RICA

Directed by Ko Nakahira
Written by Kaneto Shindo
Cinematography by Aguri Sugita
Music by Jiro Takemura
Cast: Rika Aoki, Kazuko Nagamoto, Masami Souda, Michi Nono, Fuminori Sato, Masane Tsukayama 

1972/90 Mins/Color/Mono
2.35:1 anamorphic/Japanese/Japan/NTSC Region 1

Review from Exploitation Digital/ Media Blasters

Beautiful Rica (Rika Aoki) has had it rough since the get go. Her birth was a result of her Japanese mother being raped by American GIs during the Korean War. Her hooker mom’s lover, a married man, rapes Rica, when she is older. Not surprisingly, she grows up tough as nails. Then one night, she is taken away to reform school after a brutal fight. Meanwhile, her friends are gang raped and kidnapped so that they can be sold to Vietnam soldiers by scumbag criminals. When Rica escapes reform school, she swears vengeance on those who wronged her.

This is the first entry in the RICA trilogy. It’s a fast paced and exciting movie. I knew from the badass and violent beginning that it would not fuck around. As you can see by my plot summary it features a lot of rape scenes. Nudity is also abundant. Lovely, lead actress Rika Aoki signs and dances in an itty-bitty bikini. But, my favorite babe in it is bad tattooed hottie Rieko (the gorgeous Kazuko Nagamoto), who show her wondrous itty-bitties. It can be said that she has great tats and tits! There is also lots of shocking and graphic violence, including: eye gouging, impaling, camera painting head shots, amputation, arterial spraying, stabbing, and gory squibs.

Aside form all the exploitative material, though, it should also be said that I highly enjoyed the way the plot evolves. And, our heroine is a great character. Aoki, aside from being a stunning beauty does a good job, in bringing her to life. The movie ends with an exciting climax, although the ending does feel somewhat abrupt. So while this flick is not the best entry in the pinky violence cycle, it is one of the most fun ones. 

Exploitation Digital allows RICA to exact her revenge in this DVD release. Presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio in anamorphic widescreen, the transfer is somewhat grainy. But, it still manages to look bright and lively. In fact the blacks are really rich, and overall this release looks much better than a lot of other movies of the same type and era. The mono soundtrack sounds clear and loud. The English subtitles are good and easy to read.

There are few extras, tough. All we get is a cool still gallery, with a couple of very sexy pictures, promo pics, and story summary. The only other extra are original trailers to the RICA trilogy. There are also trailers to: LADY NINJA KASUMI, EMMANUELLE’S DAUGHTER, YELLOW EMMANUELLE, and PORNO HOLOCAUST. The single disc comes in a keep-case. There is no inlet card, but the cover is pretty fucking cool. 

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Review by Giovanni Deldio. All rights reserved. 2009 ©

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