School of the Holy Beast (1974)

In order to investigate her mother's strange death, a woman enters a sacred convent run by hypocritical, perverse nuns.

Director:

Norifumi Suzuki (as Noribumi Suzuki)

Writers:

Masahiro Kakefuda, Norifumi Suzuki (as Noribumi Suzuki)

Stars:

Yumi Takigawa, Emiko Yamauchi, Yayoi Watanabe

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yumi Takigawa	...	Maya Takigawa
Emiko Yamauchi	...	Matsuko Ishida
Yayoi Watanabe	...	Hisako Kitano
Ryouko Ima	...	Natarii Guriin (Natalie Green)
Harumi Tajima	...	Tamao Oka
Natsuko Yashiro	...	Kaoru Onotsuka (as Yûko Oribe)
Marie Antoinette	...	Janetto (Janet)
Emi Jô	...	Youko Watanabe (as Emi Shiro)
Rie Saotome	...	Emi Takanami
Sanae Ôhori	...	Mie Mitsuko
Kyouko Negishi	...	Michiko Shinohara
Yumi Kimura	...	Keiko Kitano
Yôko Mihara	...	Sadako Matsumara
Akiko Mori	...	Aya Ogasahara
Fumio Watanabe	...	Priest Kakinuma

Storyline

After the mysterious death of her mother, a young woman chooses to enter a convent to find out what happened. As soon as the door closes to the nunnery, the nuns start torturing the woman. Also, the woman has to deal with a God-hating archbishop and a lesbian mother superior.

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Plot Keywords:

nun | convent | revenge | evil nun | erotica | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

16 February 1974 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Convent of the Sacred Beast

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei Tokyo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! (2005)

User Reviews

La Schola de la Bestia Sangrada

You'd be forgiven for thinking a Japanese nunsploit flick helmed by snazzmeister Norifumi Suzuki would be cheap schlock with shower scenes to pad out the running time. No, this is a well made film as much concerned with inverting and subverting religious imagery as it is with aesthetics and sensuality. Certain set-pieces stand out as a testament to that: a nun flagellated in slow motion with roses, rose petals falling all over her bloodied body, a procession of nuns holding candles walking through the convent's corridors, a church interior photographed like a Mario Bava set, a priest falling dead in the shape of an inverted cross, stabbed with one no less.

Although School of the Holy Beast is definitely blasphemous in the imagery it employs and the way those who preach God's word are portrayed (a convent hiding vice and corruption the perfect hiding ground), it's never outrageous enough to shock because everything is done with a sense of artful style that will have all but the most fundamendalist of christians accepting it for what it is. There are a couple of false notes, like the 'witch trial' scene where a nun suspected to be a witch is forcefed salt water then forced to sit upon an image of Christ; if she pees, she's a witch. The method is so medieval that it's hard to picture taking place in the contemporary world the movie is set. Overall the film is enjoyable, mildly violent and sleazy, with perhaps a dash of religious angst that comes out as juvenile, but in good taste and a worthwhile watch.