I’ve only seen clips so far, but if I were to write a review of the recently released Korean comedy-sci-fi movie Invasion of Alien Bikini, the focus of the review would most likely be on star Ha Eun-jung, the stills I would include would all be of star Ha Eun-jung, and the main reason I would give for seeing the movie would probably be because Ha Eun-jung stars in it. Therefore, this entry should just be on Ha Eun-jung and not her new movie.Even though she does provide the film with great eye candy, the 31 year-old actress has shown she’s more than just a voluptuous figure. Since this movie has only been released in Korea so far, it will be a while before it’s available on DVD for all to view but the reviews I’ve read of the overall film as well as Eun-jung’s performance, have been surprisingly good. Both have overshadowed another concurrently-released Korean film with a bigger budget and higher profile female star, that have gotten much poorer marks from critics.

Korea doesn’t really doesn’t have a B-movie industry as the US does. With the exception of adult (“ero”) movies, pretty much all Korean films are theatrical releases. However, since Eun-jung previously starred in the 2009 comedy-horror flick The Neighbor Zombie, she could be on her way to being considered a sort of Korean equivalent to American B-movie Scream Queens such as Linnea Quigley and Monique Gabrielle.

Promotional shot for Invasion of Alien Bikini

Still from the movie

Walking the red carpet at the 2011 the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival

Press conference at Puchon

As a very pretty zombie in Neighbor Zombie (2009)

Arguably the most popular sub-genre of exploitation films, women in prison movies (regardless of where they were made) generally have three main elements, which are; sadistic guards, sadistic inmates, and at least one innocent new convict who was unjustly convicted and is now confronted with the first two aforementioned elements.

The majority of Asian WIP (“Women-In-Prison” for those not yet with the program) movies come from Hong Kong and Japan. I’ve caught a few notable ones from other Asian countries, such as Taiwan and Thailand, but not really from South Korea, which is disappointing considering the lovely talent pool they have always had there.

Above is Mina Asami gracing the video box cover of the 1983 film Female Prisoner: Caged! from Japan’s Nikkatsu Studios. As covered in this entry, Nikkatsu was the leading producer of pink films during the “roman” porn era.It should go without saying that the following choice dozen have all one would come to expect in a WIP movie: catfights, sex (forced and consensual), various forms of torture, and of course, daunting escape attempts …. because none of the ladies in these films are ever considered for parole.

1972’s Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, which starred Meiko Kaji, was the first installment of Toei Studio’s “Female Prisoner Scorpion” series. Meiko began her career with Nikkatsu in 1965 under the name “Masako Ota.” She began going by Meiko Kaji in 1970, the same year she starred in the first of Nikkatsu’s “Stray Cat Rock” female teenage juvenile delinquent films. After the Stray Cat Rock series, Meiko went on to appear in the first four Female Prisoner Scorpion films for Toei. A good rundown of all the films in this series is here.

The Bamboo House of Dolls (1973) is a classic grindhouse gem from Hong Kong. In this one, the Japanese (who have invaded China) kidnap a group of nurses from a hospital and bring them to a concentration camp where they are subject to the usual torture, rape, and brutality that are the essential ingredients for any WIP movie. Adding a little something different to this mix is that a few of the the abductees are non-Asian, one of whom in the form of tall, blonde Danish actress, Brite Tove, who did three Hong Kong exploitation flicks during her career.

Excessive Torture in a Female Prison Camp (as it’s known in English) is a 1983 Hong Kong film about Korean women in a Japanese prison camp during World War II when the Japanese still occupied Korea. Despite its title, the torture scenes in this one aren’t as brutal as in many of the others films of this genre. A pretty female cast here but I noted only three Korean names among them.

Another gem from Hong Kong, Women in Prison (1988) stars Carol “Do Do” Cheng (foreground, below), who was the most prolific and highest paid actress in Hong Kong during the 80s. A must for Cheng fans, she plays a first-timer, fighting to survive on the inside after being convicted of killing a bookie her boyfriend was indebted to.

Leave it to a Hong Kong studio to make a WIP-horror film. Among the cast of 1990’s Jail House Eros aka Haunted Jail, is busty B-movie icon Amy Yip. (No need to point out which one she is on the above poster.) More tongue-in-cheek than the usual WIP film, this one has Amy and company being terrorized by the ghost of their former warden.

The producers of 1997’s Scorpion’s Revenge made sure to let it be know that they were the same guys who were bringing us the popular “Zero Woman” series of the same era. This film was a continuation of the 1970s “Female Prisoner Scorpion” franchise (see above) but the subsequent entries without Meiko Kaji didn’t achieve the same cult status as the original four. The above poster features star Yoko Saito, who not only bears a striking resemblance to 90s B-cinema icon, Cheiko Shiratori (whom I would have loved to see in one of these roles), she also resides in the “Whatever Happened to ..?” file, alongside her.

The lone Thai-made film in this entry, Final Detention (2003) involves ladies on an island penal colony who undergo some unusual forms of “rehabilitation” that serves only to please the sadistic guards. Seeing it as their only option to ever leave to island alive, the girls undertake a risky escape. Thai-based Japanese actress Yoko Takano, who stars in this one, took a public blood test in 2003 to put an end to gossip that she had contracted the AIDS virus, as a Thai entertainment tabloid had reported.

I addition to poster girl and gravure idol Aki Hoshino (first featured here), Death Row Girls: Female Prisoner 1316 also features JAV idols Momo Izawa, Emi Kitagawa, and Ami Sakurai. Aki is Misaki Sayama (prisoner 1316), transferred from another prison to “The Island,” a military facility where condemned female inmates are sent to be trained as government spies. If they make the cut, they get to live. Yeah, I know; cute Aki and company sure weren’t typecast for these roles.

Prisoner No. 07: Reina (2006) features Hanako Nanjô as Reina, a reporter who commits a crime to intentionally get herself thrown in prison in hopes of finding her missing sister, whom she believes is serving time. Once on the inside, Reina finds out that the inmates are subject to a Battle Royal type of survival competition in order to earn their way out.

In addition to the usual horrors of prison, 2006’s Female Prisoner Sigma (with Shôko Hamada in the title role) has a supernatural element to it. In the words of Switchblade Pictures press release; “the inmate known as Sigma must face a fate beyond her worst nightmares; something far more terrifying than anything the brutal guards and corrupt wardens could imagine.”

Another Switchblade Pictures release, Chain Gang Girls (2007) stars half-Japanese, half-Taiwanese actress Li Mei Chan, supported by a cast of other equally beautiful girls, as convicts within Japan’s toughest female penitentiary. As with most WIP films, despite the rough conditions, catfights, and torture the ladies have to endure, they always remain remarkably camera ready.

As an added bonus and although not Asian-made and void of the brutality of the aforementioned films, the 1984 porn film Jailhouse Girls did include 80s Asian-American porn queen Kristara Barrington in its cast. (Whatever happened to her?) Made at the dawn of the adult industry’s video boom, this one also starred porn legends Kelly Nichols, Ginger Lynn, Raven, and Tajia Rae (and now that I think about it; with the exception of Ginger Lynn, I wonder whatever happened to those ladies, as well).

I first caught actress Debra Lamb on video in a little-known gem entitled The Stripping Telegram: Special Delivery, which was shot in Hollywood in the mid-80s. In it, she played a pizza delivery girl who forgot the pizza but more than made up for it with a sizzling routine that showed she had formal dance training. Her exotic looks were familiar to me and I was sure I’d seen her somewhere before, so I did a little digging and found her featured in the June 1987 issue of Easyriders magazine I had in my collection.

Wanting to learn more about such a striking girl, starting with her last name, I checked magazines stands, book and video stores (these were the pre-Internet days) and found her featured in a now-defunct publication entitled Focus, which included her bio and list of acting credits. That was in 1994 and she has since been among my favorite B-movie actresses. The above photo of her as Jessica from the 1989 B-movie classic Beverly Hills Vamp should save me from having to explain why.As well as being a personal favorite, Debra is the most successful (if not only) Asian-American “Scream Queen” of all time. Ranking right up there with other icons of the genre, such as Brinke Stevens, Linnea Quigley, and Michelle Bauer, Debra has appeared in over 40 films and videos, as well as done countless modeling gigs. Despite all that, she still finds it hard to believe that so many people have seen her work and that fans and critics alike consider her one of the big names in B-cinema.

Several months ago, I was wondering if I could find any current news on Debra (if I didn’t, I probably would have done a “Whatever Happened to..?” entry on her), and I came upon her psychic healing website. After sending her an e-mail through her site asking for an interview and receiving no reply, I assumed she wasn’t interested in delving back into her modeling and acting past. However, I recently learned that was far from the case. (It turned out she never received my message due to a technical glitch.) Thanks to a mutual friend putting in a good word for me, Debra sent me a message through Facebook, welcoming me to contact her and was very open to an interview, which we did three days later.

While speaking with her, she talked at length about her career, the people she’s worked with, her nearly 10-year hiatus from acting, and her recent comeback. Besides having a great sense of humor, Debra was one of the most enjoyable ladies I have ever met, let alone interviewed, and she placed almost no topics off limits.

