9 Deaths of the Ninja

Director - Emmett Alston (New Year's Evil)

Starring - Sho Kosugi (Ninja Assassin), Brent Huff (Attack of the 50ft Cheerleader), and Emilia Crow (Scarface) 

Release Date - 1985

Genre - Action

Tagline - "The ninja master...is now the ninja avenger"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Explosive Cinema 12 film set)

Rating (out of 5):

      Have I mentioned how much I love 80's cinema?  If I have not then I am going to take the time to illustrate why I love it so much using three words.  Are you ready?  Ok, here goes.  Those three words are cheesy, dated, and over-the-top.  I counted over-the-top as one word so fuck you.  Anyway, films from the 80's are extremely cliched and often use the "bigger is better" monicker when filming.  Bigger explosions, bigger hair, bigger effects, bigger characters, and bigger clothes.  One day when I was placing an order on amazon.com for various Mill Creek box sets I came across one of their sets called Explosive Cinema.  I ordered it because I am also partial to 80's action flicks and one of the films, 9 Deaths of the Ninja, caught my eye.  After watching the trailer for the film I had to see it.  When the set finally came in I went ahead and watched it.

     The film follows martial arts expert and American Special Ops Spike Shinobi and his partner Steve Gordon as they battle terrorists and other baddies.  A terrorist group in the Philippines has aligned themselves with a criminal mastermind that is bound to a wheelchair and loves monkeys.  The group hijack a busload of innocent bystanders and demand that a member of their terrorist organization be released from prison.  The American government call in Shinobi and Gordon to save the busload of innocents before the terrorists kill them.

     Fuck I love 80's actions films and I love them even more when they try to be serious but end up making you laugh instead.  That is what this movie did.  The film is so serious, but it is also, so absurd that you start laughing and can not stop.  The acting in this little gem is horrible and for the budget is really surprising.  The entire cast made Dolph Lundgren look great by comparison and that is saying something.  The story is simple and nothing that detailed.  However, the movie was delivered in such a way that it you can not take your eyes off the screen in fear you will miss the next exploding inanimate object.  Finally, the special effects are nothing special except for the explosions.  This movie is packed full of em and they are definitely the highlight of the film.  Overall, if you enjoy any 80's Chuck Norris films or Miami Connection then you will love this one.  I recommend it.