‎Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972) directed by Shunya Ito • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion

1972 ‘女囚701号/さそり’ Directed by Shunya Ito

After being cruelly set up by a crooked detective named Sugimi (Isao Natsuyagi), whom she loved, Nami Matsushima (aka Matsu the Scorpion) (Meiko Kaji) is sentenced to do hard time in a women's prison, which is run by sadistic and horny male guards. There are 700 other prisoners, making Matsu number 701. Her crime was making a failed attempt to stab Sugimi on the steps of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters because he used her to win favor with the Yakuza. While in prison she meets inmates like Yuki Kida (Yayoi Watanabe) who was committed for fraud and theft, Otsuka (Akemi Negishi), jailed for burglary and extortion, and Katagiri (Rie Yokoyama) who has been impounded for arson and illegally disposing of a body.

Meiko Kaji Rie Yokoyama Isao Natsuyagi Fumio Watanabe Yayoi Watanabe Yôko Mihara Akemi Negishi Hideo Murota Yumiko Katayama

87 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Todd Gaines ★★★½ 7

Lady Snowblood as Nami an innocent girl framed by a dirty cop and sent to a ruthless prison where the inmates and the guards make her life a living Hell. However Nami is relentless and she will do whatever it takes to escape and get her justified revenge in this classic Japanese Women in Prison film. Air raid. Fast doggies. Morning jog. Nude stair climb. Yummy rice! Under the covers. Strip search. Ganja smuggler? Hot soup. Nightstick fuck and suck. Odd or Even looks like a fun game to play while you're in prison. Bloody nose. Group shower. Only some of the prisoners wear orange, I guess they are the only inmates with Netflix and access to Orange Is The…
Review by Willow Maclay ★★★★½ 5

"What is it like to be a Woman?"

Genre cinema frequently asks this question of viewers. In genre it is used as an empathizing technique to ask audiences to identify with a victim and her eventual conflict. By getting viewers to see themselves as the women of these movies filmmakers create a funnel that cycles into tension, horror, action and eventual catharsis through resolution, but what of female audience members? Women already know what it's like to be a woman. We know the feeling of being followed down a side walk for an uncomfortable amount of time. We understand the jeers of men who make comments about our bodies, because this isn't something we go to the cinema to feel,…
Review by Sally Jane Black 2

Again, obviously, I watched this out of order. This is the original Scorpion movie, and while it lacks the magical realish element and keeps most of the flaws of the sequel, it has the same excellent direction the other film had. There are moments the camera positively dances, especially as Scorpion digs in the middle of the pit and the other prisoners are throwing dirt on her. It whirls and whirls, and you get a sense of oppression right there with her.

Really, it surprised me how well made these were. I guess I've just been in the exploitation/grindhouse gutter for a while, so finding decent films in these genres that don't waste their time on filler and bad editing and awkward camera angles is always a plus.
Review by Disgustipated ★★★★ 2

Thanatos, Eros and the Art of Zen - Japanese Erotic Cinema Project - #2

A fierce steely gaze, sharp defiance restrained by shrewd intelligence. A gaze that penetrates like a constant pulse of shurikens launched with deathly precision. A killer gaze that is all the more striking for coming from such an unlikely face, one that is beautifully crafted with high cheek bones, a small mouth and full lips, framed by long black hair, like obsidian fondue streaming down along the lines of her supple figure. Pity the fool that crosses Matsu the Scorpion. Then again, never has the angel of death been so goddamn smoking hot.

Mmmm... fondue...
Review by Timcop ★★★★★ 10

Maybe the greatest Women-in-Prison film ever made and also one of the greatest exploitation revenge films ever made. Psychedelic feminist anger.
Review by Wesley R. Ball ★★★★½

87

#701 doesn't care what anyone thinks. #701 is out for herself, thrust in the midst of a dog eat dog world of delinquents from which there is no escape. #701 is a victim of circumstance, forced into her position by those she trusted- people in high places who only wanted her for their own gain and personal desires. #701 is nearly an enigma- her blank stares almost betray a psychological fracture underneath that cold, hard exterior- but beware. #701 can and will blow your head off in an instant- anything goes in this bloody, hardcore exploitation film that is very unlike anything that can be seen anywhere else.

An adaptation of an adult manga series by the same name,…

Recent reviews

Review by Alex Caballero ★★★★

Shunya Ito y su primera trilogía impecable (la cuarta la firmço otro director) sobre la venganza de una mujer obligada a pasar sus días entre rejas por la traición de su amante comienza con esta primera entrega de la saga Female Prisoner que se despliega en una tetralogía que se ha convertido en un clásico de culto referencial.
Review by Joost ★★★★

A headache, in the most positive way, causing woman in prison movie that loves it's sound effects and endless spiraling camera work.
Review by A Solidão do Homem Cinéfilo ★★★★

Morte ao pinto
Review by Liam ★★★★

Not as bold as it’s sequel Jailhouse 41, but there’s still some absolutely bonkers stuff going on that shouldn’t work, but absolutely does.
Review by Trav Linthicum ★★★★★

I loved this film! Great 70s Japanese exploitation. The direction is amazing for a film like this. Artistic and sleazy what more could I ask for.
Rating: 10/10
Review by SecretHuman ★★★★

Lots of fun with great stylistic flourishes. Meiko Kaji might have the best "I'm going to gut you like a fish" glare in all of cinema. Drags a bit in the middle but has a conclusion that's worth it.
Review by Julian Nunez ★★★★★

" To be deceived is a woman's crime"

Receiving countless forms of abuse from the prison guards & inmates alike, plus knowing that the man who she loved—a police detective also failing to uphold the justice system to adequate standards— betrayed her. What do you do to overcome that level of systematic abuse? You make damn sure to not let them have the satisfaction of breaking you down completely. And silently plan your revenge on the men who've wronged you, of course.

Visually gorgeous and highly stylized, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion is exploitation perfection. The use of lighting to visually shift tone of the scene is effective. Whether it's in an exposition-oriented flashback letting Matsu's blinding rage build up in the…
Review by Mason D ★★★★

Still great on rewatch, Meiko Kaji is still the queen of everything here, I still love those impressionistic and surreal flourishes the movie throws in there. Also, the way Kaji death stares people? True power.
Review by TarsTarkas ★★★★½

1970’s exploitation cinema reached new heights with the Scorpion series of movies from Japan. The Scorpion series of movies are classic example of revenge movies, of women wronged and chained, who fight back and kill those that used and discarded them. Anyway, those types of movies are right up my alley, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing some obnoxious character get killed horribly by someone he abused earlier. And this film is full of it!

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