Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)

In most cases a sequel capitalises on whatever it was that specifically made the original stand out by turning it up to suffocating proportions, but not so with the second Sasori film. Shunya Itō relocates it and then throws in a hefty dollop of ghostly theatrics and experimentalism. The result is a film that’s as surreal as it is violent. Matsu doesn't say very much throughout but her steely gaze reveals more than words could.
The camera doesn't just capture the action, it narrates and participates. Itō proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that in the right hands exploitation cinema can be a genuine art form.

4 bus rides out of 5