Violated Angels

Lore & Background

Violated Angels was shot in black and white in just three days, probably much of it improvised and because of the low budget, many of the actresses were not professionals. The film opens with a young man looking at pornographic magazines and practicing his shooting near the ocean. During nighttime, in a nurses' rooming house, four nurses spy on two other nurses having sex. The man is invited in, then shoots and kills one girl mid-coitus. After a series of killings, the sole remaining nurse survives by biting his finger and having sex with him. The film ends with the man and survivor running across the oceanside, fondling each other among the corpses arranged in a star formation resembling the Japanese flag.

Reader's Guide

Violated Angels is a key work in Kōji Wakamatsu's filmography, exemplifying his controversial style within the Pinku eiga genre. The film's plot simplicity often feels like a 'sadistic haiku,' according to critics. It was criticized as anti-feminist and misogynistic; Amos Vogel, in Film As A Subversive Art, praised Wakamatsu's artistic talent yet panned the film for its 'anti-feminist sadism which is not based on any ideological explanation and finally contributes misanthropic flavour to his work.' The film's rapid production and use of non-professional actresses reflect the low-budget, improvisational nature of much of Wakamatsu's output. Its legacy lies in its notoriety as a provocative, violent entry in Japanese underground cinema, directly inspired by a real-life mass murder.

Did You Know?

• The film is loosely inspired by the mass murder spree of Richard Speck in 1966.
• It was shot in black and white in just three days, with many non-professional actresses.
• Most of the actual murders take place off screen.
• The film's plot simplicity has been described as a 'sadistic haiku'.