Huh! Based on the lewd and exploitative VHS cover image as well as the brief synopsis on the back, I automatically assumed this was another ordinary and by-the-numbers rape & revenge exploitation thriller. The last thing I anticipated, however, was a made-for-TV production based on true events and atop of that boosting a few valuable morality lessons. Don't worry, though, as this isn't the "A Cry in the Dark" type of factual drama, but a raw and sleazy thriller with some very violent bits and strangely unsettling undertones. "Fortress" is more or less an amalgamation of "Lord of the Flies" and "Last House on the Left" with a teacher and her mixed classroom of nine children gradually reverting to savagery in order to save their own lives. One school day morning shortly before start of summer, Miss Jones' classroom gets invaded by a trio of anonymous men wearing menacing masks. They are kidnapped and locked up in a cave still unaware of their fades. Rather than to wait and see, the group plots to escape and flee into the Outback wildlife. But since every escape attempt ends with failure, the group agrees to fight back as one. This results into a perplexing and rather shocking climax. I heavily suspect the film version ending differs quite a bit from the factual events, but still even if the truth was half as harsh it would still be shocking! The transformation of the children and the teacher into rancorous and bloodthirsty little psychopaths is illustrated gradually slow and atmospheric, and thus the finale becomes more credible and even somewhat disturbing. Especially the very last scene, when a police inspector tries to question the class about what happened exactly, is creepy! There are some truly odd undertones and hidden perversity in "Fortress" and this is a particularly rare element to find in TV-productions. For instance, there's the clearly noticeable sexual tension and innuendo between Miss Jones and her boy student Sid. It already starts right from the beginning, when Sid kills a fox and Miss Jones protests, but their bond grows more intense during the Outback adventure. Rachel Ward is good as the teacher and I would really like to mention the actors whose faces were covered by the icky masks the entire time. Good job, guys! You were scary!
