Sex & Fury

This was the first of two films in which Japanese exploitation star Reiko Ike played the character of Inoshika Ocho. After a brief prologue depicting the murder of Ocho's policeman father, it is revealed that she has grown up to become a professional gambler. Sex & Fury chronicles Ocho's exploits as she searches for her father's killers, each identified by unique tattoos on their backs (a deer, a boar, and a butterfly). Along the way, she also crosses paths with Shonusuke (Masataka Naruse), a radical set on murdering prominent politician Kurokawa (Seizaburo Kawazu) and Christina (Christina Lindberg), an American spy posing as a gambler. The various storylines frequently intersect, prompting a dizzying array of plot twists, overheated sex scenes, and gory swordplay. The pulp-heavy storyline is skillfully directed by Norifumi Suzuki, a veteran director of commercial Japanese fare who pumped up such sexy, violent spectacles with surrealistic visual flourishes and stylized sets and costumes. Sex & Fury was followed by Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture, a sequel helmed by another Japanese exploitation film legend, Teruo Ishii.