The Tattooed Swordswoman (1970) Teruo Ishii

Includes Audio Commentary by Japanese Film expert Chris D.
(second audio track, in English)

Akemi and the man of her clan confront their opponents; Akemi delivers a sword thrust to kill the opponents' leader, and Aiko, his daughter, tries to interpose herself, suffering a glancing blow to her eyes, thus cutting her badly, and blinding her. Amid the ensuing fight, no one notices that a black cat laps the young woman's wound. Years later, revenge between the two clans continue, plus added dissension amongst Akemi's people, leading to more deaths. A new member comes to help them, but she is a strange woman - and blind. The curse of the blind woman is about to fell on the dragon-lady.

Like France's Jean Rollin, Japan's Teruo Ishii stands for something. His films have a blazing signature. His obsessions are up there on the screen. The plots are coat hangers to hang his fetishes on. "Blind Woman's Curse" is a mixed genre extravaganza that is one part yakuza melodrama, one part sword opera, and one part horror film. Although it doesn't hold together dramatically, it is still a fantastic piece of fantasy cinema. Meiko "Scorpion" Kaji, one of the sexiest women ever to have graced the silver screen, is the head honcho of a gang who have been marked for extinction by a strange, blind swordwoman (Hoki Tokuda) and her hunchback servant (is there any other?) At the same time, another clan has it in for Meiko and her feisty, fighting girls. Ishii slathers on the macabre and bizarre in this wonderful, malformed romp. A grotesque night carnival is one of the film's highlights, as is a flesh-carrying, blood-drinking black cat that makes a strong impression. The activities of the hunchback are always fun to watch, as are the scenes of human skinning, tattoo removal, and sexual coercion. Like every Ishii film, this is a colorful, lurid compendium of cinematic delights.