Violated Angels (1967) User Reviews

A sincere study of misanthropy

[fertilecelluloid · 7/10 · 23 October 2005]

A voyeur, invited into a dormitory for nurses, remains behind to violate and murder close to a dozen of them. Some of the nurses attempt to talk him out of ending their lives and much of the film is comprised of these conversations, but the talk doesn't do much good.

Most of the film is black and white and quite murky, but there are selected snippets of color to illustrate the aftermath of the killer's work.

Bleak and slow moving, Wakamatsu attempts to provide a political subtext for the nastiness, but it comes across as pretentious.

The stabbings, rapes and beatings are shot mostly at a distance, but the tone is upsetting and the constant screaming and general air of misery is palpable.

The score, by Wakamatsu, is hypnotic.

Not great cinema, but a sincere study of misanthropy.

Particularly Bleak And Nihilistic Early Pinku Film...

[EVOL666 · 8/10 · 1 December 2006]

I've only seen a few of Koji Wakamatsu's films, but I've been impressed so far. He's another director in the pinku genre (much like Hisayasu Sato) that tends to make solid and thought-provoking films out of what are essentially soft-core sex flicks. Though any real "point" behind VIOLATED ANGELS is pretty much lost on me - I did find the film to be visually interesting and the "rough" content was pretty strong for a film made in the 60s. I also lost much in translation as my copy is Japanese language only - but here's what I gathered:

A young man that has an issue with women overtakes a bunch of nurses at their dormitory. Suffering from delusions that they are taunting and making fun of him, he begins to kill them one at a time. There are some dialog scenes which were lost on me, mainly of one of the women apparently pleading with the man not to kill any more of the girls. Doesn't work - she gets shot too. The sole surviving woman seems to take an interest in the young man (though this could just be more delusion...) and the situation ends when (I think) the cops put an end to his killing spree...

Sorry about the vaguery, but I'm not sure if everything I thought was going on actually happened due to translation issues. Also, my copy is pretty poor quality, so some scenes were hard to make out as most of the film is shot in black-and-white. Regardless - VIOLATED ANGELS is obviously a mean-spirited film chronicling the actions of a deranged person. Personally, I found this to be a refreshing change from a genre that often makes light of the abuse of women, and this film was far more realistic than the average pinku sleaze (don't get me wrong though - I love those films too...). Wakamatsu seems to have a cold eye for realism and is able to transfer that into his films. If you've seen GO GO SECOND TIME VIRGIN or EMBRYO HUNTS IN SECRET - you probably already know what I'm talking about. Definitely worth a look to true pinku fans, but don't expect the typical "fun" sleaze-fest - VIOLATED ANGELS is much more bleak and "serious" than most other genre entries...8/10

Decent, unsettling pinku riff on the Richard Speck case.

[Bloodwank · 8/10 · 12 August 2011]

In 1966 Richard Speck had himself quite a killing spree, 8 nurses in a row with the excuse that it just wasn't their night. In tasteful and proper fashion this unsettling exploitation riff came just a year later, brought to us in inimitable early pinku style by the great Koji Wakamatsu. Ill advised nurses find a watcher outside their boarding house and invite him in to spy upon their companions lesbian passion not realising that the guy is totally unimpressed by lesbianism (or indeed women in general) and soon come to realise their mistake. Established by an opening montage of breasts, eyes and dead smiles the audience can see that Boy (as he is solely called) feels nothing for the female form but little prepares for his murderous tendencies, nor the clammy, helpless horror of the piece. Trapped within their house, isolated by the constant howl of wind and sea, made helpless by their massed, selfless desire to survive, to not ruffle their captor lest any action lead to another death, their numbers fall despite their righteousness and its harsh to watch despite the relative lack of graphic material, the sheer unfeeling menace is all that counts. Juro Kara is grimly effective as Boy, plagued by visions of mockery yet without any self knowledge, a disturbing blank savage and well backed up by the various actresses, characterised simply as Nurse A, B, etc. with one pulling off a particularly potent moment as she desperately tries to reason through the situation. The shooting is generally static, lots of long shots and very little dynamism, conveying an effective hopeless claustrophobia that works well with the performances, all contributes to a locked in fatalistic ambiance that is just perfect. It all feels cold and sincerely misanthropic if not naturalistic (those apt to pointlessly pick holes will likely have a field day), committed to its dark vision, this definitely aided by the stark black and white cinematography, a very much dead and gone palate all the more effective for being spiked by a couple of splashes of lurid colour to show us the bloody extent of what we have seen. There isn't much depth to this one and the ending does spin things out into pretentious territory by aiming for broader social significance but the bulk of the film is as good a study in focused misogyny as I've seen in a while and it has nudity to boot which is a definite plus. On the whole a definite good 'un with two or three stand-out scenes, not for the casual viewer but a thumbs up from me.

