Sex & Fury (1973. Norifumi Suzuki)
Female Yakuza Tale (1973. Teruo Ishii)

By Jens

Pinky Violence, anyone? The new American dvd company Panikhouse has just blasted through the exploitation film jungle with the release of two rare outragerous Japanese titles, "Sex & Fury", and the sequel "Female Yakuza Tale". These two mindfuck features are some of the most deliciously wicked and entertaining flicks this jaded psychotronic fanatic have ever experienced in the female avenger movie genre.
As a kid Ocho (Reiko Ike) witness her detective father being brutally slayed by the local yakuza. In early 1920s Tokyo the now grown up Ocho make her living as a gambler and pickpocket. She gives shelter to a young anarchist who've tried to kill the threesome responsible for her father's death. Enter Christina, a sexy international spy and gambler, played by Christina Lindberg, star of the infamous sickie "Thriller/They Called Her One Eye", which Tarantino based most of his "Kill Bill" films on. Christina also has feelings for the young anarchist, and the plot thickens. The tone of "Sex & Fury" is set early on in a fantastic scene where Ocho, naked, in slo-mo graphically dismembers a dozen assassins with a sword. Both stars have endless nude and depraved sex scenes and bloodshed erupts frequently in this insanely fastpaced sleazy revenge movie. The cinematography is beyond top-notch in grand pop art colors just like in director Norifumi Suzuki's other sex & gore classics "School Of The Holy Beast" and "Beautiful Girl Hunter". The few bad points are the rather lame pop score and Lindberg's lack of acting talents (though it makes you holler with laughter in disbelief), no wonder she play a mute in "Thriller/They Called Her One Eye", haha.

"Female Yakuza Tale" starts out with another great scene of a naked Ocho killing off a pack of thugs with a combo of a sword/umbrella (traces of "Lady Snowblood"). Later she's captured by villains in the brothel business who torture and rape her in graphic details. Bad move, since the men don't kill our heroine, and now Ocho is once again obsessed with revenge. The villains are also drug smugglers and use their hookers' vaginas to smuggle bottles of dope from one of town to the other. The women are getting tired of the abuse though they're addicted to the dope, and Ocho hooks up with them to get back on their tormentors. In the most glorious and mindboggling scene I've ever seen in any exploitation film, the gals meet their pimps in a warehouse, and one by one they strip naked and jump the thugs with swords in an outlandish bloodbath that left me grasping for air. The first part of "Female Yakuza Tale" isn't as delirious as "Sex & Fury", but things really picks up in the last part. The tone of "Female Yakuza Tale" is more nasty than sleazy, but the fuzz psych score is superior to "Sex & Fury". Director Teruo Ishii ("The Street Fighter's Last Revenge", "Tattooed Swordswoman") isn't as visually flashy as Norifumi Suzuki, but he's very skillful at delivering a sick and exciting yarn with a cast of the most disgusting sadistic depraved men this side of "Zero Woman"! Both of the Panikhouse dvds are uncut and in superb print quality, and feature a audio commentary by Japanese Outlaw Cinema expert Christ D. If you only buy two dvds this year, and are a fan of ultra sleazy female revenge flicks with high production values, then buy these masterpieces. But you might wanna hide them from your mom or girlfriend, haha. I've stated this many times; there are only one period of exploitation cinema that matters (1971-75), and there's only country that matters: Japan!

Sex & Fury

Female Yakuza Tale