Director: Yasuharu Hasebe

Cast: Meiko Kaji, Masakazu Tamura, Yumi Kanei, Hiroshi Tsukata, Yayoi Watanabe, Sanae Nakahara, Akemi Negishi, Toshiyuki Hosokawa, Junko Ando

Running Time: 89 min.

By Kyle Warner

After apparently feeling that his job was done, director Shunya Ito left the Scorpion series after the third film, Beast Stable. Stepping into his place would be Yasuharu Hasebe, a director with no shortage of experience working in the exploitation genre, including three Stray Cat Rock films with Scorpion star Meiko Kaji. In his time on the Scorpion series, Ito brought crazy visuals, angry political commentary, and nightmarish horror aspects to the story of the female prisoner antihero. Hasebe’s vision is more restrained, more… sane. And as an unfortunate result, Hasebe’s Scorpion is a less interesting movie than what came before.

Matsushima the Scorpion (Meiko Kaji) is still on the run, but the cops are closing in. After a violent run-in with the fascistic Detective Kodama (Eros + Massacre’s Toshiyuki Hosokawa), Matsushima hides out in the bathroom of a strip club. If you’re familiar with the series, the idea of sneaking into a seedy sex club probably seems like the worst idea imaginable. However, Matsushima finds the most unlikely thing in that strip club: a caring man with whom she will soon fall in love with. The sex club’s technician Kudo (Masakazu Tamura) isn’t interested in Matsu for sex or a reward from the police. They’re kindred spirits with similar backgrounds of fighting the system, each with the scars to prove it. Kudo and Matsushima flee together, leading the cops on a chase throughout the city. But it’s not long before the cops catch Kudo and torture him for information. Will he, like his lover, keep silent in the face of opposition? Or will he break and reveal Matsushima’s hiding place to the cops who so want to punish her for all her misdeeds?

Both visually and dramatically, #701’s Grudge Song is a major departure from the tone that Ito helped create in the first three films. I have no issue with Matsu falling in love—her whole story of vengeance began with a sad love story, after all—but she’s not really the same character for much of the movie here. Ito’s Scorpion was a woman of action, Hasebe’s Scorpion is one of reaction. She’s chased, so she runs. She’s attacked, so she fights back. She’s wronged, so she retaliates. The Scorpion avenger who inspired fear amongst those around her doesn’t reveal herself until the film’s final moments (which, it should be noted, are also the film’s most visually inventive). Even Meiko Kaji’s terrifying glare is much more subdued this time around.

Even ignoring how it compares to the earlier films in the series, #701’s Grudge Song storyline is poorly constructed. It’s a film that’s split right down the middle, with the chase for the fugitives dominating the first half and a return to the prison system in the second half. While I appreciated Grudge Song’s attempt to come full circle and return to the first film’s setting, the second half has all new supporting characters and half-baked subplots that feel rushed.

The love interest character Kudo makes for a fine addition to the story. Masakazu Tamura (Samurai Banners) does a good job with the conflicted character. Kudo succeeds when he’s silent and violent like Matsushima, and he falters when he’s soft. Kudo also represents the only major political subplot of the film, as he was once a student protester and is now crippled by the punishment the police dished out on him back then.

The new villain Detective Kodama is a less interesting addition. The villains of Ito’s Scorpion films all had personal grudges against Matsushima, thus making their rivalries more dramatically compelling. Dirty cop Sugimi (Isao Natsuyagi) used Matsushima and tried to cover it up. Warden Goda (Fumio Watanabe) was a cruel man that treated Scorpion like any other inmate until she cost him his eye. Katsu (Reisen Ri) was a former inmate who bore a grudge against Matsushima for their time spent in prison together. Not to mention the strong villains brought to life by Kayoko Shiraishi, Mikio Narita, and Rie Yokoyama. Toshiyuki Hosokawa’s Detective Kodama is a cruel bastard that wants to see Matsushima punished because she’s committed crimes and killed cops… and that’s pretty much it. There’s no real link between Scorpion and Kodama beyond the fact that they belong to opposite sides of the law. Despite this, the obsessive detective goes to cruel, illegal lengths to punish Scorpion. It just doesn’t make for a great villain. It’s not helped much by the fact that Toshiyuki Hosokawa’s performance is a little stiff and one-note.

