Is Women in Prison Trash or Treasure?

DVD Distributed by Impulse / December 10, 2019

Thinking she is soon to be a bride, young Ryoko instead learns that her would-be fiancé is already married to the precocious Jun. An act of vengeance sends Ryoko behind bars, where she shares a cell with a group of sexually frustrated women who will stop at nothing to release their violent emotions. With her release date nearing, Ryoko is taken by surprise when her nemesis, Jun, moves into her cell. After learning that Jun has suffered a similar fate at the hands of the same man that wronged her, she has to decide who the real enemy is – and what she wants to do about it! Another in the irresistible canon of Nikkatsu’s “Women in Prison” genre, WOMEN IN PRISON is not to be missed!

Travis’s Take  (4.5 / 5)

Let’s admit that the Women in Prison (WIP) sub-genre is perfect for Roman Pornos. Sleazy, nudity filled, and perhaps some sadism. There are tons of American or European WIP to watch, so I looked forward to checking this one out.

Ryoko starts the film by trying on a wedding dress and handing over her life savings to her groom. He comes off as a jerk so you know this is going to work out well. Before he takes off with the money he forces a quick screw. Unfortunately for him, a pregnant woman busts in and wonders what HER fiancé is doing with Ryoko. Ryoko realizes she’s been duped and appears to mentally snap, since she grabs a pair of scissors and stabs the douche. Jail bars come down in front of her and the title card comes up, in a pretty cool shot.

While in jail she behaves herself pretty well. The trouble is all the other inmates are horny as hell. Even an old granny fakes an illness to grab a guard’s fleshy nightstick. This is a WIP film, so of course some of the inmates dyke out. Standard stuff. But don’t worry, the Japanese aren’t content to keep things run of the mill. Do you know the old story about a dog and peanut butter? Well in Japan apparently it involves a stray cat and leftovers. Yup, this actually happens and no I’m not making an easy pussy joke. Two of the women were using a potato to get each other off, then casually throw it aside once they are done. Granny is hungry, so she cleans it off a bit then eats it while essentially pulling a Flinstones, “It’s a living” one-liner.

Ok, now the rape. You knew it was coming, but did you expect to see a prison guard get ambushed, held down, and have his dick and mouth gang raped? Neither did I, but I’m now off to take the Civil Service test and transition into law enforcement. I am kind of thinking that this movie is supposed to be a comedy.

In case you are worried about the plot, what follows are spoilers for the big twist. A new inmate arrives, and it happens to be the pregnant women from the beginning. The husband is still a sleaze ball because now he can blackmail the mother for money by threatening to mistreat their baby. Class guy all the way. Enough plot, back to the nudity. What would a WIP be without a shower scene? In this case it is slightly different due to the differences in bathing techniques, but there is still plenty of skin, lactating milkers, menstruation, and nekkid fighting going on. I can barely keep up typing all the craziness that happens during this movie!

Even with three weeks left in her sentence, Ryoko feels like she needs to break out of prison. The sex starved inmates help her bust loose, but she foolishly jumps into a passing car almost immediately. The guy has a No One Rides For Free policy, and is certainly willing to take payment in ass. I’m hoping her escape plan is worth it. Meanwhile pregnant mom gets a short leave due to her father dying. She instead sneaks away to see her son, but unfortunately he is not home. Because her “husband” was already married to yet another woman and had given their son away years ago. His shitty behavior seems to have a stabby effect on women, because he gets the taste of a butcher knife again. Ryoto busts in, sees what is going on, and makes sure he gets one last bloody stab in the back. So her plan was a combination of revenge on the jerk as well as helping out the mother. A dark, but dare I say happy ending?

This was great. Clocks in at the usual brisk running time, of course 69 minutes. It checks all the boxes of what you want, and goes way beyond the run of the mill WIP.

The picture was pretty dark overall in this one. It still looks ok, but maybe not up to the usual standards of the series. I thought it had a pretty cool soundtrack oddly enough. Very of-the-time funky 70s mixed with David Gilmore-esque guitar playing.

Treasure of Trash?

Travis says: Hidden Treasure!