BIG TITS ZOMBIE (2010) Review

Directed by: Takao Nakano

Starring: Sola Aoi, Risa Kasumi, Mari Sakurai

BIG TITS ZOMBIE. The title alone is probably enough for anybody to decide whether or not they really want to watch it. Alternative titles include BIG TITS DRAGON (which confused me because there isn't a single dragon in the entire film) and OSEN ZOMBIE VS. STRIPPER 5 (still confusing because I'm certain there aren't four previous flicks). Further investigation shows that director Takao Nakano is responsible for straight-to-video films with titles such as SEXUAL PARASITE: KILLER PUSSY and SUMO VIXENS. Still can't make up your mind? Well what if I told you that more than one of the female stars also work in the Japanese adult film business? In fact I remember reading the press release for this film and it went out of its way to promote Sola Aoi, pointing out her bust, waist and hip measurements and even her nickname "Baby Face Big Tits". I swear I'm not making this shit up. Oh and to top it all off the movie was filmed in 'tittylicious 3D' which turns out to be regular old anaglyphic 3D.

I'm sure by now you've realized that what passes for plot in a film like this is pretty much irrelevant but I'll run through it anyway. A troupe of strippers discover a hidden door which leads to a secret passage which in turn leads them to find an ancient tome which just so happens to be the Book of the Dead. Maria (Sakurai) is the only person who believes in the book's power and to prove it she reads aloud a few passages which are supposed to raise the dead. At first nothing happens but soon they find themselves surrounded by zombies. Cue a lot of titties, chainsaws, katanas and digital blood. Oh and a fire-breathing vagina (see below).

Now obviously this film is aimed at the male population and the big drawcard here is the three words which comprise the title. These three words bring up three questions. How many tits do we get to see? Just how big are they? And what's the zombie quotient?
As memory serves there are only two pair of tits which probably get a couple of minutes of screen time and at one point a thick drenching of blood. They're not considerably big I suppose but you won't hear me arguing that point. The camera does like to zoom in for lots of close-up crotch and ass shots but keeping with Japanese tradition we don't see any genitals. As for the zombies there is quite a substantial number and they range from geisha zombies to samurai zombies, nurse zombies and even a dried fish zombie and some fresh sushi zombies.

The main cast may be pretty damn hot but as you would imagine the acting is dreadful. At one point these strippers put on a stage show which is incredibly boring (strippers boring?) and all of the girls look extremely uninterested. The zombie effects are pretty amateur and the film is rife with CGI blood sprays. The silver lining here is that the movie is only 73 minutes long and a lot of that time is spent showing scantily clad women shaking their sexy bodies about. BIG TITS ZOMBIE is everything you would expect it to be but in a way it may be less than what you would expect. It's not nearly as perverted or bizarre as it could be but it does deliver on the title's promise and if that's good enough for you then that's all that matters. As for me I found it to be an entertaining way to spend 73 minutes but nothing special or worth revisiting. Four big tits out of ten.

THE CEMETERY (2013) Review

Directed by: Adam Ahlbrandt

Starring: J.D. Brown, Natalie Jean, Adam Huss, Tim Cronin, Tabetha Ray

Last month I had the opportunity to check Adam Ahlbrandt's take on the slasher genre; CROSS BEARER which was a bloody, gritty, gory affair filled with sex, drugs and violence. In other words it was awesome.
And while THE CEMETERY trades in the masked killer for more of a demonic possession tale it still keeps all of the aforementioned goodies intact while throwing in a brutal soundtrack to top it all off.

To provide us with some background the film begins by taking us all the way back to 1671 where a group of priests try in vain to exorcise demons from their unwitting hosts. Brutally tortured and eventually killed, these victims are buried in a secret cemetery, the location of which is hidden to all but the church.Cut to the present and we meet a team of paranormal investigators who host their own reality show Ghost Seekers. After investigating abandoned prisons, haunted houses and the like they are yet to find any substantial evidence of ghosts or ghouls. This with the help of a stolen church document their next destination is that very same cemetery where the demonically possessed were buried after being tortured and killed. But what will the Ghost Seekers do when their faced with a real demonic threat?

