Japanese Title: Joshuu 701-gô: Sasori
Director: Shunya Ito

Shunya Ito’s directorial debut Female Prisoner 701 Scorpion is full of hallucinatory surreal vision that could have come straight from hell. Meiko Kaji recently left Nikkatsu studios when they decided to cease their production of mainstream action and youth films and focus more on pink films and Roman porn. One of her first jobs with Toei, Female Prisoner 701 Scorpion as Nami Matsushima, a part which she would play four times and with the success of the Lady Snowblood films Meiko Kaji was one of the most preeminent female action stars of the 1970’s. Shunya Ito’s direction is inspired and what he achieves on an artistic level for such a low budget and genre film is astonishing. Meiko Kaji’s performance is dead on and she does for Mastu what Clint Eastwood did for Blondie in The Man With No Name trilogy. Female Prisoner 701 is the Citizen Kane of women in prison films.

The film opens with a bang as Mastu (Meiko Kaji) and Yuki (Yayoi Watanabe) have pulled off a daring broad day light prison break out. After Mastu and Yuki are caught the warden cuts back on all the prisoners food rations and this leads to the other prisoners hatred of Mastu. As punishment for trying to escape Mastu is now in solitary confinement. She has a flash back about Sugimi a narcotics officer who wants Mastu to infiltrate the night club owned by Yakuza organization and found out the smugglers routes. The Yakuza are on to her and they take her into a back and rape her. Sugimi enters the room, but he doesn’t help he has betrayed her and joined forces with the Yakuza. Mastu is sent to prison after a trying to kill Sugimi for betraying her. After an all out riot Mastu escapes and kills those who had betrayed her.

Courtesy 10K Bullets