Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song (1973)

Director: Yasuharu Hasebe

Notable Cast: Meiko Kaji, Masakuza Tamura, Yumi Kanei, Hiroshi Tsukata, Yayoi Watanabe, Sanae Hakahara, Akemi Negishi

It happens to every franchise. Eventually, they will have to have a significant drop off in quality. There is only so long an inspired artistry, no matter what genre or era, can last as time continues. With the third entry into the Female Prisoner Scorpion series Beast Stable, director Shunya Ito was done with what he wanted to say and moved on from the franchise. However, lead actress Meiko Kaji would stay on for one final film before her departure and for this fourth film in the series, #701’s Grudge Song, she brings on an old time friend to fill Ito’s shoes: Yasuharu Hasebe. Granted, this swan song for the Meiko Kaji era of the character is definitely a huge step down from the previous three – that drop off of quality that I mentioned – due to substandard script, a change of directorial focus, and a bit of a scattered narrative, but Grudge Song still remains a film that works on an entertaining level at least and has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to having the last word.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973)

Director: Shunya Ito

Notable Cast: Meiko Kaji, Mikio Narita, Reisen Lee, Yayoi Watanabe, Koji Nanbara, Takashi Fujiki, Tomoko Mayama 

One of the fascinating things about the Female Prisoner Scorpion series is how each installment breaks just enough new ground to remain feeling fresh and unique on its own without sacrificing the style and blended pieces of genre that made them so uniquely impressive to begin with. Even though the third film in the series Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable is a slight step down in quality from the first two [you can read my thoughts on the first film HERE and the second film HERE], it’s also an ambitious and large step down a new path for the series that sets it aside. Like its predecessors, Beast Stable is the kind of film that rises above its more controversial pieces into a film of more artistic merit, although it doesn’t quite find the tightness of its writing to sell some of its higher end themes.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)

Director: Shunya Ito

Notable Cast: Meiko Kaji, Fumio Watanabe, Kayoko Shiraishi, Yukie Kagawa, Yuki Arasa

There is no series of films quite like the Female Prisoner Scorpion films. They are unique, impactful, and layered to the point pure density. While I reviewed the first film for our Meiko Kaji celebration earlier this year [check out that review HERE], Arrow Video has been kind enough to package all four of the original Female Prisoner Scorpion films in a new box set for collectors and this vulgar auteur could not be happier with the results. So it’s with great pleasure that the next three installments of the series will get official reviews here on the site and hopefully, in all seriousness, these reviews convince someone to purchase and experience these films for the first time – or again – so that the legacy of their artful approach to exploitative cinema can only grow. The films are all worthy enough that they deserve that much.

This leads me to the focus of this review, the second film in the series and the widely acclaimed Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41. In many circles, this is the considered the best of the series and for legitimate reason. Jailhouse 41 is not only a film that continues on with the themes, style, and story that the first film established, but it takes each one to the next level and punches it through with a thoughtful (and forceful) impact that simply cannot be ignored. This is the kind of film, like its predecessor, that nimbly elevates itself to a high art level of creative cinematic purpose where the exploitative elements on its surface only help to craft a foundation for the art to exist on. This is a film that entertains ultimately with its prisoners on the run plotting, but it leaves such a resonating message and feeling that it lasts well beyond its time frame and might even be just as relevant now as it was in 1972.

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)

Director: Shunya Ito

Notable Cast: Meiko Kaji, Rie Yokoyama, Yayoi Watanabe, Yoko Mihara, Akemi Negishi, Keiko Kuni, Yumiko Katayama, Emi Jo, Isao Natsuyagi

Exploitation films can be a massively hit or miss kind of thing. Firstly, either you get it or you don’t conceptionally speaking and secondly, the quality within that concept can be hugely diversified. For every Ms. 45 in quality there are a hundred pieces of generic cash in rape and revenge flicks. That’s my opinion anyway. It’s also the reason that my expectations for Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion were decently low. *For the record, I will just be referring to the film as Scorpion from this point out as that title is a bitch to type. It might also be the reason that I was impressed with the film as a whole too. While at times the exploitation can be a bit eye rolling as it seemingly forces in tons of ‘women in prison’ clichés, the resulting film is quite steeped in artistic merit and one that deserves to be seen as such. This is not just another pinku Japanese flick, this is one that rises above it in many ways.