Beautiful Prey (XX: utsukushiki
emono)
Director: Toshiharu Ikeda
Year: 1996
Running Time: 98 minutes
This film harkens back to Ikeda’s early days at Nikkatsu with its fairly
strong depictions of sadomasochism and though this is not a theme that resonates
particularly strongly with me – in fact quite the opposite – this film is
perhaps the most interesting of this series. Not for the S&M scenes especially,
but more for the squalid amorality of some of the characters and the way
in which they seek out the darkness within all of us like guided missiles.
Unlike the other films in the series, this doesn’t have a tough female protagonist
shooting her way out of trouble – but is really a femme fatale cat and mouse
tale of whips and desire. Writer Arimasa Osawa is best known for his hard-boiled
noir stories and this film oozes noir like a ripe tomato.
The police receive a call from a neighbor that a woman is being raped next
door and when they arrive they find Yu (Kei Marimura – a nude model) in a
state of apparent collapse and disarray from being attacked. As the two cops
– Lt. Tagami (Ren Osugi) and his female subordinate Noriko (Makiko Watanabe
– “Zebraman”, “Perfect Blue”) investigate the case they begin to suspect
that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Yu is able to identify
her assailant but her scarred body indicates a history of S&M encounters.
Yu also doesn’t seem in any particular rush to catch the man either and it
seems clear that the entire episode is something she wants to go away before
her wealthy husband finds out too much about her outside “activities”. The
two cops continue to noodle around and Tagami is nearly killed when his car
is bumped into oncoming traffic by another vehicle.
He soon finds comfort in the arms of Yu who invites him in and slowly seduces
him – but after she draws the fly into her web she introduces him into the
world of pain and pleasure. Noriko continues chasing after the suspect and
comes across Yu chained up with a collar around her neck – to which Yu says
demurely “This is embarrassing”, but her eyes say something differently as
she sizes up the female cop and perhaps her inner desires. After her husband
turns up dead, the widow begins her slow seduction of the straight-laced
and sexually inexperienced Noriko. Noriko who hides her body behind conservative
ill-fitting clothes is partly disgusted by Yu's inclinations but also finds
herself drawn to this strong woman.
Ikeda uses a lot more style here than he did in the very basic "Beautiful
Beast" - utilizing black and white on one occasion, strong primary colors,
good camera movement and a bag full of close-ups and imagery. One image of
a crushed lit cigarette and the reaction shot from Yu turns out in retrospect
to be the most important moment of the film He keeps the proceedings
rough and uncomfortable throughout - but at the same time never loses the
tension that he carefully builds without giving too much away. Keep an eye
out for the terrific last seven and half minutes of the film - it is one
unedited tracking shot that begins outside and moves inside, up the stairs
and onto the balcony with the conclusion spilling out like hidden desires
on daytime TV.
My rating for this film: 7.0