In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Tuesday 1 April 2014

Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion (1972)

Shunya Itō's début as director was the first in a series of Sasori (Scorpion) films. It has all the elements you’d expect to see in a pinku eiga WIP (Women in Prison) feature, nudity, bondage, sadism, etc, but it has much more to offer than just that: Itō's stylistic framing, symbolism, inventiveness, transitions and sheer disregard for convention is highly entertaining. The brutality of the women toward each other is sometimes hard to watch, but the strength and determination of the Scorpion (Meiko Kaji) needs that kind of struggle in order to be fully explored.

4 grudge melodies out of 5

No comments: