Tokugawa Onna Keibatsu-shi
1968 / 85m - Japan
Horror
2.0*/5.0*
Shogun's Joy of Torture poster

Watches

January 10, 2021

2.0*/5.0*

A lesser Teruo Ishii flick. Joy of Torture is an anthology film featuring three separate stories that each dig into classic torture tactics, but the stories are a little meager and the torture isn't that impressive either. While essentially not that different from similar Ishii exploitation films, the scattered nature of this film doesn't do it any favors.

The first story tells of a woman in an incestuous affair with her brother, the second story follows a nun who tries to seduce a monk, while the final story shows a tattoo artist who tries to create his ultimate masterpiece. All three stories end up in pretty much the same way, which makes you wonder why they even bothered with this setup.

There's a lot of screaming and whining, but the film isn't all that graphic. Performances aren't great and the stories are pretty dull. While Ishii's hand is clearly visible and there are a couple of memorable moments, as a whole it felt a bit too random and unfocused. Ishii can do better than this.