During our lengthy conversation, I also learned a lot about Debra that I wouldn’t have found out from other sources, such as; she was almost in the Navy, loves to snack on raw onions, has had almost every kind of pet you can think of, doesn’t close the bathroom door when she’s at home, and politics is not among her favorite topics.

Check out the condensed excerpts from my full and exclusive interview with Debra at Idol Features.

As Diana in Trashy Ladies Wrestling (1987)

On the cover of the March 1988 Supercycle, which was their best-selling issue of all time. Debra told me it wasn’t just because of her but also because of the bike featured. I think she’s mistaken about that.

Debra’s most popular poster

As Jane in the 1993 UCLA short film, Kissing Time, one of Debra’s personal favorites. This was a 1920s-style silent film in which her character performed a seductive dance that ended with her spitting a ball of fire.

Gracing the cover of the spring 1994 issue of Draculina. Fellow Scream Queen Linnea Quigley is pictured at lower left.

From her Draculina photo shoot

1994 issue of Focus that includes accurate information on Debra’s career up to that point. The comments on all of her movies were actually written by her.

Showing her fire breathing skills as “Raven” in Ballerina Finale. Originally entitled Curtain Call, this began production in 1994 as a UCLA short film that was later expanded upon and released in 1997.

Debra did her own makeup and wore this Tom Bliss-designed bra for a photo shoot she did during the making of Ballerina Finale.

As an Asian Elvira for a 2010 photo shoot for Dark Beauty magazine

A very recent photo of Debra sporting a very different look. Her t-shirt holds a clue as to the title of her comeback to the B-movie scene. (Photo by Topher Adam)

From an even more recent shoot (Photo by Darrie Evans)

Debra Lamb Psychic Healing
Debra’s Self-Made Fansite
Her Facebook
Her Extreme Facebook
Her Psychic Healing Facebook
Debra at Dark Beauty Magazine
Her IMDB Listing
Interview with Debra at Idol Features

Big thanks to Reyna Young aka “Miss Misery” at Last Doorway Productions

As requested by a reader, here are the female cast members of the 2010 Japanese sci-fi film, Space Battleship Yamato, which could be considered a more action-packed Japanese version of American space sci-fi films like Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica. (The latter I’ve sat through only because Grace Park was in the cast.)

Since this movie was spawned by the TV anime series that debuted in 1974, I decided to do a little research on the series first. When I did, I discovered there was only one notable female character in it, so I thought this would wind up as a feature on just the actress in the role of “Black Tiger Team” member, Yuki Mori (Meisa Kuroki, above). However, I was pleased to find out that the most notable departure the film took from the TV series was that two male key characters in the series, are female in the movie.The following are the three ladies in the main cast. An excellent page to find out more information on this movie and the supporting cast actresses (that have “don’t blink or you’ll miss them” parts) is here.

As seen here, anime character Yuki Mori (not to be confused with the Asian-American porn actress of the same name) received a bit of a makeover for the film in the form of actress/singer Meisa Kuroki. Yuki is the only female member on the the battleship’s tactical unit, the “Black Tiger Team.”

Meisa was actually not the first choice to fill the form-fitting yellow and black suit of Yuki. The actress originally slated for the role, the often controversial Erika Sawajiri, was dismissed and Aoi Miyazaki reportedly turned down the part before it was offered to Meisa.

Maiko Skorick is communications officer Aihara, a character who was male in the anime series. Google “¥Þ¥¤¥³” to see more on her.

Reiko Takashima as the ship’s doctor, Dr. Sado, a character who was a very unattractive male in the anime series.

Yukie is someone that I knew about from when I first started collecting photos, but I never took a moment to find out more about her until I started writing this article. One of our readers by the name of Terry suggested that we feature Yukie, so hit the break to find out more about this stunning beauty.Yukie started out as a gravure idol and as a singer, then later became an actress. She is best known for starring in the TV series Gokusen. I started watching the first episode while writing this article and I loved it. Once I have some free time, I will try to catch the rest of the episodes online.

I am glad that Terry suggested featuring Yukie on Asian Sirens. I would not have found out about Gokusen if not for his suggestion. If you are reading this and know of someone that you would like to see featured here, you can do so by using the Contact Asian Sirens link on the left of the page.

Stats:
Height: 160cm
Blood Type: AB
Birthdate: October 30, 1979
Birthplace: Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan

Links:
Wikipedia
Video | Video 2
Gokusen Ep. 1

Joe Chen Qiao-En is a singer and actress in Taiwan. Apparently she used to be shy about her body because she believed her breasts were too big. Aww. Poor Joe.Stats:

Age: 31
Height: ?
Ethnicity: Taiwanese
Located: Taiwan

Photos: