XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Scott LeBrun The second film in a series of Japanese exploitation features, this regales us with the further adventures of a sexy young female convict named Matsu (Meiko Kaji), who's earned the nickname "Scorpion", as well as awe and admiration from her fellow prisoners. One day, she and six others are being transported, and they seize a chance for escape.More of a "criminals on the run" picture than a "women in prison" feature, this is wonderfully trashy, with depravity and gore galore. (Although the unaware should know there isn't much nudity, and it's largely male nudity.) The seven gals on the run are an interesting bunch, and in one musical sequence, we learn the nature of their crimes, and see that they're not all THAT bad, most of them, and garner more sympathy than their lawmen nemeses. Their tale is somewhat episodic, as, among other things, they encounter a sickly old woman, come across an abandoned settlement, take a bus full of hostages, and attempt to punish some horny tourists / rapists.This is a very stylish film, and people will marvel at the sharp "dutch angles" used by the filmmakers, and the various oppressive visuals. The finale, in particular, taking place on a garbage heap, deserves credit for being rather unusual. Director Shun'ya Ito proves to be a master of atmosphere right from the beginning, as we see what it is like for Matsu as she does her time in solitary. The music by Shunsuke Kikuchi is also noteworthy, as it is accompanied by plaintive singing.The acting is right on the money, with gorgeous Kaji making for a compelling central figure, stoic and already hardened by experience. She does receive some heavy competition from some of her co-stars, though.Certain to appeal to cult film fans for its balancing act of arty and trashy elements.Eight out of 10.

Leofwine_draca JAILHOUSE 41 is the second of the FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION films and sees Meiko Kaji returning to the role of Matsu, a prisoner dominated and abused by both prison guards and her jealous, vengeful peers. I found this to be a superior film to the first, because the story is more action dominated and there's more backside-kicking from the empowered females rather than endless torture and humiliation.There's a jailbreak at the film's outset and the rest of the narrative follows the plight of a bunch of women on the run. They encounter various sadistic men and usually end up getting the upper hand over them, while all the while the authorities close in behind them. The film boasts incredibly stylish direction with some really outlandish scenes - the psychedelic bit where they meet the weird old woman being a personal favourite moment. The violence comes thick and fast and is exceptionally gruesome in places, but the writer never loses track of the psychological of his characters, making this a film loaded with a gritty realism.

Peter Mckain Considered by most as the pinnacle of the series Meiko Kaji revises her role as prisoner 701: scorpion. She has become a bit of legend in prison as she has been kept underground for over a year in solitary. The cycloptic warden ( whom blames her for the loss of his eye) is being promoted and has an example made of her consisting of 4 people raping her in front of the other prisoners. She is then transported to another prison with several other prisoners whilst on route they escape thus the story begins.The film focus even more on the art-house area of the film with underlying themes of feminism, human rights and is quite psychedelic in parts which can be expected from an early 70s film. The nudity is toned down a lot but there is still enough violence and action to keep people entertained throughout and quite a few twists. Sasori speaks even less than in the previous film uttering only a few lines throughout the film. Its highly enjoyable and well written and beautifully shot i particularly liked the waterfall of blood which was done with practical effects and looks great it is quite similar to Suspiria in terms of lighting but I actually enjoy this more. so check it out if you haven't already.

Atavisten In a female prison we have two sides, the sadistic prison wards (men) and the vengeful prisoners (women) and although we know these women must have committed some heinous crimes to be in such a prison we also see that the treatment they get must only result in one thing, revenge! 7 girls manage to escape the prison and their sins are not echoing the 7 deadly sins of the bible, it boils down to crimes of jealousy or hatred for loved ones. This simplifies their motives and they are simple creatures also, but so is the other side. At any rate are few movie heroines unbreakable like these are as they are somehow restoring some justice in a male chauvinist world, those pigs deserve it.Kaji Meiko is as cold as the blade of her butcher knife and is great as mute and tougher than Clint, the others were well cast also, but I could wish for some better acting, in specific from the child killer. Anyway, this is not a Bergman movie.The end result is much more than mere exploitation and visual shock, this is for fans of Dario Argento who also knows who Valerie Solanas is.