Zeroka no onna: Akai wappa (1974)

Director:

Yukio Noda

Writers:

Fumio Konami (writer)
Hirô Matsuda (writer)

Release Date:

21 May 1974 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Crime

Plot Keywords:

Gangster Boss | Chase | Corruption | Danger | Boyfriend Girlfriend Relationship

Cast

Miki Sugimoto	...	Rei, Zero woman
Eiji Go	...	Yoshihide
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Nagumo
Hideo Murota	...	Kusaka
Yôko Mihara	...	Sesum, the Madame
Ichirô Araki
Seiji Endô
Rokko Toura	...	Police

Also Known As:

Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs (International: English title) (USA)

Runtime:

88 min | Germany:82 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) (cut) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

Toei Company

Soundtrack:

Claw Marks of a Woman (Onna no Tsume-ato)

Excellent Japanese exploitation thriller!

I'm not big on Asian cinema, but I went into this film with high expectations anyway considering all that I'd heard about it, and the film certainly didn't disappoint! It reminded me a lot of the Mario Bava masterpiece (and fellow 1974 release) "Rabid Dogs" and it's interesting to consider the difference in style between what are probably the world's two biggest cult film producing nations; the films handle similar topics, yet the style and execution couldn't be much more different. Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs is an exploitation thriller with themes of comedy, action and horror thrown into the mix. The central themes are rape, kidnap and murder and the film excellently blurs the lines between the good and bad guys. The central character is Rei; a lady cop who finds herself in jail after murdering an American diplomat as an act of revenge. Shortly afterwards, a politician's daughter is raped and, after realising who she is, the rapists turn kidnappers and hold the girl for ransom. The Government then has no choice but to send Rei in to kill the gang and rescue the girl...

The film kicks off with a gory cold blooded murder sequence and less than five minutes later there's a brutal rape sequence; which gives a good impression of what this film is all about! Director Yukio Noda really doesn't hold back where violence or blood is concerned and the film features several brutal scenes, most of which result in heavy blood loss - the spraying blood effect is a particular highlight! The central role of course goes to the beautiful Miki Sugimoto, who plays the 'zero woman' of the title. She's a very cool character and looks awesome chewing scenery in her long red coat; although I have to say that she becomes a bit of a disappointment as the film goes on - considering her introduction sequence, the character would have been put to much better use if she were given the upper hand over the kidnappers, rather than being constantly beaten down. Her weapon of choice is a pair of red handcuffs, which she somehow manages to kill people with...the result being 'interesting'. The mellow music really tops the film off; providing a stark contrast to the on screen action. Overall, this is not a perfect film by any means; but its good gory fun and certainly comes recommended to my fellow cult fans!