Joshû sasori: 701-gô urami-bushi

Yasuharu Hasebe (Black Tight Killers) took over for director Shunya Ito for this, the last Female Convict Scorpion picture starring Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood). The film opens with Nami Matsushima (a.k.a. Matsu, a.k.a. Scorpion) once again on the lam. The police track her down at a wedding, but she manages to escape. Badly injured, she is saved by a man who works in a strip joint and holds a grudge against the police for torturing him. Can the Scorpion trust a man again? Should she?

One of the reasons Kaji decided to stop doing the Scorpion pictures is that Toei kept slashing the budget with each new installment. This film is smaller in scale and more straightforward than the first three chapters. It is easily the least of the four Scorpion films featuring Meiko Kaji; however, it is still engrossing whenever she is on the screen.

Nami Matsushima, the Scorpion, still on the run from Kodama, meets Yasuo. Together they try to exact revenge on the corrupt detective, but when things go awry, Nami is back in prison and has to find a way to escape before being hanged.

Meiko Kaji returned to play the title role, but director Shunya Ito was replaced by Yasuharu Hasebe (1932-2009). Hasebe was more controversial, and is best known for his movies in the "violent pink" subgenre of the Pink film, such as "Assault! Jack the Ripper" (1976), and the provocatively-titled "Rape!" (1976), "Rape! 13th Hour" (1977) and "Raping!" (1978). Take from that what you will.

Because of the change in director, some people do not consider this to be a "full" sequel in the Scorpion series, despite the lead actress returning. I have no opinion on that one way or the other.

The fourth installment in the incredible 'Female Prisoner' series, starring Meiko Kaji. Director Shunya Ito declined to direct this final part because of budget cuts. Yasuharu Hasebe takes over here, and directs a respectable final chapter to one of the most loved serials in Japanese cinema. Hasebe was also responsible for a controversial trilogy of rape themed films including "Rape! 13th Hour". His influence is seen here, as 'Grudge Song' features some over-the-top scenes of torture and rape. Of course though, not on the extreme level of his more subversive works, as I think the Scorpion series was aimed at a somewhat larger audience. This one begins with Nami on the run once again, from the angry cop that has been pursuing her through the entire series. She finds a little solace with a man (!) who hides her from the police and helps to nurse her back to health. Surprisingly, Nami allows a man to get a little close to her, however she keeps him at arms length, as she knows that no man can truly be trusted. No worries though; the film never gets bogged down by sappy romance, as that would make 'Sasori' look somehow weak. I believe she only mutters two lines of dialog to her companion throughout the film.'Grudge Song' takes a little while to pick up speed, but it surely does, just about at the halfway mark, when she is once again caught and thrown into prison. It is always a rush to see the 'Scorpion' dressed in the familiar prison stripes. I don't care how many times they do it, it never gets boring. With each passing installment Kaji seems more 'godlike'. Here she comes across as some vengeful spirit from another world. Was this sequel necessary? Not really, but who cares. A chance to experience another adventure with this amazing heroine is always welcome. If you are a fan of this series, then this film is a must. It also a good opportunity to see a film from Yasuharu Hasebe, as most of his other films are extremely hard to find. And if you are wondering if Nami puts on the black coat and hat to seek out revenge once again...She does! And this time her vengeance is more personal. Recommended!

After narrowly escaping brutal Detective Kodama Sasori hides out in a seedy strip joint in the back streets of Tokyo.There she encounters Kudo who was humiliated and tortured by Kodama and his cronies years ago.The two strike a bond and soon set out to exact Kudo's long dreamt-about justice against detective Kodama.But their plan is not going to end happily."Female Convict Scorpion Grudge Song" is filled with sadness and unrelenting nihilism.Yasuharu Hasebe,the creator of violent pink sub-genre directs with a sure hand and Mejko Kaji is fantastic as a relentless Sasori.She even kills a cop with a white rose.There is also sleazy gang-rape scene and plenty of nudity.If you enjoyed previous installments of "Scorpion" pinky violence series give this one a look.8 out of 10.

And so at last we come to the end of the great Matsu the Scorpion's bloody, weird, and incredibly thrilling saga. This is the only entry in the series not directed by Shun'ya Ito, so I was a bit nervous going into this film; I've really enjoyed all the FPS movies, and I really didn't want the final outing to fall flat on it's face.

To my great delight, this film didn't fall flat; it delivered everything I'd want from an outing with Matsu. At the same time, Matsu's story seems to be wearing a little thin; at this point in the saga she's escaped from prison with others, had her revenge, and in the last entry ("Beast Stable") she even become a kind of savior for oppressed women. In this entry, history more or less repeats itself; the storyline in "Grudge Song" is relatively the same as the first and second entries ("FPS #701" & "FPS: Jailhouse 41"), only the story is compressed into an hour and a half. If you've seen the other entries, you pretty much know what's going to happen in this entry, and while there isn't necessarily a problem (people still line up for Marvel movies, and they're all relatively homogenous), to me, the series has started to loose a bit of it's appeal, and I honestly think ending it here was probably the best choice: go out on a note that is still relatively positive, and people will be keener to return to the franchise. I, for one, will happily go through Matsu's journey multiple times in my life.