QUICK SCHLOCK: The SISTER STREET FIGHTER Quadrilogy

A few weeks back, Sonny Chiba's classic Street Fighter trilogy was covered here so it's only natural to follow up with its spin-off series, Sister Street Fighter. This franchise was a vehicle for Chiba protege Etsuko Shihomi, who would make three films in the series between 1974 and 1975.  There was also an attempted reboot of the series with a completely different storyline and Shihomi playing a new character in 1976.

The first three films are of a piece with The Street Fighter, containing the same mix of karate, colorful villains and a dollop of grindhouse-friendly sleaze. The final film largely drops the grindhouse content, seemingly trying to push the series in a direction that is more general audience-friendly. You can snap up all four films at once by purchasing Arrow Video's Sister Street Fighter Collection, which boasts new transfers of each film plus a nice little slate of extras. Read on for links to capsule reviews covering all the femme-fronted fury...

SISTER STREET FIGHTER: "Shihomi's first solo vehicle kicks plays like a manga adapted for the grindhouse." https://boxd.it/3dqTo1

SISTER STREET FIGHTER: HANGING BY A THREAD: "...plays like a recalibrated redux of the first film, simplifying the plot and amping up the action and sleaze." https://boxd.it/3dqU9L

THE RETURN OF SISTER STREET FIGHTER: "...mainly for the already converted but there's enough fun here to give them the rush they've become accustomed to." https://boxd.it/3eViPZ

SISTER STREET FIGHTER: FIFTH LEVEL FIST: "...feels more like an attempt to start a new series around Shiomi that only offers the occasional glimpse of what came before." https://boxd.it/3eVAab