Joshuu sasori: Kemono-beya (1973)

Director:

Shunya Ito

Writers:

Hirô Matsuda (screenplay), Tooru Shinohara (comic)

Stars:

Meiko Kaji, Mikio Narita, Reisen Lee

Cast

Cast overview:
Meiko Kaji	...	Nami Matsushima (Sasori)
Mikio Narita	...	Detective Kondo
Reisen Lee	...	Katsu
Yayoi Watanabe	...	Yuki
Kôji Nanbara	...	Sameshima
Seiya Satô
Takashi Fujiki	...	Tanida
Tomoko Mayama	...	Shinobu
Mitsuru Mori
Toshie Kimura
Kôji Fujiyama
Kôji Sekiyama
Nobuo Yana	...	Adachi
Toshiyuki Tsuchiyama
Koji Miemachi

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

exposed breast | innocent person killed | nickname | third part | incestuous sex | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | Crime

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

29 July 1973 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by New Female Prisoner Scorpion: Special Cellblock X (1977)

User Reviews

Third time, not so lucky.

Fugitive prisoner Scorpion (Meiko Kaji) is on the run, pursued by a relentless, vengeful, one-armed detective named Kondo (Mikio Narita). In an attempt to 'blend in' with society, she decides to shack up with Yuki (Yayoi Watanabe), a beautiful young prostitute who lives with her mentally handicapped brother, and get a job. However, when the local prostitution ring gives poor little Yuki a very hard time, our silent heroine decides to seek revenge, and, in doing so, reveals her whereabouts to the law.

Judging by IMDb's current rating (7.6 out of 10), and some glowing comments by trusted, prolific authors, I expected to have my socks blown clean off by Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable. Indeed, the first few minutes, in which protagonist Nami Matsushima hacks off Kondo's arm (which is handcuffed to her) and proceeds to leg it with the severed limb dangling from her wrist, did just that (I paused the DVD to pop them back on).

Unfortunately, however, the remainder of the film proved to be far less impressive, never matching the sheer audacity of the opening scene. Sure, director Shunya Ito comes close with some exploitative moments including incestuous sex between Yuki and her retarded brother, and a nasty, forced abortion, but, for the most part, Beast Stable is rather boring, being very slow in the telling and uneventful for long stretches.

The film is, of course, very stylish, and always good to look at (the stunning lead actresses certainly help there, with Watanabe obligingly getting her kit off a few times), but compared with parts one and two, this third outing for Scorpion is a tad disappointing.