BEAST STABLE is the third of the four-film FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION series and once again features the incredible acting talents of Meiko Kaji as the put-upon Sasori. This one benefits from the best opening sequence of the series, in which Sasori is nearly captured by cops on a train and hacks off a man's arm to escape! The rest is an episodic odyssey in which she encounters various mixed-up characters, including a brain-damaged would-be rapist and his incestuous sister, along with a cruel gang who force abortions on prostitutes. It's nasty and gritty stuff, but shot with incredible style. Some hyper scenes of psychedelic violence which place this firmly in the mid 1970s. Mikio Narita, a firm presence in cult Japanese cinema (I remember him as Hiroyuki Sanada's evil uncle in ROARING FIRE as well as his turns in the BATTLES WITHOUT HONOUR & HUMANITY series) is great as the one-armed cop obsessed with tracking Sasori down.
