Synopsis
Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972) is Shunya Ito's cult Japanese revenge film, and you can watch it online on iFILM. Young Nami Matsushima was seduced and betrayed by Sugimi, a detective who used her to get close to a drug ring, then threw her behind bars when he was done.
Inside, she faces a sadistic warden, corrupt guards and inmates who would sell each other out for the smallest favor. Nami barely speaks. She watches, and she waits. Meiko Kaji carries the whole picture almost without dialogue, turning a victim into an ice-cold instrument of vengeance known as Scorpion with a single stare from under her fringe. Toei studio shoots it right on the line between exploitation and pure style: jagged angles, sudden bursts of red, theatrical sets and the haunting theme song "Urami Bushi," sung by Kaji herself.
The first chapter of a legendary franchise and a cornerstone of Japan's pinky violence genre, it is brutal, stylish and uncompromising — and a clear touchstone for Tarantino's Kill Bill years later. Not for the faint of heart, but essential for anyone drawn to 1970s Asian extremes. Stream Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972) online on iFILM.
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