La femme scorpion

I've seen a handful of women in prison films and before seeing this one, hadn't seen a really good one. It's a genre closely associated with lesbian sex, torture and general sleaze and is one of the staples of the oeuvres of Italian trash directors such as Jess Franco and Joe D'Amato. Female Convict Scorpion adheres to the trends of the genre, but it does it with so much more class than the majority of genre offerings and the result is a film that transcends its trash origins into masterpiece territory. Female Convict Scorpion excellently straddles the boundary between the two types of film - its trash shot as art! Like most women in prison films, this one focuses on one particular prisoner inside a women's prison. The prisoner is Nami Matsushima, a woman betrayed by her boyfriend (a police officer with mob ties) and wrongly imprisoned. She wants revenge on the man who put her in jail, and since she knows a lot of his secrets; he wants her dead. The policeman/mobster soon decides to have one of the other prisoners arrange an "accident" for Nami Matsushima...

The film starts as it means to go on; first we get a prison break that sees two prisoners hunted down and caught by the ruthless prison guards, and the next scene sees a bunch of naked women being directed about by said prison guards. There is not as much sleaze in this film as there is in my other women in prison flicks, but there's more than enough - and the fact that it doesn't go over the top means that the sleaze we do get is far more potent. The film is also rather gory, and although much of the violence is in a comic book style, seeing the blood spill is still a treat. The film features some stunning cinematography, and director Shunya Ito is obviously keen to get the art-house style across as much as possible. There's also several excellently shot sequences; the scene involving a disgruntled inmate rampaging through the showers with a shard of glass being particularly excellent. It's all topped off by a sensational performance by Meiko Kaji in the lead role, and overall; it has to be said that Female Convict Scorpion is a masterpiece that does not deserve to be missed!

Violent, sick, cruel, and completely sadistic – what more could I ask for? Starring Meiko Kaji, who would go on to the Lady Snowblood films the next year, this women in prison movie simply dazzles. Ito's direction is fantastic, and in some ways resembles that of Suzuki Seijun. It's funny that such great filmmaking is found in a w.i.p. movie, a sub-genre usually reserved for sloppy, direct-to-video work today. Just think, a direct-to-video movie really could be well made. There is an unfulfilled market here. Yet people just keep cranking out the same cliched garbage – an utter waste. The genre in America is too tame when you look at FP701. Actually, I'd almost say that this comes close to being the best prison movie ever made, approaching masterpieces like Don Siegel's undervalued Riot in Cell-Block 11 and Stuart Rosenberg's beloved Cool Hand Luke. Hell, Prisoner 701 makes Cool Hand Luke look like a total pussy. This movie is an absolute must-see for those who love Japanese films, exploitation, or cult movies in general. I'd go so far as to call it a masterpiece in its own way. I loved every damn second of it! 10/10.

A beautiful young woman is double-crossed by her corrupt cop boyfriend, raped by his Yakuza thug associates, and then--to add insult to injury--unjustly sentenced to a brutal women's prison. She becomes increasingly stoical, however, biding her time until she can have her revenge on all her enemies both in and out of prison.

This is an enjoyable movie which manages to be both a WIP film and a rape-revenge film. It's also probably the best of the "Female Scorpion" series because it focuses more on the WIP elements while the later films are mostly rape-revenge (or eventually just revenge)movies. To be honest, I've never quite gotten the appeal of these female action movies. While some of their fans are female, the vast majority are men, and it's beyond me the masochistic thrill these guys get out of the "butt-kickin' babe"(personally I prefer women that do NOT beat me up, shoot me, or run me through with a samurai sword). Meiko Kaji's Female Scorpion character is in a class by herself though in that her strength comes not so much from her ability to dish out extreme punishment as to quietly endure it until she has a chance to turn the tables. The epitome of this is when she is she is strung up by the other prisoners (quite naked of course) and tortured with hot lamp bulb--Ouch!

This is also the only film in the series where Meiko has nude scenes. They're pretty tame by WIP standards, but there are plenty of other naked Japanese girls (if you're into that sort of thing)including in one hilarious scene where the female prisoner "rape" a couple of male prison guards during a riot (poor bastards!). It's a matter of taste I guess, but I liked this better than the more famous "Lady Snowblood" (also with Kaji) and definitely better than "Kill Bill".

Some films, while not entirely believable are still able to pull you into them and make you invest your interest and full attention in them nonetheless. This is such a film. While it's not entirely believable, to me it's a film that is still extremely interesting and enjoyable. Of it's subject matter, this may truly be the best film of it's kind. Even with it's age and fairly low budget, somehow it still comes across to me as very poetic. Violent poetry no less, but there's certainly much more to it than just violence. This film inspired at least 6 sequels I believe, and it has been an inspiration for many remakes and imitators too. The Kill Bill films are two of them at least to some degree, they certainly draw inspiration from it at least. This is overall quite an amazing little film. It's brutal, yet still somehow it is also quite beautiful. These are not easy things to balance in the art of filmmaking, but here it is on wonderful display.

8.5/10.

The "Women in prison" film is a subgenre with a nasty reputation and a devoted fanbase. Usually it's nudity and cruelty galore with a plot barely thin enough to veil the only reason to watch the film is to see the sadist and lesbian (or possibly the lesbian sadist) scenes. Whereas it's true that there are a few good prison films, most of them are only in it for the exploitation. Which is not necessarily a bad point: after all, most blockbusters are only in it for the explosions.

My first Female Convict movie was "Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41". Purchased as it was released in a series of cult films, most of them were excellent enough to convince you to buy the ones you'd never heard of. To my disappointment the movie turned out to be a sequel, the second film in a series of four starring the ravishing Meiko Kaji as Prisoner 701. One year later Kaji would star as Lady Snowblood in the eponymous films that 'influenced' Tarantino quite a lot whilst shooting "Kill Bill". The Female Prisoner tune "Urami Bushi", written by the director and sung by Kaji, was used in both Kill Bill volumes.

Shunya Ito, director of Female Prisoner 701, directed only 8 movies in 26 years, surprisingly few if compared to the output of other Japanese directors such as Koji Wakamatsu and Seijun Suzuki or if you look at the visual flair displayed in Ito's films. Three out of the eight movies were Female Convict films.

If you haven't seen a W.I.P. (women in prison) film before or don't like the edgier films, "Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41" (the second one) is the one to go for. It's the most regular film of the series: most of the sequel takes place out of the prison and follows a group of escaped convicts who try to stay away from the guards who're chasing them. It may still be an exploitation film, but it's not really a W.I.P. film. But never mind your difficulty to find a label for the film: just file it under 'good'.

"Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion", the first film, is definitely exploitation, though it must be said it's a classy exploitation film. Sure, the film may start with an escape attempt by Matsu (Kaji) and another prisoner, but one doesn't have to look further than the titles to see this is exploitation cinema: naked women running up and down stairs whilst being watched by guards. But whereas there are a few traditional exploitation scenes (and some of those are pretty nasty), the film never gets tacky.

Visually a masterpiece (impressive visuals and sets), a strong lead, an excellent director, beautiful settings... this is one of the best exploitation films you'll get to see. If you are too afraid to venture into the dark waters of exploitation cinema, watch the sequel first. You won't know why Matsu is seen as such a threat to the prison or why she's imprisoned, but apart from these details you won't be deprived from an enjoyable ride and find yourself hungry to see the other three films. And if you dare, go straight to "Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion".