is a film in the
nunsploitation
Nunsploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film which had its peak in Europe in the 1970s. These films typically involve Christian nuns living in convents during the Middle Ages.
Criteria
The main conflict of the story is usually of a religio ...
subgenre of
Pinky violence made by
Toei Company
() (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by ...
in
1974.
Plot
A young woman (Yumi Takigawa) becomes a nun at the Sacred Heart Convent to find out what happened to her mother years earlier. She encounters a lesbian mother superior, lecherous archbishops, and uncovers many dark secrets. The convent also practices brutal discipline and encourages masochistic rituals such as self-flagellation. In one scene, two nuns are forced to strip to the waist and whip each other severely with heavy floggers. Later, Takigawa is tortured and whipped by a group of nuns armed with rose-thorns.
Cast
*
Yumi Takigawa
is a Japanese actress and singer. She has appeared in more than 50 films since 1974.
Selected filmography Film
Television
Awards
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takigawa, Yumi
1951 births
Living people
Singers from Tok ...
as Maya Takigawa
*
Emiko Yamauchi as Matsuko Ishida
*
Yayoi Watanabe
is a Japanese actress. She appeared in many Toei films including Pinky violence films. In 1979, she married sumo wrestler Kurama and retired.
Selected filmography Film
*'' Shin Harenchi Gakuen'' (1971)
*''Wandering Ginza Butterfly'' (1972)
*' ...
as Hisako Kitano
*
Yōko Mihara
was an actress of Japanese exploitation cinema, erotic dancer and pin-up model who was active from the 1950s to 1970s.
Life and career
Mihara signed up with Shintoho in 1951 but appeared mostly in minor roles, pursuing the career of a pin-up mo ...
as Sadako Matsumara
*
Fumio Watanabe
(October 31, 1929 – August 4, 2004) was a Japanese actor most known for his work with Japanese New Wave director Nagisa Oshima. He was born in Tokyo and graduated from the University of Tokyo before joining the Shōchiku studio in 1956.
S ...
as Priest Kakinuma
Critical appraisal
Praising the work of writer/director
Norifumi Suzuki
, was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the '' Torakku Yarō'' series.
Biography
Suzuki was born in 1933 in Shizuoka. He dropped out of Ritsumeikan University's Department of Economics, and subsequently joined To ...
as well as the leading actors, critic Donald Guarisco of
Allmovie says, "This Japanese shocker manages to
eshocking and artistically stunning all at once."
In ''TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion'',
Patrick Macias
Patrick Macias (born 1972 in Sacramento, California) is an American author and co-author of several titles on pop culture fandom, specifically relating to Japanese culture and culture in America. Macias is also a correspondent for NHK World Te ...
calls the film a "comic adaptation and a blasphemous sermon of high camp and knowing literary intelligence." He continues, "Trashy as it may sound, Suzuki's film is absolutely gorgeous to gaze upon."
Availability
The Cult Epics company released ''School of the Holy Beast'' on
region-1 DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on August 30, 2005. The extras on the DVD included the original theatrical trailer, and interviews with lead actress Yumi Takigawa and film critic Risaku Kiridoushi.
Notes
Sources
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DVD Review at Frankly Mr Shankly
External links
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1974 films
1974 LGBT-related films
Japanese LGBT-related films
Nunsploitation films
Films directed by Norifumi Suzuki
Incest in film
Lesbian-related films
Toei Pinky Violence
Toei Company films
1970s Japanese films
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