New Female Prisoner Scorpion: Special Cellblock X

A nurse becomes the scapegoat in the hospital death of a politician who had been preparing to expose corruption, and she is sent to prison for it. After she breaks out and is caught and brought back, the other inmates are punished for her escape, while a harsher new head of security takes over. A power struggle inside the prison and a shift of loyalties among the staff follow.

New Female Prisoner Scorpion: Special Cellblock X was directed by Yutaka Kohira, with a screenplay by Tatsuhiko Kamoi. It was released in Japan in 1977 by Toei Company and runs 84 minutes. Yoko Natsuki plays Nami Matsushima, and Takeo Chii appears as the guard Ichirô Kajiki. Masashi Ishibashi, Junkichi Orimoto, Kaori Ono and Hiroshi Tachi round out the main cast. The film belongs to a crime series that had already passed through the hands of earlier directors.

Audience scores are modest: on IMDb it sits at 5.6 from 155 votes, and on TMDB it holds the same 5.6 from a small handful of votes. That agreement across both, based on limited numbers, points to a film with a narrow following rather than a broad reputation.