With the most salacious title of the series and a director (Yasuharu Hasebe) who would go on to make some of the more notorious 'violent pink' movies of the '70s, Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter sounds like it should be a thoroughly tasteless sleaze-fest, but in reality proves just as mediocre as the previous two entries (Delinquent Girl Boss and Wild Jumbo), being another unexceptional gang drama with attractive actresses acting tough unconvincingly.
The beautiful Meiko Kaji returns, this time as Mako, leader of the Alleycats, an all-girl gang who clash with male gang The Eagles, whose leader, Baron (Tatsuya Fuji), has a hatred of African-Japanese people. When one such mixed race man falls for Alleycat Mari (Mari Koiso), Baron and his men react with violence, but are seen off by young stranger Kazuma (Rikiya Yasuoka), who has arrived in town looking for his sister Megumi. Mako takes a fancy to Kazuma, who is also mixed race, which upsets Baron even further, since he also has the hots for the top Alleycat (although impotency prevents him from proving his manliness). Rising tensions lead to punch-ups and random acts of violence, culminating in a shoot-out at a U.S. airbase.
There are a few moments in Sex Hunter that definitely offered Hasebe the opportunity to cut loose, but the director plays it safe this early in his career, delivering very little of the shocking sexual violence that typifies his more infamous work: those looking for jaw-dropping scenes of deviancy are advised to move on... there's nothing much to see here. The majority of the film consists of much posturing from both sides, some musical interludes (including a couple of numbers by mixed-race girl group Golden Half), mild drug-taking, and lots of driving around Tokyo in jeeps. The racially charged plot adds a modicum of interest, but this third Stray Cat Rock movie - regarded by many as the best in the series (which doesn't say much for the others) - still left me wanting.