After enjoying CROSS BEARER so much I was a little worried that this follow up would fall short, but it turns out that I didn't need to be so worried because THE CEMETERY rocks. It has a great ensemble cast with some familiar faces returning from CROSS BEARER like J.D. Brown who plays the likeable Bill, Natalie Jean who spends most of her on screen time covered in blood and gore, and Tim Cronin who plays a bit of a douchebag. Then there's Adam Huss in the role of Tim; the horny, pot smoking comic relief and Tabetha Ray the bitchy medium. And a special mention to Burning Angel's Draven Star whose only job was to look smoking hot and she did it well indeed.
Everything that made CROSS BEARER so good is also on display here, from the masses of blood and gore to the tits and ass and a fittingly dark and foreboding atmosphere. And once again the make-up and effects are all practical and that in itself always score big points with me.

Another point worth mentioning is the film's soundtrack which is comprised mostly of heavy metal, which I personally love but it certainly won't fit everybody's taste. If you don't like the prospect of a soundtrack featuring band names like Fleshgod Apocalypse, Circle of Dead Children or Squash Bowels then this may not be for you. On the other hand if that sounds right up your alley then you're bound to have a great time.

I may have sad this before but Adam Ahlbrandt is definitely a filmmaker to look out for. He makes movies that horror fans want to see. Films packed with blood, guts, tits and ass; this is the stuff that reminds me why I started watching horror flicks in the first place. It's not without its imperfections but even the minor criticisms I may have about THE CEMETERY are far outweighed by all of the positives and the film's overall entertainment quality. And as much as I loved CROSS BEARER I think I probably enjoyed this a little more so it's getting an extra half a star.

CROSS BEARER (2012) Review

Directed by: Adam Ahlbrandt

Starring: Natalie Jean, Isaac Williams, Kacie Marie

Originality and progressiveness are two things I love when I'm watching a horror film. And although these seem to be rare traits nowadays, an original concept or a twist that throws me completely off is what really gets me off. However when I sit down to watch a slasher I really couldn't give a fuck about any of that stuff. No, when I watch a slasher all I really need is some gore, a nice body count and a ruthless killer. And if there's some gritty atmosphere, sleaze and some nice boob action well then that's even better. More recent films like LAID TO REST and THE ORPHAN KILLER have delivered nicely on this front and I'm glad to say that CROSS BEARER has all of these goodies and plenty more.

Heather (Jean) doesn't exactly have the best life. In fact to put it bluntly, it fucking sucks. Her live-in girlfriend is a coke-head, her boss is a sleazy, abusive asshole and the patrons at her place of employment heckle and harass her. She desperately needs an escape plan and she thinks that she has just found the perfect opportunity. Her boss Harry not only runs the strip joint she works at but also deals drugs on the side. With a sizeable deal lined up he organizes for Heather to make the exchange and return with the cash when it's over. However Heather has other plans. In collusion with her lover Bunny (Marie) she plans to complete the deal but rather than returning to Harry with the cash the two lovers will head off to Greece to begin a new life. A perfect plan, at least in theory. But when the deal doesn't go to plan and the Cross Bearer (Williams) starts picking off his victims, Heather and Bunny's dream quickly becomes a nightmare.

Heather, Bunny and friends arrive at an abandoned warehouse where they are supposed to be meeting their buyer. This provides the film with two essential ingredients; a healthy amount of bodies and nice, big, creepy location for the villain to lurk and stalk. Little do they know however that the Cross Bearer awaits within and has already dispatched of their customer. Little is actually explained about our killer and exactly why he is the way he is but it's safe to assume that he isn't quite right in the head and religion has played an important part in his twisted mindset. He is a religious zealot who has charged himself with purifying the world of it's sinners. And how does he go about this? Why with a carpenter's hammer of course! And wearing a cloth over his head he does bring to mind a certain Jason Voorhees, although I took this to be an homage rather than just a rip-off. Either way this hooded Jesus freak gets down and dirty with his hammer.

The effects work in CROSS BEARER is quite remarkable and comes courtesy of Doug Sakmann who will also be doing effects for the upcoming RETURN TO NUKE 'EM HIGH. And you can breathe a sigh of relief because yes the gore and effects are all practical. There's plenty of blood and brain matter splattering the walls and floor here. This movie is dark and gritty, and not just in the gore department. The locations are grimy and sleazy, (the strip club isn't exactly the Spearmint Rhino) the characters are much the same (Harry the club owner is a detestable creep) and there is plenty of cursing, drug use and sex scenes. Director Adam Ahldbrandt knows exactly what horror fan want and that's plenty of gore and plenty of sleaze.

