Legend of the Poisonous Seduct

The first thing that surprised me about this flick is that it is in black and white. Obviously, I could have read that from the product description, but I just sort of passed over it and seeing that vivid color cover I was expecting something different. Not that this is anyway a bad thing. There is something unexpected about a sexual and violent black and white film that makes them all the more stunning, just because I am not used to seeing such extremes in the classic format.

"Female Demon Ohyaku" ("Yôen dokufuden hannya no ohyaku") is just a fantastic flick. The first Pinky Violence film, and the one that would inspire many other rape/revenge flicks like Lady Snowblood and Kill Bill it has all the classic elements. Ohyaku Dayu (Miyazono Junko) is a beautiful acrobat/prostitute who is sold to the highest bidder following each show. Capturing the eye of a handsome thief, he rescues her from a bureaucratic rapist and claims her for his own. She is just the bad girl a guy like him needs as partner and wife. Ah, but a happy life was not meant for Ohyaku, and she soon finds her self without a lover, disgraced and exiled on a prison island. There is only one thing for a desperate gal in that situation....revenge.

Now, being an older flick "Female Demon Ohyaku" is not as extreme as some of the later Pinky Violence offerings. There is no real nudity to speak of, and the gore is limited. But they make do with what they have, as Ohyaku seduces and kills her way through a number of hapless men, and even one woman (very sexy scene!), working her way towards her target. Lead actress Miyazono Junko is quite the beauty, although believable tough and deadly as well. She doesn't let anyone take the easy way out in her revenge, but gets creative with her cruelty. Wakayama Tomisaburo, of Lone Wolf and Cub fame, plays a supporting role but never really gets into the action.

The DVD has some great features as well, including an essay on the Sword and Girl genre, and a nice commentary. The cover is reversible so you can have the original Japanese artwork instead of the shown cover, which is really cool. This is followed by two other loosely-connected color films in the series Legends of the Poisonous Seductress #2: Quick Draw Okatsu. and Legends of the Poisonous Seductress #3: Okatsu the Fugitive. They don't continue the story, but feature the same lead actress and themes. I am anxious to pick them up, and see if they are as magnificent as this gem.

The first of the series with the intriguing titles starring the undeniably attractive Junko Miyazono, and probably the best of the three. The story here seems a little less predictable than in the two sequels, and therefore stays a little bit more interesting.
Junko Miyazono's swordplay is slow and cumbersome, and the camerawork barely helps it at all. Don't get your hopes up: The sequels are worse, the third part being just a complete waste of time. There are large numbers of excellent Japanese movies around, so keep shopping.

Usually, I watch movies a month or two after I receive them, because I don't have the time. I enjoyed watching this first series of Oyaku. The part I didn't enjoy was having the disk stopping on me after a few minutes in the movie and I had to keep trying to get past the section it would stop on.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars