Sex Rider: Injured Lust (セックス・ライダー 傷だらけの欲情) (Japan, 1973) [TV] – 3.5/5
After being near impossible to see for decades, director Koretsugu Kurahara's follow-up to his 1971 action film Sex Rider: Wet Highway has finally been unearthed. The sequel follows young outlaw couple Masafumi Shiga and Mimi Sugihara (neither one of whom seem to have any other acting credits) in an incestuous relationship trying to rebel against the word while being chased by a trigger happy detective. Kurahara, one of the young Nikkatsu action directors who refused to let go of the past even in the Roman Porno era, and veteran screenwriter Hideichi Nagahara (A Colt is My Passport, Stray Cat Rock, Hairpin Circus) construct the film as a Nikkatsu Outlaw actioner with a handful of added (compulsory) sex scenes. Grainy cityscapes and slow-motion montages dominate the first half while the second borrows more from road movies. The soundtrack is almost entirely recycled from other films and sources, but it's a hell of a mix tape. Speaking of the soundtrack, Morio Agata's Kanto hit Red Elegy plays throughout the film and is a likely inspiration for the storyline. Like the original movie, the film is a bit superficial in parts and clumsy in others, yet there's an overwhelmingly positive sense of rebellion unfolding on screen with Kurahara stubbornly crafting yet another decidedly cool action picture within the studio mandated Roman Porno frame. It may be slightly different flavour from the first film, with more urban crime film vibe, but fans of the original ought to enjoy it.
After being near impossible to see for decades, director Koretsugu Kurahara's follow-up to his 1971 action film Sex Rider: Wet Highway has finally been unearthed. The sequel follows young outlaw couple Masafumi Shiga and Mimi Sugihara (neither one of whom seem to have any other acting credits) in an incestuous relationship trying to rebel against the word while being chased by a trigger happy detective. Kurahara, one of the young Nikkatsu action directors who refused to let go of the past even in the Roman Porno era, and veteran screenwriter Hideichi Nagahara (A Colt is My Passport, Stray Cat Rock, Hairpin Circus) construct the film as a Nikkatsu Outlaw actioner with a handful of added (compulsory) sex scenes. Grainy cityscapes and slow-motion montages dominate the first half while the second borrows more from road movies. The soundtrack is almost entirely recycled from other films and sources, but it's a hell of a mix tape. Speaking of the soundtrack, Morio Agata's Kanto hit Red Elegy plays throughout the film and is a likely inspiration for the storyline. Like the original movie, the film is a bit superficial in parts and clumsy in others, yet there's an overwhelmingly positive sense of rebellion unfolding on screen with Kurahara stubbornly crafting yet another decidedly cool action picture within the studio mandated Roman Porno frame. It may be slightly different flavour from the first film, with more urban crime film vibe, but fans of the original ought to enjoy it.
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