Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs

Once again the Japanese tantalize with extremely well made trash. Nothing like this is apparently possible from American cinema. Excellent photography and art direction go hand in hand with horrific human behavior.

The plot is well summarized elsewhere. The deviance is graphically portrayed with several extended rape/torture scenes. The kidnapped girl is frequently beaten. Zero Woman's police tactics seem to include being beaten and raped until the point she can pull out the deadly red handcuffs. The criminals are crazed and the politicians/cops are crooked and conniving. What a wonderful world.

Much of the film is set in sleazy areas or abandoned neighborhoods giving the film an atmosphere much like Mad Max. Sometimes the colors are vivid to the point of unreality. At one point the director does some very unusual color lighting tricks that work well. Depending on your stomach this is a very well made exploitation film.

The weak points are the ridiculous flying handcuffs that do things that would be unacceptable in a cheap kung fu picture, what was easy to draw in the original manga was obviously hard to reproduce in real life. And the big car chase/shootout that looks like they are driving 15 miles per hour.

The lead actress is very good and has no problem delivering serious lines unclothed. The other actors are good or hammy in a way that fits with the over the top tone of the film.

Recommended for hard exploitation fans.