“Meiko Kaji's stare is the end of a sentence that begins with ‘If looks could kill.’”
— Laird Jimenez, LETTERBOXD
The four-film Female Prisoner Scorpion cycle charts the vengeance of Nami Matsushima (Meiko Kaji, LADY SNOWBLOOD), who becomes an avatar of survival and an unlikely symbol of female resistance in a male-dominated world. Spiritually akin to MS. 45, COFFY, and THE BRIDE WORE BLACK, FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41 (the second film in the series) finds Nami continuing her quest for dark vengeance and becomes an unlikely symbol of female resistance in a male-dominated world. Featuring stunning pop-art compositions and ultra-violent outbursts, it’s easy to see why these movies were a direct inspiration for Uma Thurman’s character of “The Bride” in Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL.