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Review

As operatically ultra-stylized and artifice-heightened as they are simultaneously raw and visceral, the proliferation of sex-and-violence exploitation films that came out of the classic “Pinku Eiga” (pink film) era of Japanese filmmaking (principally – like almost all notorious international exploitation cinema – a product of the 1970s, but with roots in the mid-60s film industry, and also extending into the 1980s) remain some of the most visually striking and boldly shocking of all the world’s genre cinema. Largely unfamiliar in America until comparatively recently, Japanese pink films have recently experienced a revival of sorts, as witnessed by this frankly astonishing five-disc collection issued by the fine folks at Panik House. While other domestic labels have unleashed Japanese exploitation films prior to this – the justifiably famous Female Convict Scorpion films, the haunting Go, Go Second Time Virgin, the jaw-droppingly blasphemous School of the Holy Beast, and Panik House’s own amazing Sex and Fury, all of which are highly recommended – this boxed set easily represents the most ambitious effort to date to introduce this unique genre to American sensibilities…whether they’re ready for it or not. Fast-paced, electric fusions of softcore sex and hardcore mayhem, the pinky violence films are often the ne plus ultra of worldwide sleaze cinema, and for any self-respecting exploitation fan, this set has to stand as one of the most significant DVD releases in recent memory.

The set kicks off with, perhaps unwisely, the weakest film of the quartet (the fifth disc is a CD collecting songs performed by pinky violence actress Reiko Ike), Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless to Confess (1971), a fun but somewhat mild and forgettable entry in the Zubeko Bancho series; the story is not especially engaging and the action rather tame, but it admittedly kicks into high gear during the final ten or fifteen minutes, and being the weakest entry in this collection only means that the competition is exemplary. The next title, Girl Boss Guerilla (1972) is an absolute knockout, however: a colorful girl-gang action pic that manages to be witty, erotic, playfully self-aware, and actually emotionally engrossing, this is another standout from the wonderful Norifumi Suzuki (director of the aforementioned Sex and Fury and Holy Beast). Suzuki is back as helmer of another pinky violence classic, Terrifying Girls’ High School: Lynch Law Classroom (1973), which is – yes – even more over-the-top than its title might imply, spinning a wildly violent yarn about reform school girls on a rampage. Finally, Criminal Woman: Killing Melody, also from ’73, is a revenge thriller with more than its fair share of nudity and mayhem.

An absolutely essential purchase for all fans of Asian genre filmmaking or international exploitation, this could also stand as an eye-opening peek into a prolific and distinctive cinema genre for interested novices. The perfect gift for your perverted and/or sociopathic loved ones!