Yasuharu Hasebe’s Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song is not a bad film but it doesn’t look so good following the wild pieces of cinema that Shunya Ito created. The things that made the series so special and weird are in short supply here. Even Meiko Kaji’s performance isn’t the same. The actress has since said that she quit the series after this film because the role was so exhausting, both physically and mentally, and that’s beginning to show here as she looks a bit tired.

The series would continue without Kaji, as series assistant director Yutaka Kohira rebooted the series with New Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701, starring Yumi Takigawa as Matsushima in one film and Yoko Natsuki in the next. There would be future remakes and reboots, as well, with varying degrees of success. But nothing quite matches what Kaji and Ito created. The Scorpion films are based on a manga series by Toru Shinohara, who also created Zero Woman. The first Scorpion movie is said to be a fairly faithful adaptation, except in the case of the title character. In the manga, Matsushima is a buxom blonde with a foul mouth. It was supposedly Kaji’s idea, after reading the script, to perform the character mostly mute. The choice to change the character, which might’ve bugged fans of the source material at the time if current comic-to-film changes are any indication, would end up being one of the best creative decisions for the series. Most performers are looking for more lines, but the bold choice to go silent made the Scorpion more intimidating and memorable. A fantastic lead female performance, matched with crazy visuals, political symbolism, and no shortage of exploitation cinema trademarks, the Female Prisoner Scorpion series is crazy cool.

Kyle Warner’s Rating: 6.5/10

About this release: The Female Prisoner Scorpion series arrives on Blu-ray and DVD in a box set of the original four films from Arrow Video. The release is said to be a limited edition of only 4,000 copies and is available in the US and the UK. As stated in my earlier reviews and by other reviewers all across the web, the picture quality of the new release leaves something to be desired. Very grainy and very blue, it’s a rough video transfer thanks to poor source materials. Everything else about the set is top-notch, though. It comes in a sturdy box with attractive new art from Ian MacEwan.

The films come in individual Blu-ray cases with reversible artwork—one side is MacEwan’s new art, one side is the original poster. There’s also a hardbound 56-page booklet and a folded up, double-sided poster. The little book is a nice addition; it has a Chris D. interview with Meiko Kaji from 1997, a translated interview with manga Scorpion creator Toru Shinohara, and a great series overview written by Chuck Stephens. I thought each piece was an excellent read.

The special features are different for each disc, with extras both old and new (you can read my reviews for the earlier films Prisoner #701: Scorpion, Jailhouse 41, and Beast Stable for details and comments on those special features). #701’s Grudge Song’s disc includes Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp’s exploration of Yasuharu Hasebe’s film career, an archival interview with Hasebe on finishing the Scorpion series, a 40 minute visual essay on the Scorpion series from Midnight Eye’s Tom Mes, and an appreciation from filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Kichiku: Banquet of the Beasts). Director Kumakiri talks about how the Scorpion series influenced his films and how he admires ‘showmanship’ and reckless, daring filmmaking. It’s not the most focused of interviews and I don’t know Kumakiri’s films well, but it’s entertaining. Jasper Sharp’s detailed rundown of Hasebe’s career is worth watching, especially if you’re familiar with the director’s other works. The 2006 Hasebe interview is a very welcome addition, as he talks about growing up on American cinema, becoming a director, working with Meiko Kaji, and his intentions when he made the #701’s Grudge Song. I think the Hasebe interview is the best extra on the disc.

The 40 minute visual essay on the series from Tom Mes is pretty good, though sometimes it feels like repeated information. The soft-spoken Mes knows his subject well, putting the Scorpion series into historical context with Japanese cinema at the time it hit theatres. The best part of this extra from Mes is the short glimpse at footage of other, later Scorpion series. I’m especially keen to see the 1991 V-Cinema film from Evil Dead Trap director Toshiharu Ikeda.

All in all, it’s another solid disc with some welcome extra features for fans of the series. Though the picture quality for all films is lacking, I’ve very much enjoyed digging through the Scorpion box set.