08/30/06 Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition And Torture

Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition And Torture (1973), directed by Teruo Ishii

watched w/ Leslie (partially); DVD (borrowed from Jason); suggested by Jason

I find it hard to fully get behind this exploitation flick, due to its approach to the violence and abuse involved. Yes, that is one of the fundamental thematic elements of any good exploitation film...but something about this certain style gave me the creeps. It's obvious that a lot of the swordplay, funky musical score, and deadly naked vixens have all been used influentially in modern day visuals and gore-fests. However, I felt like I was watching some drug-induced coma sexual deviancy like Larry Clark's "Kids" or any Todd Solondz movie. The movie centers on the sword-wielding diva Ocho (70's Japanese sukeban exploitation star Reiko Ike) who is mistakenly captured by a group of evil yakuzas...which she will begin to infiltrate as a means of redemption. As she proceeds with her renegade justice, Ocho discovers the seedy underworld of the yakuza clan...a drug trafficking cartel who use strung-out women as the drug "mules" to transport their goods. The main catch is that the women have to transport it in a very uncomfortable and dangerous place...their lotus flowers (if you catch my drift). There are many scenes of drugged up women being both verbally and sexually abused by the slimy men, as everything seems to be a game for them, treating the women as subhuman. Ocho will not stand for this cruelty, and begins a murderous rampage to right the wrongdoings she sees. Payback is a you know what...and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...and so on and so on. With all its gratuitous violence and sadomasochism, there were two gloriously brilliant scenes in the entire film...and if you've seen it, you can probably guess where I'm going with this. Yes, in dramatic James Bond-esque fashion, the opening scene has our hero prancing around topless with a katana blade, slicing up the bad guys in a whirlwind of kimonos and blood. And even more enticing is the final battle scene where an entire group of completely naked female yakuzas tear through the bad guys with reckless abandon (and did I mention no clothing?!), spattering blood over their supple young bodies...is that so wrong? Hell, it's your classic exploitative film, delivering the goods in violence and nudity...but that's it. It should have been called "Female Yakuza Tail," and it could have earned another star.

2 out of 5 stars