Yôen dokufu-den: Han'nya no Ohyaku

This movie begins with a mother and her young daughter standing on a bridge. The mother then jumps from the bridge into the water with her daughter in her arms. Although the mother dies the daughter survives and having now grown up she carries a scar on her back as a reminder of the incident so long ago. But along with the scar, "Ohyaku Dayu" (Junko Miyazono) also carries a deep resentment for men in powerful positions due in large part to their arrogance and denigration of the lower classes of people like her. However, her hatred for men changes one day when she falls in love with a thief named "Shinkuro" (Kunio Murai) who subsequently tells her that he is planning to steal a large amount of money being transferred to a nearby village. Out of love for him, she whole-heartedly supports his idea and with her help they are successful in their endeavor. Unfortunately, they are betrayed by a close friend and after being raped she is forced to watch her husband being killed prior to her being sent to an extremely tough prison exclusively for men. Yet even this is not enough to quell her insatiable need for revenge--and she is more than willing to use her exquisite body as an instrument in that regard. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a rather odd sort of film for the genre. Produced in 1968, it was filmed in black-and-white and contained very little sex or nudity. At least, nothing out of the ordinary. What it does have is a good plot with several suggestive scenes and a small scene of Ohyaku bathing which was probably thrown in to tease the audience more than anything else. Obviously, movie standards have changed quite a bit since then. In any case, I enjoyed this film and have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

The "Pinku" genre came unto it's heyday in the 1970's but this film is considered by some as a precursor to the extreme genre that became a staple of Japanese cinema. Certainly this film has many of the exploitation elements that make a classic Pinku film.

Ohyaku is a tightrope entertainer/prostitute who as a little girl was nearly killed by her suicidal mother. Raised by a theater troupe she entertains with her incredible tightrope skills and is rented out to the highest bidder after the show. A ronin/professional thief Shin sees her during a performance and is smitten. He rescues her from a rapist bureaucrat who she was sold to for a night. Ohyaku falls for the thief but their happiness is short lived as the Shin is preparing to rob the local mint. The plan fails and Ohyaku and Shin fall into the hands of the bureaucrat who horribly tortures Ohyaku and kills Shin. She is sent to Sado Island, a miserable prison island and thrown into an all male prison. In addition, Ohyaku comes into the lustful gaze of the warden's evil lesbian wife/tattooist. Can Ohyaku survive and escape to fulfill her revenge?

Shot in excellent black & white photography and with many attributes one would associate with a typical Japanese period drama, this film is never the less filled with over the top exploitative scenes. While no nudity is on display, the rapes, non-consensual sex and rape threats are frequent. The torture scenes are lengthy and rough. Ohyaku's revenges are equally lengthy and her victims don't go quickly, she wants to torment them first. Now that's enough for some people to check out this film but does the rest of it hold up? Sort of. There are several very corny scenes that even the excellent actors can't really make any better.Anyone who is a fan of Tomisaburo Wakayama will be disappointed as he doesn't lift a sword once.

Decent female fighter film.

Before I began watching "Yôen dokufuden hannya no ohyaku" I had no idea that there were sequels to this movie. However, as a result of seeing this exciting film, I am determined to find them. If you like film series like "Lone Wolf and Cub", then you should give these Ohyaku films a try.

The film starts with a jolt! You see a woman jump into the river with her baby--in an effort to drown both of them. However, the child survives and grows into Ohyaku--a beautiful woman who drives men wild. Not surprisingly, she hates all the slobbering pigs who try to assault her throughout the film and particularly hates powerful men who feel they can do anything to her or other poor folks simply because they are powerless. She is determined not to be a victim and as the film progresses, she becomes more and more violent in defense of her body--as well as taking on a crusade of revenge. I could say more about the plot but don't want to ruin it for you.

The film features a lot of crazy violence and sexual content for an older film. I am not saying it's necessarily gratuitous but the film is bloody and features things like lesbianism and beheadings (which, for 1968, are pretty realistic). But, it also features a lot of exciting fighting scenes and a complex and rewarding plot. Well done all around.

By the way, it's ironic that the film reminds me of the Lone Wolf films, as Tomisaburo Wakayama (Shintaro Katsu's brother) is one of the stars in the film. He played the Lone Wolf!

Female Demon Ohyaku is the first in a trilogy of films that are often considered a precursor to the Pinky Violence film that became very popular in 1970's Japan. One of the things I love most about the Pinky films is the cinematography; and the colour schemes used in many of them are a big bonus. This early one is filmed in black and white and so doesn't benefit from a striking colour scheme; but that really doesn't hold it back in the cinematography department as this film really is beautiful! Revenge is an extremely common Pinky theme and that is the one shown here. We focus on a young girl who was almost killed by her mother as a child. She's rescued by the circus and grows up to become a tight rope walker. She later catches the attention of a local thief and the pair hook up and try to rob the local mint; but things go awry when they are caught, tortured and the man she has fallen in love with is killed. Our heroine is sent to a prison camp and forced to work in the mines; but while there she plots her revenge on those that took her man from her...

The film doesn't contain as much blood and nudity as some of the later entries in the genre; and it's an overall artier affair, but there's still more than enough here to satisfy the average Pinky Violence fan. The film moves at a steady pace throughout and is always entertaining enough; but things really pick up in the final third and last half hour of the film is not far at all from being as good as this genre gets. Director Yoshihiro Ishikawa implements a range of interesting and diverse characters into the mix; our central character is a fine balance of good looks and athletic ability and certainly fits the bill for this sort of film. Some of the most interesting scenes take place between her and the tattooist lesbian wife of the prison boss - although I do wish more was made of that relationship. Everything builds up to a bloody revenge and once Ohyaku starts to get her own way; the film is incredible. We get treated to one of the best murder scenes in any Pinky flick, followed by a nail biting torture sequence. Overall, this really is an excellent slice of classic Japanese cinema and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the rest of the trilogy!

I really liked this, even if it wasn't quite what I expected. Sold, very much, as a 'pinky violence' movie, it has far more connections with earlier samurai movies. Someone mentioned that the film has a slightly dated feel and that is partly because of this harking back element but also the glorious wide screen b/w cinematography. Pinky or not there is plenty of vigorous action here and many a sexual situation, even if not particularly sustained. Junko Miazono is fabulous in the main role and if she doesn't get into revenge mode until the final third, it is always bubbling and she is great at it when it comes. The film is very well constructed and although we get several scenes that could have been over long, like the heist and the torture and tattoo scenes all is dealt with very well. Indeed, at the start we get considerable back story without a moments hesitation or even a screen wipe. Oh and the very beginning of the film on the bridge across the river is stunning. Well worth a watch, just don't expect non stop sex and violence.