I’m really curious how many of you have ever heard of “Scared Straight.” My life is full of certain vivid memories. Though some are comprised of life experiences, there are a few that were brought on by that box in the living room. In 1978, I was 15 years old and still remember the night I first saw “Scared Straight.” I had a little bit of an idea of what it was going to be about, but had little concept of what I was about to watch. To say it had an effect on any future plans I had for a life of crime were completely squashed. For the uninitiated, “Scared Straight” was a documentary about what was, at the time, a very controversial method of deterring troubled kids from continuing their self-destructive ways. The program would take a group of youths into a prison and allowed hardened criminals the opportunity to give them a ‘no-holds-barred’ description of what life in prison was really like. These criminals were generally ‘Lifers’, and the picture they would paint was certainly less than glowing. They were allowed to use in-your-face confrontations, strong language, and pretty much anything it took to try the kids understand that prison a scary and dangerous place.

“Scared Straight,” by documentarian Arnold Shapiro looked at one such encounter that took place at the Rahway Maximum Security Prison. The film took an unflinching look at the program, and the fact that they aired it on network television was big news back then. Watching the film now, I’d have to say it still does the job, to a point. I feel as if the program would still work some of the more impressionable juvenile delinquents, but the world isn’t the same place it was back in the seventies. Our young people have been so de-sensitized to violence that these hard-nosed tactics might not work on some of the kids. Not too say it wouldn’t be worth pursuing, saving one kid would make it all worthwhile, but I have to wonder if the success rate would be much lower in today’s world.

I do still recommend watching the documentary, though. It has not only a high value as an educational tool (especially if you have some kids who are heading in the wrong direction), but as far as entertainment value goes, it’s still quite high. I have to admit to getting a bit of a kick out of watching even the ‘toughest’ of these little snot-noses cower from some of the convicts.

The DVD release of “Scared Straight” also answered one of the main questions I’ve had in the years since I first watched it. Did it work? Included on the disc is a new ’20 Years Later’ documentary that takes a look at what kind of effect that day had on delinquents and convicts alike that is as fascinating as the feature itself.

Directed by: Arnold Shapiro
Extras: “Scared Straight – 20 Years Later”, filmmaker Biography
Studio: Docurama
Release Date: 8/26/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website 1
Website 2

We'll give Scared Straight a B.