by Robert Firsching
synopsis
Cult filmmaker Hisayasu Sato is no stranger to softcore rape films, having directed dozens of them since his debut with Gekiai! Lolita Mitsuro in 1985, so it should come as no surprise that he would eventually turn to Japan's most famous rape story, Yabu No Naka, previously filmed as part of the classic Rashomon. This version centers around a Kyoto detective trying to catch the culprits behind his sister's vicious rape and her husband's murder. Needless to say, Sato's pinku-eiga version of the tale is somewhat more explicit than its famous predecessor, if not as compelling. Shunsuke Matsuoka, Kaori Sakagami, Shigeki Hosokawa, and Hitomi Shiraishi star in the Image Factory release.