Sunday, March 23, 2008

Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs (1974)



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Review:

A female undercover police officer (Rei) is imprisoned for killing a rich diplomat responsible for the death of a close friend. The vigilante cop is now forced to waste away in the confines of prison, with fellow inmates that thrive on subjecting her to their fits of sadism.

But...not for long..

An unruly gang member is released from prison, where he promptly resumes his life of crime with his gaggle of barbaric goons. They embark on a crime spree, first by intruding on an unsuspecting couple engaged in conversation about their engagement. The men quickly dispatch the boyfriend, before taking turns repeatedly violating his poor fiancee. (Rather then give their nude and prone victim a chance to divulge their crimes to the authorities, they decide to kidnap the girl and attempt to extort her family for money.)

Fortunately for our anti-heroine, her old colleagues have unorthodox plans for her. To have her prison sentence revoked, she must infiltrate the gang, dispatch its members and return their hostage safely. (The gang unknowingly kidnap the daughter of a man with political affiliations, who is also attempting to become the next president. Their demands include a ransom of 30,000,000 yen.)

The authorities manage to bait the gang with promises of a suitcase, filled with the ransom they requested. And insist that their leader meets an assigned patsy at a train station to confirm the transaction. As expected the plan goes awry, and the gang's leader makes a run with the suitcase only to be chased by a group of police officials. Fisticuffs ensue, before Rei puts a quick end to the confrontation by slicing the faces of several polices officers, enabling her escape with her purposed target..who openly welcomes her to join his gang.

Unfortunately for Zero woman, his distrusting cronies have other plans for her.... Will Rei save the future president's daughter and avoid creating a political scandal, or will she also become another victim?

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In Conclusion:

I have always had a fetish for badass beautiful women, with this film I could not help but be slightly disappointed. I wished that Rei had participated more in the violence at hand, as opposed to idly standing around doe-eyed while she is repeatedly raped and beaten.

Other then a few minor complaints, the movie is fantastic..it's cartoon-ish depictions of rape and violence are always a worthy source of entertainment. (& Miki Sugimoto is absolutely gorgeous, thankfully I will have more opportunities to see her, since the vast majority of her filmography consists of Pinky Violence titles.)

If you happen to enjoy stylish violence & vast quantities of female flesh you just might enjoy Pinky Violence. I know I am hooked.

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Screen Captures: (Please note: all screen caps are taken by me, please give me credit if you intend to use them)

1 comment:

Phantom of Pulp said...

This is easily the best and most brutal of the ZERO WOMAN films. Love the style and "dirty" atmosphere. Beautiful!