As for acting I'd say that it's mostly average but with a particularly good performance from Natalie Jean as Heather, but since when is great acting something you look for in a slasher anyway? All of the performances are good enough that they don't detract from the viewing experience and for an indie flick that's pretty good in my book. The soundtrack is appropriate and the audio effects were nice as well. The solid sound of hammer colliding with head is infinitely satisfying.

Essentially CROSS BEARER is everything I look for in a slasher film. It's dark, gritty, sleazy and has plenty of blood, brains and boobs. Sure it's lacking in the originality department, the acting isn't the best and there may be a few other hiccups here and there but even with those criticisms I would still say that CROSS BEARER is one of the most satisfying slashers I've seen in quite some time. It's not something I'd recommend for mainstream horror fans but if you can handle everything I've detailed in this review then definitely check it out.

MANIAC (1980) Review

Directed by: William Lustig

Starring: Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Abigail Clayton

MANIAC opens on a beach at sundown. A shady grunting character puts a quarter into a pay-per-view binocular set. The camera cuts to a POV shot then pans to a young couple laying in the sand. Cut to the couple. The boy walks off in search of wood to start a fire. Cut to the girl. She is still laying down, gloved hands come into the shot. She is under the impression that its her boy friend. Her throat gets cut. The boy returns and all is apparently well. Before he could think otherwise razor wire wraps around his neck and he gets lifted off the ground. The camera pans to his shoes that are getting splattered with blood, the boy is now dead and in the throes of death rattle.
A man wakes up in a strange room screaming. He gets up and starts weeping. In bed in next to him is a bloody mannequin. MANIAC. It is here that you are introduced to the killer two minutes and forty seconds into the film!

MANIAC is a unique horror film for its time. I haven't seen many films before this that follow the killer or allows you to glimpse at his daily struggle to remain sane. There are even shots from the killers point of view! The only pre-MANIAC film I can think of that is similar in its use of character study and POV shots is Peeping-Tom. There are of course giallo films but you find out who the killer is late in the film with very few hints of what their motive may be.

I could imagine how this movie would've pissed off the censors and parent associations world wide. There are many unsettling moments in this piece. One of them is a big internal monologue where  Frank Zito (the maniac) is rearranging his mannequin collection. He takes the bloody mannequin off of his bed and begins chastising it. He replaces it with a brand new one. While mumbling to him self and deciding what sexy underwear to put on the doll the internal monologue begins. In a pleading voice he says This is going to have to stop. A harsher voice insists that all women are evil They are all the same.

Frank Zito's personalities are arguing with each other while he is dressing up a mannequin. The cherry on the cake is a recently acquired scalp from a prostitute being nailed to the mannequins head. What an artfully fucked up scene.
Another scene I should mention is the shot-gun decapitation of Tom Savini's character, with Tom Savini special effects. It is an explosion that rivals the one in Scanners.

Although this isn't a perfect film the character development is fantastic, the film itself tightly edited along with a highly unsettling sound track. Bill Lustig has directed a great film but I think the prize should go to Joe Spinell for his role of Frank. What a dynamic acting range that man has.

I give this here film four and a half prostitute scalps out of five prostitute scalps.

THE ABCs OF DEATH (2012) Review

Directed by: All of these people

Starring: All of These people

26 directors from around the world. 26 letters of the alphabet. 26 different short films. When I first heard about this it sounded to me like a simultaneously good and bad idea. Good because in general I'm usually a fan of anthologies but bad because having such an array of different directors means that every segment will be different and therefore not to everybody’s liking. For example fans of Ti West aren't necessarily going to be into the more bizarre style of Noboru Iguchi. But by the time the credits rolled I think I can at least say that I had been thoroughly entertained even if I didn't enjoy every segment.

The concept for this anthology is simple. Each director was given a certain letter of the alphabet, a 3 or 4 minute time limit and the theme of death. Aside from those constraints they were given complete freedom in what story they wanted to tell and how they wanted to tell it. This resulted in 26 distinctly different shorts ranging from regular live action clips to 2D animation and even stop motion. There’s nudity, sex, violence, surgery, masturbation, torture, comedy and just about everything else you’d expect from such an eclectic range of directors. But while this variety is one of the film’s strengths it is also its weakness. 

