Trapped, The Crimson Bat is the second in the Crimson Bat series. I thought the first one was okay but nothing great. The second is a bit of an improvement, so I am upping the rating by one star.
In this one, the blind swordswoman Oichi runs afoul with a female villain using a whip made of the hair of women hurt by men (is there paperwork on that?). In spite of the other review, I don't think this is the same villainous as in the first film. The characters have different names (at least in the subtitles) and are played by different actresses. After Oichi nearly dies from the venom of snakes thrown by the villainess (!), she is rescued and nursed back to health by a simple farmer. Oichi falls for her savior and wants to settle down and be a farmer's wife. Unfortunately, the local government is crooked, cheating the farmers out of their rice. Soon, Oichi will have to pick back up her sword.
Trapped, The Crimson Bat is often considered the best of the series. The story, while simple, is well presented (sort-of a female samurai variation on Shane). Trapped, The Crimson Bat has more action than the first film and ends with a bigger action sequence (and higher body count). I liked the film, but I still found it a little disappointing. Yoko Matsuyama is not overly convincing as either blind nor as a master swordswoman. Most of the time, she swings her sword and villains run into it.
Trapped, The Crimson Bat is easy viewing for samurai film fans. I was entertained, just not enough to seek out the third and fourth entries in the series.
