Female Prisoner Scorpion #701: Grudge Song (1973)

A new director helmed this fourth entry's return to the WIP camp. It strays awkwardly into theatrical territory on a few occasions, but mostly it stays on a straight path. Matsu gets to share the film with someone else for a time, which is beneficial in giving her character purpose.
Meiko Kaji’s presence means it’s still better than a lot of other exploitation flicks of the era, but the first two films in the series are so good that everything that followed was cast in their shadow, and the addition of some not-quite-Nazi female guards felt like it was pulling the original intent in a different direction.
Grudge Song was the last of the Meiko era films. The series was continued but with a different actress in the Sasori role.

3 lengths of rope out of 5