The biggest problem for me was that since this anthology revolves around the use of the alphabet and therefore they are all shown in alphabetical order, there is no real balance. You might get a few blood drenched segments followed by an over the top CGI filled clip and then there might be a few slow segments before it starts to get interesting again. A good example would be the crazy fucked up acid trip of “W Is For WTF” followed directly thereafter by the more serious “X Is For XXL” which rather than being just a short film also has a message behind it. The alphabet idea is a novel one but I almost think this would have worked better if they’d ditched it.

The full anthology runs for around 2 hours and I would say that I enjoyed about half of the shorts on offer. So basically I got a solid hour of entertainment out of this which is not bad at all. I can’t really go into any of the clips too much because their short running times make it difficult not to spoil them but I will however list a few of my favorite segments that I think are well worth checking out.

“D Is For Dogfight” was perhaps my favorite of the lot. It looked really clean and crisp and the whole short is shown in slow motion which worked exceedingly well. 
“S Is For Speed” I thought was quite a clever and well done visual metaphor for drug abuse. 
“X Is For XXL” was a nice gruesome clip with a serious and no so subtle message behind it. 
“O Is For Orgasm” – I'm not so sure that I enjoyed this one that much but it looked really fucking cool.
And there are others of course but the less I say about them the more you'll probably enjoy them.

But for every good short it seemed that there was an equally bad or at least disappointing one. Some didn't seem to fit properly into such a short running time, others just didn't make sense at all and some were just plain shit. And if you’re not familiar with Japanese films and directors like Noboru Iguchi then you are just going to think that the few Japanese shorts here are plain fucking bizarre.

THE ABCs OF DEATH is a hard film to recommend. If you’re a fan of anthologies like I am then definitely go and see it because it is essentially the ultimate anthology. If you’re not so much a fan of anthologies or of short films (uber short films in this case) then obviously you'll want to stay away. But if you don’t really care either way about them and if you have an open mind when it comes to different directors and styles then I say go for it. Even if you only enjoy a quarter of the clips on offer that’s still a good half hour of entertainment, and who knows? Maybe you'll discover some talent out there you've never heard of before.

At its worst THE ABCs OF DEATH is an eclectic collection of hits and misses that isn't going to satisfy everybody. At its best it is a delightfully varied sampler of the wide array of talent we have out there in the horror genre. In fact it’s kind of like those Whitman’s sampler chocolate boxes. There’s plenty of good stuff in there but every now and then you bite into one that doesn't taste too good.

CALIGULA (1979) Review

Directed by: Tinto Brass

Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole, Guido Mannari

What can be said about Caligula? Chances are if you have heard of this you would probably know of its lavish catalogue of perversions. Sweet Jesus everything gets covered here; incest, pissing, necrophilia, fisting, etc. To call this film flat out pornography would not do it justice even in its slightest. The film does have a good deal of hardcore sex but the sex is not the subject matter of the piece although that being said there are lots of unnecessary orgy scenes. 

The cast is exceptional. There is a line up of legendary British actors including Peter O Toole, Helen Mirren, Malcom Mcdowell to name a few. The set designs are amazingly detailed, costumes are exquisite and Malcom Mcdowell's role as the tyrannical emperor Caligula is brilliantly realised. This is an amazing film and an oddity in the history of adult cinema.

The story begins with the ill emperor Tiberius in his last days. His grandson Caligula is awaiting his death as he is heir to the throne. Caligula's confidante Macron speeds the process by strangling Tiberius. So it begins. As the power and influence goes to Caligula's head during his rein his sanity takes a turn for the worst. He sends many of his senators to the gallows for no particular reason along with his brother and his friend Macron. He also had an excessive and decadent life style that was rendering Rome in debt. In one scene Caligula decides to consolidate Rome's surplus by running an imperial brothel with the senators wives as the whores. Which of course pisses the senators off. The rest of the film is the undoing of Caligula as his senators turn their backs on him and plot his eventual bloody demise. 

