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High School Co-ed (1978)

a.k.a. Angel Guts: High School Co-ed

The story of "High School Co Ed" is about three motorbikers who do nothing else but robbing and raping. How in the world was the director able to fill 79 minutes of running time with this scenario? 5-minute-long rape-scenes would be the answer. Let me see... total number of scenes where women are either raped or totally mis-treated: 12.

Don't get me wrong. The film features parts where the three guys get in fights with each other. One of them for example is constantly pissed, because each time his colleague goes for the women first, he won't let his mates rape them, too, because he has volved some sort of sympathy for them. Wow, what a hero. One scene where he rapes a girl on an old train track in the middle of a rain shower, romantic music starts playing. I'm sorry, but this shouldn't even be legitimated as art or whatever. To me it is simply glorification of violence towards women. It's good for ArtsmagicDVD to have released this film in the USA, because I can't see it passing the UK's BBFC guidelines without getting cut down for at least 25 minutes. But they really plan to release it in the UK. Well, have fum with a 50-minute film.

There is also a little subplot, which involves one of the raper's sister. It wasn't really a surprise seeing her getting raped towards the ending. Practically, every female that appears in this film gets either beaten or raped. And the finale of the film involves the murder of a Yakuza who wasn't there throughout the whole film. However, he gets killed by one of the bikers. Characters don't change a lot in terms of their attitude towards women, which is in my opinion the main purpose of the film's display. I would expect at least one of them to regret and to live a life with a bad conscience after that. But when the cops get him, they tell him to prepare to go to jail for his whole life (for murder that is. No mention of rapes is being made.) His only answer is "You must be kidding me."

Well, on this note, I tell the director that he must be kidding me to make such a film. I wouldn't recommend this film to those who are looking for a good film to watch after a hard day at work. If you are like me one of those people who like to explore the films nobody else watches voluntarily, you could go for this one. But for me it holds no re-watch value at all. Hence, I give it 2 abused women out of 5.

ArtsmagicDVD will be releasing this film in a boxset which includes 4 further films. The US release date is March 29th 2005.

Written on March 1st 2005

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