Ella-May O'Brien
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
modmax
A less known movie by Teruo Ishii from his golden period ( end of sixties / beginning of seventies). The formula is the same of his other productions of that time: sex and violence. Ishii was the most rappresentative director of Japanese exploitation cinema and some of his movies, intended to be provocative, are still disturbing nowadays due to their torture and violence scenes, their misogyny and their gore effects, usually very well done for those years. This one not rappresents Ishii at his best, probably 'cause of the poorly written screenplay that may result confused due to its fragmentation in episodes. The film opens with an autopsy scene; the surgeon, operating the corpse of his suicidal wife, meditates on cases of violence involving women. This is the pretext to introduce some short stories of violence and murders committed by women. The best known is Abe Sada's one: she is remembered for erotically asphyxiating her lover in 1936, and then cutting off his penis and carrying it with her. The story of Abe Sada was brought on screen other two times: in a film with the same name in 1975 by Noboru Tanaka and in the famous "In the Realm of Senses" by Nagisa Oshima in 1976. Teruo Ishii not just advance them of some years, but let Abe Sada herself tell her story in a 1969 interview included in the movie. I don't know if the other stories are based on true facts, they seem just an excuse to show pretty naked girls and gory scenes, anyway for exploitation fans these are reasons good enough to look this film.