Although this film is considered pornography it has some brilliant cinematography which definitely lifts this film out of gutter to some where between low art and high art. I think the only thing that held this film back is the unnecessary scenes of hardcore sex. It seems they drag on for too long. If it was toned down a fraction I believe that the public and critics alike would have received it better. I'm talking about Palme d'or material. 

For those of who are familiar with the HBO television series Rome, you would find it hard to believe that this film is LESS gratuitous than that puddle of excrement. 

As a period piece this film is exceptional. 

Although massively unsuccessful in America (the market it was aimed at) it must have had some fanfare in Italy as it spawned an unofficial sequel. There are many different cuts and versions of this film. The 160 minute cut is the full film as its creators intended for viewing. The other cuts vary between 80-100 minutes which I'm sure would have been a butchered bloody mess. Mcdowell has since proclaimed that he is embarrassed about the film. That's a bit harsh. If I was him I'd be more embarrassed for being in piles of shit like Class of 1999 and Cyborg 3.

This film deserves to be watched and appreciated in its entirety. 

This might be stretching the friendship but I'm going to give this film 4/5 stars

FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: BEAST STABLE (1973) Review

Directed by: Shunya Ito

Starring: Meiko Kaji, Mikio Narita, Yayoi Watanabe

The third (and last of the franchise to be directed by Ito) FEMALE PRISONER film feels a lot different to both of its predecessors. In fact apart from a single extended sequence at the film's end, the setting is taken outside of prison walls and into the wide world beyond. But in a way the outside world seems like its own penitentiary.

Matsu has escaped prison once again and is trying her best to settle into whatever kind of 'normal' life she can. The film opens with a brilliant sequence (probably the best opening for any of the films so far) in which Scorpion is seated in a subway car trying her best to blend in. Two police officers recognize her and try to detain her. One officer manages to get a handcuff around her wrist (the other cuff around his own) but she manages to slip out the door of the train just as it is closing. The only way to escape is for her to cut off the officer's arm which she does so swiftly just in time for the opening credits in a wonderful sequence showing her running through the busy streets with a disembodied arm swinging from her wrist.
A new character is also introduced in this third film, a distraught young woman named Yuki (who coincidentally is played by Yayoi Watanabe who played Yuki in the original film) who sells her body in order to provide for herself and her mentally retarded brother. She also gives up her body for her own brother to satisfy his sexual desires.

The two women meet in a cemetery and strike up a strange kind of mutual friendship most likely fuelled by their similar predicaments. Both women are trapped in their own prisons and have next to no opportunity at living a normal life. But while Matsu responds to scenarios with her patented violent vengeance Yuki is seemingly cursed with getting fucked over and over again. Her only real means of escape is the terrible thought of killing her very own brother.

Although BEAST STABLE is still firmly an exploitation flick it is quite a bit more tame than the previous two films although it does include incest, torture, forced abortion and some nudity. And as usual no woman can take more than 5 steps outside without being accosted and having her clothes ripped off. As for the story itself it is fairly well told but at times does feel a little disjointed especially when it comes to the ending which was awesome in itself but ultimately felt almost tacked on.

Shunya Ito is a masterful director and it's a shame that over a 40 year career he has only directed around 14 films, and more of a shame that BEAST STABLE marked the end of his involvement in this series. But to be honest he chose a good time to end it because the way this film ends there is no need for any more sequels even though Meiko Kaji would later return to her role in the fourth film GRUDGE SONG.
BEAST STABLE is easily Ito's bleakest film in his trilogy which I found almost ironic since it is set in the 'free' world outside of prison. In one scene Kaji's character is even reduced to tears which is something I never would have expected. And although the symbolism from the previous movies is not quite so prevalent here there are some wonderful scenes - my favorite showing the lit matches drifting down into the dark depths of the sewer, a few at a time first and then eventually a downpour of them.

BEAST STABLE is a lot different from Ito's other FEMALE PRISONER movies and if you're looking for another WIP film then you may be sorely disappointed. However it is a great film in its own right and showcases some nice storytelling, more of Ito's unusual artful style and some decent acting. And of course once again Meiko Kaji plays the role of Scorpion to perfection.

FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41 (1972) Review

Directed by: Shunya Ito

Starring: Meiko Kaji, Fumio Watanabe, Kayoko Shiraishi

The second film in the FEMALE PRISONER series is an entirely different beast when compared to the original. In fact the vast majority of the film takes place outside the prison walls, and since the women it focuses on are no longer in prison JAILHOUSE 41 isn't technically a Women In Prison movie but it's sleazy exploitation just the same.

The film opens with Matsu (Reiko) back in prison, in solitary confinement. The warden Goda (Watanabe) has decided to let her out but only for one day because a high profile inspector is visiting the prison. During a ceremony Matsu attacks the warden and a short riot breaks out but is soon quelled. Later during a prison transfer Matsu manages to escape along with six other prisoners. They take refuge in an old abandoned village while the authorities try to track them down.

Much like the first movie JAILHOUSE 41 has some excellent cinematography and director Ito has cranked up the surreal artful style with plenty of odd sequences including an interesting scene where the prisoners meet an old woman and a monologue is given for each prisoner explaining how and why they ended up in prison. There is a lot more character development this time around although more so in regards to the other six women than for Matsu herself. Particular attention is paid to Oba (Shiraishi), a woman who drowned her two year old son and then stabbed her unborn child to death. Oba and Matsu don't exactly have the best relationship. Matsu manages to get under her skin while saying basically nothing (much like the first film) but she has that deadly stare perfected and it's all she needs to drive Oba nuts.

JAILHOUSE 41 also has a nice score much like its predecessor and it reuses the Kaji sung theme song from the original along with an additional song also performed by her. However while we're on the subject of the film's audio, there are some strange sound effects incorporated in as well. Humorous "boing" noises are used for some undisclosed reason and whether they are to try and ease the harshness of the rape scene or not is not clear. Personally I found them a little distracting and felt that they didn't really fit in with the rest of the soundtrack.

Meiko Kaji does a brilliant job as Scorpion again and although her character isn't really developed much here she definitely gets more screen time than in the first film. Fumio Watanabe plays the evil warden Goda brilliantly once again and Kayoko Shiraishi does a great job as the crazy bitch Oba.

FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41 is an excellent sequel and in fact I'd say it is on par with the first film. In some ways it may even be better but overall I think the original is a cut above. If you enjoyed the surreal arthouse styling of the first film then you'll love this sequel, and it still has enough exploitation goodness (including a somewhat random lesbian scene) for fans to enjoy. A brilliant follow up to the original FEMALE PRISONER movie.

FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION (1972) Review

Directed by: Shunya Ito

Starring: Meiko Kaji, Rie Yokoyama, Isao Natsuyagi

Women In Prison (WIP) films are usually pretty reliable for a few things, namely a lot of gratuitous nudity, lesbian scenes, catfights, abuse, cruelty, torture, rape and evil prison guards. They are rarely anything special when it comes to story or character development but FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION goes above and beyond what you'd normally expect from a WIP film. While it does exhibit nudity, violence and sadistic guards, SCORPION also has a nice strong lead, a great director, some sweet action scenes and an unusual artful edge to it. It's no ordinary WIP film.

Nami Matsushima (Kaji) is roped into helping the love of her life Sugimi (Natsuyagi) with a drug sting he is pulling at work. After being set up by Sugimi and being raped she has only one thing on her mind: revenge. An attempt to slice up Sugimi with a knife on the front steps of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters (not a smart move) goes wrong and she is arrested and thrown in prison. Although strangely Nami refused to testify against Sugimi, he still sees her as a big problem and makes a deal with another prisoner Katagiri (Yokoyama) for Nami to fall victim to an 'accidental' death in prison. But Nami has her heart set on escaping and seeking revenge against her former lover, and nothing will stop her.

The film begins with a jailbreak. Nami and another prisoner have escaped and are on the run and the warden is understandably pissed. The dogs are released and eventually Nami is returned to the prison where all of the inmates are punished for her escape attempt. Soon she not only has the prisoners against her but also another inmate Katagiri who is out to kill her, and the sadistic guards who are set on breaking her. A riot breaks out giving Nami the perfect chance to escape and get her revenge.

Despite the rape and abuse Nami is less a victim than a kind of anti-hero. She stays determined and defiant at all times and no matter how hard the prisoners and guards try to break her she stands strong and perseveres. The most amazing thing however is that she utters barely a single word (in fact this is true for the entire series of films) and instead displays her thoughts and feelings via strong facial expressions. And Meiko Kaji does a great job playing the strong, silent lead. She is beautiful and cruel, fragile and strong all at the same time. She also happens to sing the film's theme song which was later used by Quentin Tarantino in his strong female / martial arts homage KILL BILL.

