Épreuve de force

A young woman with karate skills takes on a group of killers when trouble comes too close to home. Released in 1984 but the movie looks as if it'd been sitting on the shelf for awhile. Nonetheless, it's a fun film and some scenes actually (and somewhat accidentally) exhibit great atmosphere. You won't believe the karate skills demonstrated in this movie. Karin Man does well for what she's given & looks great doing it.

Karin Mani stars in "Alley Cat", and is absolutely the only reason to see this somewhat rare exploitation female revenge flick. She stalks and attacks several scum types who mugged her grandparents. Everyone else, including Mani's love interest cop, the generic hoods, and incompetent judge, are easily forgettable. In the beginning there is some surprising sexual humor that helps, but technically the film is too dark in many places, and the acting by all is far from even marginal. Enjoy a pair of totally gratuitous shower scenes, and that's about it for "Alley Cat". In the end, all that really counts is Karin Mani and her sexy overbite. - MERK

The lead's exceptional karate skills are the reason to see this. That and her shapely, well-worked out body--obviously martial arts training has served her well in more than just strength-building. And she's not the only one. All the meat here is choice, and even the guys, even the bad ones, are good-looking. Otherwise it's a cheapo grrl-power revenge flick. YouTube lists it as "Fighting Karate Lady Alley Cat Film". Says it all.

What a great line! This movie could have been block buster with a little more funding. Great idea with a karate butt kicking actress! Check it out. Worth a gander!

Despite a very low budget, which shows in the bad acting, dialog and poor photography (some scenes are too dark), this has the energy of the best exploitation pics and is surprisingly entertaining. The lead character (Mani) is a tough karate fighter and repeatedly kicks in the faces of several gang members throughout the movie. She doesn't hesitate to speak her mind, even in court where it gets her into trouble, and is an early example of the tough heroine in films, still rare today. There's also an abundance of female skin revealed, including inside a women's prison; this picture has all the right ingredients for this type of picture. This is pretty much a version of "Death Wish"(74) with a female instead of Charles Bronson. Justice is shown to be blind, as far as the law & the court system, and this 'cat-fighter' has to make her own rules. There's also a fight scene between two cops which, while it has you chuckling at the lame dialog, is still exciting. Most of the gang members, grimy & scummy, are also funny, in that stupid fashion.