FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41 - the sequel to the equally excellent FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION - is another winner in the 70's Japanese exploit-style genre. I have yet to see one of these type film that I didn't like, and at this point I've seen a pretty good amount. There's something about this era in Japanese exploitation cinema (and exploitation cinema from other areas as well...) that is so refreshing. Along with having fun, sleazy, violent, sexy story lines and characters - there is still a real emphasis on QUALITY cinematography and storytelling that is lacking from a lot of modern shot-on-video, micro-budget, "underground" and exploitation films. This added dimension gives these 70's films a quality of "respectability" and seriousness, despite usually containing some pretty off-the-wall subject matter...
FEMALE CONVICT continues the tale of Matsu (aka Scorpion by the other prisoners and guards)- a hard-ass, unbreakable inmate who's short on words and long on action, and has a penchant for violence and creative jailbreak. In this installment, Scorpion has been in the "hole" for a year since we last saw her in the FEMALE PRISONER film. A prison Official is coming to check up on the prison Warden (the guy that Scorpion stabbed in the eye in the last film) - so they decide to dust Scorpion off as the prison Official wants to do a meet-and-greet with the convicts. This doesn't turn out to be such a great idea, because even in her weakened state Scorpion is still a formidable foe, and attacks the warden. This leads to a riot, and of course Scorpion is blamed for the disturbance. As punishment, Scorpion is subjected to a public gang-raping from some of the other prison guards. Afterward, during a prison transfer, Scorpion and six other prisoners cause a disturbance that inadvertently allows them to escape. Taking refuge in a small abandoned village, the group tries to remain one step ahead of the warden and his henchmen. Here we get a little background on the other prisoners - including a particularly nutty broad who is in prison for drowning one of her children and performing a harakiri-abortion on her other unborn child. Scorpion and this chick don't get along so well, and the tension between the two is palpable. Continuing their trek, the group have a run-in with a group of traveling businessmen on a bus - and problems arise when one of the girls is raped and accidentally killed. The girls hijack the bus and the occupants and continue on their run from the law. At a road-block, Crazy-Harakiri-Lady throws Scorpion off the bus as a diversion, but ends up being cornered by the cops anyway. Scorpion tells the cops that the hostages on the bus were all killed (which isn't true...) which prompts a shoot-out between the cops and the hijackers. Scorpion is carted BACK to jail - but a bungled attempt to kill her in transit to the jailhouse offers her ANOTHER chance for escape. Free again, Scorpion exacts revenge on the sinister prison warden in much the same fashion as the end scene of the first film...
There's all kinds of stuff going on in FEMALE CONVICT. The storyline is solid, the acting is good, cinematography is excellent - everything that I love about this genre of films is present. This entry is a little more "stylized" that the previous, with a few trippy dream sequences thrown in. This doesn't impact the film negatively - in fact, they're kinda cool - it just gives FEMALE CONVICT a little less straight-forward feel then FEMALE PRISONER. Overall - another winner for fans of such films as SEX AND FURY, FEMALE YAKUZA TALE, LADY SNOWBLOOD, of course FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION, or pretty much any 70's era Japanese pinky/exploit-style films. 8.5/10
FEMALE CONVICT continues the tale of Matsu (aka Scorpion by the other prisoners and guards)- a hard-ass, unbreakable inmate who's short on words and long on action, and has a penchant for violence and creative jailbreak. In this installment, Scorpion has been in the "hole" for a year since we last saw her in the FEMALE PRISONER film. A prison Official is coming to check up on the prison Warden (the guy that Scorpion stabbed in the eye in the last film) - so they decide to dust Scorpion off as the prison Official wants to do a meet-and-greet with the convicts. This doesn't turn out to be such a great idea, because even in her weakened state Scorpion is still a formidable foe, and attacks the warden. This leads to a riot, and of course Scorpion is blamed for the disturbance. As punishment, Scorpion is subjected to a public gang-raping from some of the other prison guards. Afterward, during a prison transfer, Scorpion and six other prisoners cause a disturbance that inadvertently allows them to escape. Taking refuge in a small abandoned village, the group tries to remain one step ahead of the warden and his henchmen. Here we get a little background on the other prisoners - including a particularly nutty broad who is in prison for drowning one of her children and performing a harakiri-abortion on her other unborn child. Scorpion and this chick don't get along so well, and the tension between the two is palpable. Continuing their trek, the group have a run-in with a group of traveling businessmen on a bus - and problems arise when one of the girls is raped and accidentally killed. The girls hijack the bus and the occupants and continue on their run from the law. At a road-block, Crazy-Harakiri-Lady throws Scorpion off the bus as a diversion, but ends up being cornered by the cops anyway. Scorpion tells the cops that the hostages on the bus were all killed (which isn't true...) which prompts a shoot-out between the cops and the hijackers. Scorpion is carted BACK to jail - but a bungled attempt to kill her in transit to the jailhouse offers her ANOTHER chance for escape. Free again, Scorpion exacts revenge on the sinister prison warden in much the same fashion as the end scene of the first film...
There's all kinds of stuff going on in FEMALE CONVICT. The storyline is solid, the acting is good, cinematography is excellent - everything that I love about this genre of films is present. This entry is a little more "stylized" that the previous, with a few trippy dream sequences thrown in. This doesn't impact the film negatively - in fact, they're kinda cool - it just gives FEMALE CONVICT a little less straight-forward feel then FEMALE PRISONER. Overall - another winner for fans of such films as SEX AND FURY, FEMALE YAKUZA TALE, LADY SNOWBLOOD, of course FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION, or pretty much any 70's era Japanese pinky/exploit-style films. 8.5/10