Early 'pinku' classic...

[gorepump · 8/10 · 3 November 2014]

Though it's not my favorite of his works, pinku pioneer Koji Wakamatsu's "Violated Angels" is another example of the film-maker's groundbreaking proficiency for misogynistic sleaze. That said, this film just so happens to 'flow' with an undeniable artistry, as seen in his other earlier films, such as "The Embryo Hunts in Secret" and "Go Go Second Time Virgin".

The idea here is obviously modeled after the Richard Speck murders - a dorm full of nurses find a guy lurking around outside at night and decide to drag him in to peep on two of the lesbian girls going at it. This is a strange and implausible decision, but who am I to judge the questionable generosity of a bunch of young, naive bitches... Unfortunately for the girls, seeing sensual lesbian passion pushes him over the edge, so he snuffs off the rug-munchers and tortures the rest of the terrified girls for the rest of the night...

If you're cool with an 'arthouse' approach to violent exploitation, then I don't think you'll have any problems with this one. It's pretty damn mean for it's time - featuring some relatively 'disturbing' depictions of rape and some torture and mutilation (though mostly implied, but we're given a shot of the aftermath). The most 'graphic' moment being a scene in which a luger is jammed in a chick's ass and fired. "Violated Angels" is not Wakamatsu's best or most 'offensive' film, as far as I'm concerned, but for those into pinku cinema it definitely helped to lay the foundation for this type of genre. It's a very bleak and harsh film, especially by 60s standards.

More Gorepump reviews @ swinesewage.blogspot.com

VIOLATED ANGELS (Koji Wakamatsu, 1967) *1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 3/10 · 26 June 2008]

I’d watched three films by the same director prior to this one: while no discernible point seemed to emerge from them other than to show the dehumanized state of modern society, I certainly wasn’t enthralled by the unrelenting gloominess of Wakamatsu’s approach. With this in mind, I knew more or less what to expect here – but, then, there were other factors involved which rendered it even less appetizing than his other works!

To begin with, the film opens on a disorientating montage of naked female bodies in a magazine being scrutinized (as it transpires, contemptuously) by the unbalanced protagonist. Then we cut to a group of female nurses in an isolated dormitory – a number of whom spy on two of their colleagues making love; in the euphoria of the moment, they invite in a male passer-by – an unwise decision, as he turns out to be none other than the misanthrope we’d been introduced to earlier…who unhesitatingly shoots dead one of the lesbians! Even if I caught the film mid-way through the credits myself, the whole thing runs for just 57 minutes: while the inherent tension within the central situation could well have sustained such modest duration, this is negated by the static direction – which renders the single-setting claustrophobic and the proceedings merely boring!

Anyway, one by one, the six women (except one who had stunned the madman by questioning his motives!) fall prey to his violent outbursts: one is tied and tortured, while another gives herself to the killer in the hope of escaping her fate!! One wonders why they just don’t turn on him all at once or, even more obviously, try to escape via one of the other rooms in the house (in any case, this is said to have been drawn from a true-life incident). For the record, the black-and-white images are interrupted towards the end by brief flashes of color (such as the aftermath of the above-mentioned bondage scene and the tableau-like depiction of all the characters – naked and bloodied – huddled together in the main hall of the dormitory). The film, then, ends abruptly with the unannounced arrival on the scene of the military forces.

Violated Viewer

[Martin-131 · 1/10 · 17 July 1999]

I saw this film about 20 years ago and remember it as being particularly nasty. I believe it is based on a true incident: a young man breaks into a nurses' home and rapes, tortures and kills various women.

It is in black and white but saves the colour for one shocking shot.

At the end the film seems to be trying to make some political statement but it just comes across as confused and obscene.

Avoid.