Zenka onna: koroshi-bushi (1973)

Reiko Ike stars as the daughter of a man who has been pushed into drug dealing by the local Yakuza mob. Having outlived his usefulness to the gang he is murdered and Reiko is gang raped, ... See full summary »

Director:

Atsushi Mihori

Writers:

Fumio Kônami (screenplay), Hirô Matsuda (screenplay)

Stars:

Reiko Ike, Yumiko Katayama, Chiyoko Kazama

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Reiko Ike	...	Maki
Yumiko Katayama	...	Kaoru
Chiyoko Kazama	...	Natsuko
Masami Sôda
Miki Sugimoto	...	Massayo
Ryoji Hayama	...	Boss Oba (as Ryôji Hayama)
Shinzo Hotta	...	(as Shinzô Hotta)
Seiya Satô
Keiichi Kitagawa
Tooru Hanada
Bontarô Miake
Takeo Chii	...	Tetsu Hamayasu
Hiroshi Date
Hirohisa Nakata
Naoyuki Sugano

Storyline

Reiko Ike stars as the daughter of a man who has been pushed into drug dealing by the local Yakuza mob. Having outlived his usefulness to the gang he is murdered and Reiko is gang raped, leading her to attempt a knife attack on the Yakuza boss (Ryoji Hayama) at a swank nightclub. Failing to kill him she ends up in prison, where she befriends a crew of other malcontents (including Yumiko Katayama and Chiyoko Kazama) and meets the Yakuza boss's girlfriend (Miki Sugimoto). Upon release Reiko reassembles her mob and launches a Machiavellian scheme to engineer a gang war between Hayama's Oba Industries and the formerly dominant Hamayasu Clan. The rival gangs begin killing each other off and Reiko works her way closer to her ultimate vengeance.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | yakuza | knife | vengeance | drug dealing | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

27 October 1973 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Criminal Woman: Killing Melody

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Moderatly entertaining exploitation

They don't make them like this anymore. Shot in 1970's Japanese pulp action style but very well photographed for this type of, ahem, "trash". Could be a TV show from the era if it wasn't for the nudity and gore.

The "heroine" is on a quest to revenge her "good-for-nothing" father, killed by a local yakuza. After a failed attempt she ends up in prison and meets her future gang of tough women. After she is released, the gang meets and starts their process of destroying the yakuza with strategy and tricks.

Very much in the 1970's exploitation style, the film would feel at home on a double bill with a Pam Grier flick, a spaghetti western, a kung fu film or a Roger Corman women in prison movie. Unfortunately the story is just a little thread-bare with the yakuza too stupid and the coincidences too convenient. The film is quite enjoyable until the notorious chainsaw and nipple burning scene. That scene is actually not so bad since it was filmed in the 70's and psychopaths like Miike weren't making films yet. I shudder at what he would have done. The film just sort of looses it's moorings and gets silly. Fortunately the pacing stays brisk so it's still mostly fun to watch. One warning, there are some eye-searing 70's fashions. Yikes.