Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs (1974)

After a politician's daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless gang, a brutal policewoman is released from jail and sent after them.

Director:

Yukio Noda

Writers:

Fumio Kônami (screenplay), Hirô Matsuda (screenplay)

Stars:

Miki Sugimoto, Eiji Gô, Tetsurô Tanba

Cast

Credited cast:
Miki Sugimoto	...	Rei, Zero woman
Eiji Gô	...	Yoshihide Nakahara
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Zengo Nagumo
Hideo Murota	...	Masashi Kusaka
Yôko Mihara	...	Katsuko Yano, the Madame
Ichirô Araki	...	Saburô Seki
Seiji Endô	...	Tooru Inaba
Hiromi Kishi	...	Kyôko Nagumo - Zengo's Daughter
Rokkô Toura	...	Tani / Police
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Iwao Dan	...	Yamanaka
Kôji Fujiyama	...	Mishima
Emi Kakizawa	...	Emi
Genji Kawai	...	Katô
Toshie Kokabu	...	Female Prisoner
Akira Kuji	...	Inoue

Storyline

Agent Zero is a cop that uses her own methods for dealing with criminals. After she unlawfully kills a rapist in a violent fashion, she is sent to prison and stripped of her badge. But very soon after, a rich politician's daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless gang. Agent Zero is let out of prison with the mission of going undercover to find the politician's daughter and return her safely.

---

Plot Keywords:

overhead camera shot | drive by shooting | politician | prison | policewoman | 

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

21 May 1974 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Body count: 19.

---

Connections

Referenced in Rewind This! (2013)

---

Soundtracks

Claw Marks of a Woman (Onna no Tsume-ato)
Music & Arranged by Shunsuke Kikuchi
Lyrics by Masao Ishizaka
Performed by Miki Sugimoto

User Reviews

Classic ultra-violent crime drama

Yukio Noda's 'Zero Woman-Red Handcuffs' lives up to it's reputation, featuring a truly impressive level of violence mixed in with it's artistic style. I made the mistake of trying to watch this one in the morning. I had to stop it during the scene where a gang member is getting his skin burned off with a blowtorch, by a police detective. When I watched it all the way through I found this to be a very impressive 'pink' film, dealing with revenge, kidnapping, and torture. A gang of thugs who get their kicks raping and killing random people, believe they hit the big time when they kidnap the daughter of an important political figure. The amazingly sexy and tough Miki Sugimoto, the Zero Woman, is hired to bring back the girl, and to her delight, she is given an order to leave none of the kidnappers alive. This sets up the stage for some truly impressive scenes of brutality, and Rei, the Zero Woman has an almost religious devotion to 'justice'. We see this at the films amazing first sequence, where she allows herself to be taken to a hotel room by a wanted rapist/killer, and hands out her own brand of 'justice'. One reason that the film is so disturbing is that everyone, including the cops, is portrayed as wild animals with no compassion for human life. The gang especially, seem like a pack of savage hyenas. And much of the violence is directed at the Zero Woman herself; she is on the receiving end of many beatings and ugly rapes. I actually felt a little queasy in the stomach at times, but Miki Sugimoto is a gorgeous heroine, pure eye candy, and this visual beauty made the films ugly scenes a bit more bearable. Not that 'Zero Woman' is an ugly looking film; This is filmed with a great level of style, and utilizes garish colors especially well. Rei sports a red gun and red handcuffs, and the whole thing is quite surreal. This is the only thing that i have seen from director Yukio Noda, but judging from this one, the guy is a maniac. 'Zero Woman-red Handcuffs' is a fine 'pink film', and should not be confused with the vastly inferior 'Zero Woman' trash films from the 90's. This 1974 classic has absolutely nothing in common with those later films, other than the name. Essential viewing for fans of 'pink' cinema and violent cop dramas, this is a real assault on the senses!