The Catholic church must be different in Japan - in Japanese Exploitation cinema, that is, of course. Nunsploitation cinema is mainly known as a sub-genre of European Exploitation, but the Japanese also made a bunch of films of the kind, and, unsurprisingly, this "Seijû Gakuen" aka. "School Of The Holy Beast" of 1974 outshines the vast majority of Western Nunsploitation flicks. In no other country's cinema do Exploitation- and Art-house compliment each other like in the Land Of The Rising Sun, and "School Of The Holy Beast" is indeed a good example for this. The film by master director Norifumi Suzuki ("Sex And Fury", "Girl Boss Guerilla",...) features all the trade mark elements of his familiar Pinky Violence genre and Nunsploitation cinema - and all this with a lot of style. As a lover of both Nunsploitation and Japanese Pinky Violence cinema (the latter ranks way higher in my appreciation) I expected an extremely sleazy and highly entertaining flick, and while the film was actually not even quite as sleazy as I had expected, it sure didn't disappoint me. This is not to say that the film doesn't feature a wide range of perversions and sleaze - it does, but the sleaze does not overwhelm the film. As usual for a Pinky flick, the film is immensely stylish, brilliantly photographed, and filled with beautiful Japanese girls in sometimes unpleasant situations.
The film is set in a menacing nuns' convent, at which any disobedience against the strict rules is responded to by draconian punishments. One of the aspiring nuns at the convent is Maya (the ravishing Yumi Takigawa), who comes to the menacing place for very personal reasons... I do not want to give away too much, but I can assure that all my fellow lovers of Japanese Exploitation cinema should be pleased with this highly memorable flick. The stunningly beautiful Yumi Takagiwa makes a great lead, and most of her fellow young nuns are very nice to look at too. The film's cast also includes some regulars of Japanese Exploitation cinema. None other than Fumio Watanbe (the sadistic warden Goda in the first two brilliant "Joshuu Sasori"/"Female Prisoner Scorpion" flicks with Meiko Kaji) plays a sinister priest, and Yoko Mihara, who is known for her roles in many films, such as the first "Sasori" flick, "Joshuu 701-gô: Sasori" (aka. "Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion"), "Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs", "Sex And Fury" or "Girl Boss Guerilla" plays the fanatic vice-abbess. The sadistic punishments are in typical Pinky style, and while there's quite a bit of sleaze and violence overall, these elements alone do not dominate the film. The film is highly atmospheric, the photography and visual style are great and the score is sublime. All things considered "School Of The Holy Beast" is a great little film and a must-see for fans of Japanese Exploitation cinema.
The film is set in a menacing nuns' convent, at which any disobedience against the strict rules is responded to by draconian punishments. One of the aspiring nuns at the convent is Maya (the ravishing Yumi Takigawa), who comes to the menacing place for very personal reasons... I do not want to give away too much, but I can assure that all my fellow lovers of Japanese Exploitation cinema should be pleased with this highly memorable flick. The stunningly beautiful Yumi Takagiwa makes a great lead, and most of her fellow young nuns are very nice to look at too. The film's cast also includes some regulars of Japanese Exploitation cinema. None other than Fumio Watanbe (the sadistic warden Goda in the first two brilliant "Joshuu Sasori"/"Female Prisoner Scorpion" flicks with Meiko Kaji) plays a sinister priest, and Yoko Mihara, who is known for her roles in many films, such as the first "Sasori" flick, "Joshuu 701-gô: Sasori" (aka. "Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion"), "Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs", "Sex And Fury" or "Girl Boss Guerilla" plays the fanatic vice-abbess. The sadistic punishments are in typical Pinky style, and while there's quite a bit of sleaze and violence overall, these elements alone do not dominate the film. The film is highly atmospheric, the photography and visual style are great and the score is sublime. All things considered "School Of The Holy Beast" is a great little film and a must-see for fans of Japanese Exploitation cinema.