Sex Hunter: Wet Target (1972)
Studio: Impulse/Synapse
Theatrical Release: November 29th, 1972
DVD Release: December 11, 2012
Rating: UnRated
Directed by Sawada Yukihiro
Review by Craig Sorensen
Sex Hunter: Wet Target is a sleazy, sleazy film (as if you couldn’t tell from the title). It’s filled with brutal violence, sick sex and an ever present downbeat ambience that permeates everything. So that I guess brings the film in line with much of Impulse’s Nikkatsu Roman-Porno series. Beyond these now standard features though lies a surprising examination of violence and it’s ugly consequences.
Okamoto, the son of a Japanese woman raped by a black American serviceman shortly after WW2, (played by Jôji Sawada with ‘80s Weird Al hair) is released from prison shortly after his sister commits suicide after herself being raped by American servicemen stationed in Japan (seeing a pattern yet?). Of course Okamoto isn’t too happy about this so he sets out on a quest for revenge against the men responsible. He teams up (sort of anyway) with a woman named Etsuko (who was with his sister when she was attacked) to track the men down.
Sex Hunter is not a pleasant film. Okamoto is certainly not a very likable character. He performs acts that put him in the same league as the films purported villains. So, he’s a hard character to root for. And he really never gets his revenge so there isn’t even that cathartic release. All the characters in this film are damaged by the culture of violence that comes from war and occupation. And even Okamoto’s seemingly righteous rage is directionless and leaves just as much destruction in it’s wake. So, pretty high minded stuff for a sex film. But the film is so oppressively sleazy that it’s not an easy film for me to get into. It’s a well made film, like the rest of the Nikkatsu series, but you really need to know what your getting into before you start this one. This isn’t for the easily offended.
Sex Hunter looks great on Impulse’s new DVD. You get the expected anamorphic trasfer. Really, I’ve got nothing bad to say here. Everything looks and sounds good, like the rest of the Nikkatsu series. The only extras here are a theatrical trailer and some liner notes by Jasper Sharp.
[Rating: 3 stars]
Theatrical Release: November 29th, 1972
DVD Release: December 11, 2012
Rating: UnRated
Directed by Sawada Yukihiro
Review by Craig Sorensen
Sex Hunter: Wet Target is a sleazy, sleazy film (as if you couldn’t tell from the title). It’s filled with brutal violence, sick sex and an ever present downbeat ambience that permeates everything. So that I guess brings the film in line with much of Impulse’s Nikkatsu Roman-Porno series. Beyond these now standard features though lies a surprising examination of violence and it’s ugly consequences.
Okamoto, the son of a Japanese woman raped by a black American serviceman shortly after WW2, (played by Jôji Sawada with ‘80s Weird Al hair) is released from prison shortly after his sister commits suicide after herself being raped by American servicemen stationed in Japan (seeing a pattern yet?). Of course Okamoto isn’t too happy about this so he sets out on a quest for revenge against the men responsible. He teams up (sort of anyway) with a woman named Etsuko (who was with his sister when she was attacked) to track the men down.
Sex Hunter is not a pleasant film. Okamoto is certainly not a very likable character. He performs acts that put him in the same league as the films purported villains. So, he’s a hard character to root for. And he really never gets his revenge so there isn’t even that cathartic release. All the characters in this film are damaged by the culture of violence that comes from war and occupation. And even Okamoto’s seemingly righteous rage is directionless and leaves just as much destruction in it’s wake. So, pretty high minded stuff for a sex film. But the film is so oppressively sleazy that it’s not an easy film for me to get into. It’s a well made film, like the rest of the Nikkatsu series, but you really need to know what your getting into before you start this one. This isn’t for the easily offended.
Sex Hunter looks great on Impulse’s new DVD. You get the expected anamorphic trasfer. Really, I’ve got nothing bad to say here. Everything looks and sounds good, like the rest of the Nikkatsu series. The only extras here are a theatrical trailer and some liner notes by Jasper Sharp.
[Rating: 3 stars]
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