Boy, this sure doesn't hold back when casting a scathing view of the Catholic church. No stone is unturned. Everything is in this film. Duck for that kitchen sink because the hypocrisy and secrets hidden within the abbey of the church of nuns examined here is riddled with sin and deprivation. The kick is that, through Norifumi Suzuki's magnificent direction, this isn't just a cheapo exploit flick, but a legit art film.
The film's protagonist, Maya, to me isn't very different that Nami, the Scorpion in the Female Prisoner film, except she infiltrates a dirty convent seeking answers regarding her mother's fate within the confines of what was supposed to be a religious community of believers. Where a dirty cop is behind the ills of Nami, a bitter priest, Father Kakinuma(Fumio Watanabe)is the man responsible for what ails Maya. The Priest and the Vice Abbess, a woman seething with lust running through very loins. The fact is this flick exposes the ugly truth of what could occur behind the closed walls of a hidden place secretively inactive from the outside world. Here's this modern girl, Maya(the yummy Yumi Takigawa)who we see enjoying the pleasantries of life before entering the repressed innards of a community harboring hidden immorality under a cloak of righteousness. She is the offspring of that very lust and sin that lies quietly buried underneath the cloak, and through her, will those iniquities be exposed. Though, when you threaten to expose hidden dirty old secrets, there are bound to be consequences. Her very life will be threatened by not only the Vice Abbess, but a "witch-finding nun" sent into the convent by Kakinuma to put an end to a thorn in his flesh which could finally awaken the monster he really is. Kakinuma is quite a character..hidden underneath bushy long hair and thick mustache, not to mention this cloak which removes our eyes from a horrifying act that occurred from the past, is this menacing quiet beast who seems to be a loving man of God who any nun or God-fearing Christian could confide in when dealing with problems of the flesh, is, himself, holding rather unpleasant feelings toward everyone including the Lord he serves. He seeks answers from God("Where is God when man needs him?") while constantly bedding nuns who revere him.
What sins are hidden within this convent:lesbian lovers keeping their love-making secret from everyone, a Mother Superior who confiscates sex photos she masturbates to, nuns who enjoy the sight of women being whipped(director Suzuki often pulls his camera in on their faces as they look on wide-eyed with enthusiasm), the persecution room(readily used such as the case when Maya is being tortured with thorny vines twisting around her body, piercing her flesh as a nun on each side pulls with all their might), a nun who stole money from the Vice Abbess so that she could pay for her father's hospital bills for which she receives a rape from Kakinuma, etc. The torture scene where Maya is being treated to thorny rose vines is rather hard to watch as director Suzuki tightens the camera on how they slide back and forth underneath her breasts. But, what follows is actually both unpleasant and beautiful..the nuns collectively slap Maya across the face with bouquets of roses as Suzuki shows her face whipping to and fro in slow motion as petals fall poetically like snow around her body. It's quite a feat to create such a scene which can alternately compel and repel. And, that whipping scene, the first one inside the infamous persecution room, is amazingly photographed as Suzuki's camera goes berserk following the action as the two nuns, caught by a spy, eating sausages. The most horrific sequence in the film, the witch-trial of a pregnant nun, who was raped by Kakinuma, is quite a dazzling moment in the film. We see her agonizingly put through the ringer, whipped with blood stripes opening on her skin, salt water poured in her mouth(..forced to swallow an entire pail), and held inside a chair as the clock ticks with this container under her legs(with a gold crucifix at it's center)ready for urine to flow. If she urinates, this poor soul will be condemned as a witch.
Not just your run-of-the-mill nunsploit, although I'm not an expert in the subversive sub-genre, I'd be hard-pressed to expect another to be any better than this one. Lots of breasts exposed as well as unceasing stabs at Catholicism...there's a vehement anti-Catholic attitude that permeates throughout and use of Christian iconography(the use of a crucifix to kill, the destruction of a Virgin Mary statuette, blood puddling down a portrait of THE LAST SUPPER)in exploitive ways. Certainly not for all tastes..some will find this film very offensive. Maya, an unshakable force to be reckoned with, will unleash her revenge on those responsible for her mother's demise.
