday, so I expect clouds for a week.

    • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

      I am finally getting the most inexpensive cooled one-shot color camera for AP, based on the Sony IMX585 sensor. Very tiny, but pairs well with the refractor for widefield shots.

      • R.J.

        My friend TJ does that. At some point we should have a Texas meetup, if you are around here.

      • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

        Yes indeed. Meet up sounds good. My sky is terrible with the airport near. Saving for a quad band filter. I’m gathering pics for a post.

    • R C Dean

      OK, there’s a post there – the pix, the equipment, etc.

      • Sean

        And pics of Uranus!

      • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

        Sean, funny.

      • Beau Knott

        Yes, an article please!

      • Not Adahn

        It’s much less impressive than you’ve been led to believe.

      • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

        Sean, even my proctologist recoils from that eldritch horror…

  17. Grosspatzer

    Mornin’, reprobates!

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, ‘patzie, DEG, Donny3F, Ted’S., Sean, and EfE!

      • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

        Morning GT!

  18. DEG

    Mornin’

  19. Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

    And impromptu road trip to Houston this morning. Our son is buying a car for our daughter-in-law, so I have to push back the start of brisket until this evening. Taking my jeep, because his truck, and he, are giant.

    • R.J.

      Are you living in Texas?

      • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

        Excepting Ft Bragg and 3 years in TN, yep, since 1966

      • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

        Been back since 2017, we are near San Marcos.

      • Fourscore

        I lived in TX for a while, got religion. I worked a lot out of town but every evening I went to Temple.

        My kids live in Central TX, I see the pictures of the massive build ups and I’m glad was able to get out.

      • R.J.

        See your other comment above, I put contact information. Found a lot of Texas Glibs.

      • R.J.

        It’s good and bad, Fourscore. Texas is like Australia. Big cities if you want that, endless countryside if you prefer that. If anything the small towns that were dying in the 1980s have all been revitalized which does my heart good.

      • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

        RJ, msg sent

  20. Tres Cool

    suh’ fam
    yo whats goody

    • Donny Three-Fingers (KJ5GQR)

      Tall rocks glass full of tasty bourbon Tres!