Blind Woman’s Curse – aka The Tattooed Swordswoman and 怪談昇り竜 – is a 1970 Japanese supernatural action film directed by Teruo Ishii and starring Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood), Hoki Tokuda and Makoto Satō.
Akemi (Kaji) is a dragon tattooed leader of the Tachibana Yakuza clan. In a duel with a rival gang Akemi slashes the eyes of an opponent and a black cat appears, to lap the blood from the gushing wound. The cat along with the eye-victim go on to pursue Akemi s gang in revenge, leaving a trail of dead Yakuza girls, their dragon tattoos skinned from their bodies…
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Reviews:
“If the film rambles on a bit, it is forgivable, since everything else it does is so enjoyable and original. Kinky, weird, scary and funny in equal measures, Blind Woman’s Curse is an excellent re-release of a true cult gem that many won’t even know existed in the first place.” Starburst
“The very least one can say is that there is no shortage of eye candy, with gaudily coloured set pieces like the circus tent filled with wax dummies, the Dobashi hide-out with its mirrors, trap doors and torture dungeons, and the final confrontation between Akemi and her blind nemesis, set against a phantasmagorical painted backdrop of spiralling clouds. It may not make a lot of sense, but there is plenty of fun to be had.” Midnight Eye
“A genuinely weird mix of the Yakuza and horror genres with a dose of ‘pinky violence’ exploitation thrown in for good measure and elements from the popular Zatoichi series intertwined, Blind Woman’s Curse is a lot of fun even if it isn’t the pinnacle of Kaji’s output or likely to be the film that Ishii is best remembered for.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
