Rating: 4.5/5
Cult Movie Challenge 2017 | 45/52 | Pinky Violence
In an underground chamber, behind a gate, bound in chains, is Nami, put in solitary confinement after the events of the previous film. In her mouth is a spoon, which she grinds against the stone floor. Slowly, she turns the spoon into a shiv. After a year in solitary confinement, the guards come to tell her about an inspection by a prominent official, which means they will bring her out of solitary confinement for the day. The Warden arrives to gloat over his victory over Nami and to announce his promotion. The guards hose her down for about 1 minute of screentime; it’s ridiculous.
The inspector perceives an immaculately managed prison. The women turn in shock—Scorpion has returned. The Warden tries to keep the inspector uninterested in Nami. Still, he cannot help but gloat for a moment, giving Nami her opportunity to go for the Warden’s other eye (she had taken one in the previous movie). She pierces the sunglasses, but the Warden pulls away in time to only get a scratch on the face. The inspector is so stunned that he urinates on himself, stirring the women’s laughter. They incite a riot, but the guards quickly take control.
To punish them for starting the riot, the prison sends the women to a brutal labor camp. They keep Nami separated, bound to a cross, guarded by dogs, lest she inspire further revolt. To further humiliate Nami, four guards take turns SA-ing her in front of the prisoners. Nami knows what she must do.
Will Scorpion be able to reach the Warden and take him out? Will the traumatized inmates give her the chance?
Everything I said about style in my previous review applies here. The visuals and cinematography are even more expressive here—a larger budget and longer schedule allowed for more experimentation. The gore is also way more intense. Some kills are slasher-movie intense. The movie plays with time by making scenes of torture drawn out and repetitive so that they feel endless, and we are stuck with Nami.
I love the 4th wall break when the oboe player looks at the camera and pulls her head in toward it.
Scorpion has become a legend when we see her again. She feels like Clint Eastwood in a Western—the way she owns the space is stunning. Meiko Kaji is a fucking boss.
The movie seems to suggest that some women deserve to be in prison. But it also says that women commit crimes because of men. And no man in this movie isn’t a disgusting piece of shit. Maybe I shouldn’t try to find a moral in a women-in-prison film.
The moment when the audio goes silent is so shocking. I don’t think we needed another SA as a motivating scene, but I guess it’s thankfully not graphic.
The movie makes a choice about 35 minutes in that immediately bumped up my review score. This movie is wild!