The film's protagonist, Maya, to me isn't very different that Nami, the Scorpion in the Female Prisoner film, except she infiltrates a dirty convent seeking answers regarding her mother's fate within the confines of what was supposed to be a religious community of believers. Where a dirty cop is behind the ills of Nami, a bitter priest, Father Kakinuma(Fumio Watanabe)is the man responsible for what ails Maya. The Priest and the Vice Abbess, a woman seething with lust running through very loins. The fact is this flick exposes the ugly truth of what could occur behind the closed walls of a hidden place secretively inactive from the outside world. Here's this modern girl, Maya(the yummy Yumi Takigawa)who we see enjoying the pleasantries of life before entering the repressed innards of a community harboring hidden immorality under a cloak of righteousness. She is the offspring of that very lust and sin that lies quietly buried underneath the cloak, and through her, will those iniquities be exposed. Though, when you threaten to expose hidden dirty old secrets, there are bound to be consequences. Her very life will be threatened by not only the Vice Abbess, but a "witch-finding nun" sent into the convent by Kakinuma to put an end to a thorn in his flesh which could finally awaken the monster he really is. Kakinuma is quite a character..hidden underneath bushy long hair and thick mustache, not to mention this cloak which removes our eyes from a horrifying act that occurred from the past, is this menacing quiet beast who seems to be a loving man of God who any nun or God-fearing Christian could confide in when dealing with problems of the flesh, is, himself, holding rather unpleasant feelings toward everyone including the Lord he serves. He seeks answers from God("Where is God when man needs him?") while constantly bedding nuns who revere him.
What sins are hidden within this convent:lesbian lovers keeping their love-making secret from everyone, a Mother Superior who confiscates sex photos she masturbates to, nuns who enjoy the sight of women being whipped(director Suzuki often pulls his camera in on their faces as they look on wide-eyed with enthusiasm), the persecution room(readily used such as the case when Maya is being tortured with thorny vines twisting around her body, piercing her flesh as a nun on each side pulls with all their might), a nun who stole money from the Vice Abbess so that she could pay for her father's hospital bills for which she receives a rape from Kakinuma, etc. The torture scene where Maya is being treated to thorny rose vines is rather hard to watch as director Suzuki tightens the camera on how they slide back and forth underneath her breasts. But, what follows is actually both unpleasant and beautiful..the nuns collectively slap Maya across the face with bouquets of roses as Suzuki shows her face whipping to and fro in slow motion as petals fall poetically like snow around her body. It's quite a feat to create such a scene which can alternately compel and repel. And, that whipping scene, the first one inside the infamous persecution room, is amazingly photographed as Suzuki's camera goes berserk following the action as the two nuns, caught by a spy, eating sausages. The most horrific sequence in the film, the witch-trial of a pregnant nun, who was raped by Kakinuma, is quite a dazzling moment in the film. We see her agonizingly put through the ringer, whipped with blood stripes opening on her skin, salt water poured in her mouth(..forced to swallow an entire pail), and held inside a chair as the clock ticks with this container under her legs(with a gold crucifix at it's center)ready for urine to flow. If she urinates, this poor soul will be condemned as a witch.
Not just your run-of-the-mill nunsploit, although I'm not an expert in the subversive sub-genre, I'd be hard-pressed to expect another to be any better than this one. Lots of breasts exposed as well as unceasing stabs at Catholicism...there's a vehement anti-Catholic attitude that permeates throughout and use of Christian iconography(the use of a crucifix to kill, the destruction of a Virgin Mary statuette, blood puddling down a portrait of THE LAST SUPPER)in exploitive ways. Certainly not for all tastes..some will find this film very offensive. Maya, an unshakable force to be reckoned with, will unleash her revenge on those responsible for her mother's demise.