The most unusual angle (and one of the highlights) is the way that SCORPION manages to so brilliantly combine the elements of trashy exploitation with a surreal arthouse style. One of the best examples is when Nami is being chased through the showers by a demonic looking Katagiri wielding a shard of glass. The experimental camera angles and lighting used throughout the film are not what you'd expect from such a movie, but they are very welcome indeed. FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION is arguably the best film in the series and is a fantastic example and introduction to the WIP subgenre. For exploitation fans this one is a must see.

SEX AND FURY (1973) Review

Directed by: Noribumi Suzuki

Starring: Reiko Ike, Christina Lindberg, Ogin Shitateya

I'm not altogether familiar with Pinky Violence films and I'm sure a lot of other people are in the same boat. But I've found a nice explanation on Listal which seems to sum up the genre fairly well.

"Pinky Violence is a film genre that developed out of the Japanese New Wave in the late sixties and blossomed into it’s own during the early seventies. The term came from the way the films mixed the erotic elements found in Pink Films (a.k.a. Roman Porno) with the action and violence found in Yakuza crime films. They are often grouped in with sexploitation films because of their excessive nudity, over the top gore and low budget production. 
These films have influenced many Western directors such as Russ Meyer, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez"

So in the most basic of terms Pinky Violence films are "sexed up, bad girl action films" punctuated with lots of nudity, erotic scenes and strong female leads. I stumbled upon Grindhouse Database's "Pinky Violence: A Beginner's Guide" and as suggested I checked out SEX AND FURY for an introduction to the genre. By this point it's still the only Pinky Violence flick I've seen, but if it's representative of the genre then I am most definitely a fan.

The general outline of SEX AND FURY is simple. It's a revenge flick. A young girl witnesses the murder of her detective father by three men who escape with some important evidence. With the last of his strength the dying detective provides a clue to the identity of his killers by arranging three gambling cards with the images of a deer, a boar and a butterfly upon them. The young girl grows up and takes on the name of Inoshika Ocho (played by the lovely Reiko Ike). What the English subtitles failed to mention however is that this name is taken from the Japanese words for wild boar (Inoshishi), deer (Shika) and butterfly (Chou) which I thought was a little too important not to mention.
As simple as the revenge story is, there is enough subplot going to make sure that the movie is never boring. Ocho encounters the idealistic young man Kurokawa who is intent on seeking his own revenge upon the corrupt politicians responsible for his father's downfall. Another player entering the story is the spy Christina (Swedish import and cult favorite Christina Lindberg) who has to choose between her important work and her love for the young rebel Kurokawa. Kurokawa's past also intersects upon Ochu's as he knows of her father's murder and can help her find the men responsible.

For a movie I had never heard of before I honestly wasn't expecting too much. I decided that if I saw a good amount of boobage then I would at least be satisfied if not impressed. What I didn't count on however was just how much I would love this movie. From the opening title sequence right through until the end SEX AND FURY is a gorgeous looking film with a great soundtrack, plenty of nudity and some nice action sequences. Reiko Ike is nice and easy on the eyes and seeing her fully nude and wielding a katana against a throng of bad guys in a snowstorm is truly a sight to behold. Lindberg unsurprisingly gets naked more than once also and gives us the film's only lesbian scene.

As for the violence there is plenty of it although it's not overly gory. Having said that though there is plenty of blood spraying all over the place particularly in the final sequence which was obviously a big influence on Tarantino and KILL BILL. Although SEX AND FURY sits easily inside the genre it is so well made that it would be unfair to view it simply as a Pinky Violence flick. The cinematography is great, the fight choreography is well done, the acting for the most part is good, the sets are nice and elaborate and the entire film is a visual treat. The only qualms I had were minor. There probably could have been a little more violence particularly near the middle of the movie, and also Christina Lindberg's acting isn't exactly what you'd call great. Getting to see her naked is always a plus though.

Apart from those very minor problems SEX AND FURY is definitely a film I would recommend not only to fans of sexploitation, grindhouse and pinky violence but to movie lovers in general.