Bôkô Kirisaki Jakku

Man oh man, I had SOME idea of what to expect from this movie, but no idea of it's depravity! Even describing it would cause your mouth to drop open. OK, a pair of restaurant workers discover, quite accidentally, the best aphrodisiac is for the guy to kill (more like gut) females before he does it. Pretty soon, the aphrodisiac wears off, and the guy just wants to kill. It's barbaric, and definitely not for everyone, but DAMN, what an amazing film to watch. Some serious money went into making it I'm sure.. Widescreen, hippy music, crisp direction and editing.. Someone must have known what they wanted and paid a great deal of money to get it. It would be interesting to find out the backstory behind this one.

No matter where in the world, sex and violence in the cinema have always gone hand-in-hand.

Italian giallos; UK Hammer horror; the many films of Spain's Jess Franco; the trashy US gore flicks of H.G. Lewis: every country seems to have made its own contributions that combine the two elements.

Violent 'pinku' movies are the Far East's offering, and many fans of extreme cinema agree that they rule the roost as far as sexual nastiness is concerned, since almost nothing seems to be 'too taboo' to be portrayed. Assault! Jack The Ripper (a misleading title, if ever there was one, since 'Saucy Jack' is nowhere to be seen!), from director Yasuharu Hasebe, is a classic example of the genre and clearly illustrates why no-one does sleaze quite like the Japanese! After a fatal mishap with a crazy hitch-hiker, a pathetic pastry chef and a chubby domineering waitress discover that, for them, killing is a mutual aphrodisiac. They set about abducting and carving up innocent women (more often than not, by stabbing them in the genitals!) in order to fuel their sex life, but, when the chef eventually decides to go solo on his murder sprees, their bizarre relationship begins to crumble.

With umpteen steamy sex scenes, a couple of repulsive rapes, and loads of grisly deaths, Assault! is not a film for your 'casual' viewer. The killers are completely callous and, although the numerous crotch stabbings are not explicitly shown, the sheer offensiveness of the acts (coupled with some suitably yucky sound effects) is enough to upset most 'normal' people. Rabid fans of politically incorrect exploitation, however, will have a field day watching the killers as they indulge in all manner of wickedness, including a marvellously depraved finalé, in which an entire room-full of nurses are rapidly dispatched.

And if all that excess wasn't enough, solid acting, good production values, and a great score all go to ensure that Assault! is an experience that you won't forget in a hurry.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

Yasuharu Hasebe's BOKO KIRISAKI JACK (aka ASSAULT: JACK THE RIPPER) is as mean as they come and twice as effective.

I have no moral objections to this material because it is what it is, and what it is is a tour de force of violent cinema with not a single cell of poltical correctness to muddy its intentions.

A strong-willed woman coerces a weak man to rape and kill with her.

The man's obsession leads to the downfall of the relationship.

The sexual violence is on a level you haven't seen before if you haven't seen any Japanese Violent Pink films, the production values are high, the performances are amazing and the jazz score is exceptional.

Director Hasebe also directed the excellent RAPE, the satire RAPING!, the solid RAPE 13TH HOUR and the more well known BLACK TIGHT KILLERS.

BOKO KIRISAKI JACK is his crowning achievement, a film that is violent, erotic, funny, perceptive and always entertaining.

The best Violent Pink film ever made.

Assault! Jack the Ripper (1976)

** (out of 4)

Original Title: Bôkô Kirisaki Jakku

Perversely sexual and violent, this Japanese film has a reputation as being one of the stronger "pinku" movies out there. The story centers on a cook and a waitress who one night accidentally run over a crazed hitchhiker. The two find themselves being turned on by death and blood so they keep killing women and borrow the trademark of Jack the Ripper by cutting them from their private areas on up. I just recently became aware of these pinku Japanese movies so I' doing research on which ones to start with and this here seemed to have pretty good reviews but in the end I was somewhat let down. The one part of its reputation that it lives up to is the rather bizarre sexual nature of the film. There are quite a few sex scenes here, which come off very perverted and sleazy even though nothing hardcore, or really softcore for that matter, happens. The lead actress, who's name I can't find anywhere, has a rather amazing body so seeing her strip off certainly wasn't a negative thing. Her round face also comes in quite handy because she looks so innocent yet is as deadly as they come. Her performance is quite good as is her co-star but yet again I couldn't find his name among various reviews I read. I think the most disappointing aspect is that the film really isn't all that violent. Yes, the aftermath of a woman being sliced up and down is pretty grim but very little of it is actually shown. Usually we see a minor stab wound and then the rest happens off camera and then we go back for the aftermath. I've read reviews saying the film was ultra violent and downright raw and nasty but I didn't find that to be the case. The biggest problem however is that the film runs 71-minutes and really doesn't have enough of a story to fill that short time. The movie starts to feel rather long because we keep going through the same thing of a murder, sex, a murder, more sex and so on.

Assault! Jack the Ripper! is a movie the average person will never forget, or actually, will never see. It's a rare, brutal Japanese film that includes rape, sex and murder. For fans of pinky films it's a leader in the genre. And I can see why. It's a well made film with very nice acting from all members of the cast. For anyone who's into video games, there is some great music in this that is very similar to a game called Katamari Damacy. Which is a fantastic game by the way.

The movie is about two restaurant workers who realize that the only way they can have hot sex is through killing someone. Good enough reason for me. But things begin to go seriously wrong for this Japanese Mickey and Mallory.

AJR! is definitely not for everyone. It's a very sexual and violent flick that will most likely only appeal to extreme cinema fans and brave souls willing to widen their horizons. I personally think this film kicks ass in it's depiction of no holds barred sex, violence and mayhem.