TERRIFYING GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL: LYNCH LAW CLASSROOM

Terrifying Girls High School

Two of the biggest commodities Toei had going for it in the 60s and early 70s were the biker film and the Yakuza film. It shouldn't surprise anybody that the two eventually collided. The resulting collage of action became known as the Pinky Violence film. These movies usually centered around gangs of delinquent teenage girls fighting the mob, the establishment, rival gangs or just raising hell. They were awash in graphic violence, lesbianism, sexual perversion and all the other notable exploitation elements. Many resemble that great hallmark of American exploitation cinema, the Women in Prison flick, right down to the pacing and narrative elements. However, American WIP flicks were never quite like this.


Miki Sugimoto

Take TERRIFYING GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL: LYNCH LAW CLASSROOM, for example. One of the most enjoyable and comedic of all the Pinky Violence flicks yours truly has seen, TGHS:LLC - c'mon now, I'm not typing all that out again - is completely gonzo. It goes to places most WIP flicks would never go and it does it in a way that avoids the more unsavory aspects of it's American counterparts. Even the rather unpleasant tortures enacted through the film feel less awful than they normally would and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that while the film most definitely has some rather serious things to say, it never takes itself too seriously.


Lynch Law Classroom

The plot of TGHS:LLC is a veritable litany of cliches and come-ons. The setting of the film is the ironically named School of Hope, a reform school for bad ass girls who have gotten way too out of control. The Vice Principle, Ishihara, is a tough-as-nails dictator type conniving to take over the reins from the more docile, old, whimpering Principle. A state sponsored school, the School for Hope is expecting a visit from a very notable politician, Mr. Sato, in celebration of the schools 25th anniversary. Naturally, Ishihara doesn't want anything to go wrong. Unfortunately for him, his Disciplinary Committee - a group of bitchy female students - has gone a bit too far. They've managed to kill a girl named Michiyo. With the help of the police, Ishihara has the murder ruled an accident but things start to go down hill with the arrival of three new students, one of whom knew Michiyo and is looking for revenge.


Pinky Violence

What follows is a bizarre mix of the gruesome, erotic and downright absurd. The new students begin to form a small gang of co-conspirators and - with the help of a shady journalist / blackmailer - begin to systematically dismantle the school. They start by ascertaining the true nature of Michiyo's death - cue up the lesbian seduction scene - and getting rid of the Principle - through a rather hilarious gang rape, no less. Sprinkled throughout are some rather tasteless torture sequences. The Disciplinary Committee - all of whom wear Nazi-esque armbands - force a girl to do 50 push-ups with a light bulb stuck up her cootch and make another girl drink large quantities of water and sit through class after class with a full bladder. Both of these scenes are uncomfortable to watch but are just weird enough to be sickly enjoyable.


Reiko Ike

This is definitely a film that will be enjoyed by a male audience. There are numerous shots of bared breasts and close-ups of panty-clad crotches. I found the film to be immensely enjoyable as pure eye candy. It's probably one of the best directed of all the Pinky Violence movies I've seen. Strange camera angles and snappy editing kept things visually interesting. I know this sounds odd to say about a film so desperate to strip it's actresses of all their clothes but the clothing and outfits in the film - especially in the film's opening scene - is definitely one of the high points.


Terrifying Girls High School Lynch Law Classroom

For those people who want a bit of cerebral stimulation to go with their erection, TGHS:LLC does offer a very pointed criticism of Japanese culture. This is a male dominated society and it says a lot that the girls in the film are punished for acting like... wait for it... MEN. Women in Pinky Violence films smoke, drink, screw and fight, all things we see countless men doing but the women are seen as being somehow more deplorable in their actions. These women represent a threat to the male dominated society and, if you follow the logic of the Pinky Violence films, are best dealt with forcefully or just locked up. A character in TGHS:LLC boasts proudly that the School of Hope has transformed plenty of women into good housewives and mothers. I'm not saying that that is necessarily a bad thing but once you witness the behavior of the men in these films, you have to wonder what the other side of the gender coin would do if they had a chance at the helm.


Terrifying Girls High School

I can't get through this review without mentioning the presence of Reiko Ike and Miki Sugimoto, two of the three darlings of the Pinky Violence film - the other being Meiko Kaji of FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION fame. Two of the most breathtaking actresses in the long history of Japanese cinema, both give great performances in the film. They are polar opposites in many respects. Ike was the tough-as-nails chick with a great deal of charisma while Sugimoto, with her big eyes and pouty lips, was every inch the sexpot. They starred together in several of the Pinky Violence films I've seen and are always absolute joys to watch. Not only were they beautiful but they were fucking game for anything. Something must be said for actresses who were willing to really get down and dirty for their films and you'd be hard pressed to find two more willing actresses than Ike and Sugimoto - watch their epic catfight at the end of CRIMINAL WOMAN: KILLING MELODY and you'll see what I mean.


But before you do that, see this film. It's a blast.


Highly recommended.