Ninja III: The Domination
1984; directed by Sam Firstenberg

Hello, dear readers. Though this site has been running for over sixteen years now, and has almost 1500 reviews on it, I'm not one to say that I am a perfect reviewer, or really, even a competent one. Most of the jottings you may peruse on Hong Kong Film Net are not meant to be taken all that seriously. So, keeping that in mind, I really have no problem admitting when I am wrong. My initial take on Ninja III: The Domination, first published in 2011, was, to say the least, a bit harsh. The writing must have been done when I was in a particularly cranky mood, because after taking another gander at the film via Shout! Factory's new Blu-ray, this is a fine (if very stinky) slice of 80's cheese that is well deserving of its' cult classic status.

Most of these ninja-themed releases had thin shreds of plots. I always imagine them to be written on the diving tail end of a coke binge, in a room so full of cigarette smoke that the walls have yellowed, by a group of men desperate to make a few bucks off of dumb kids like your friendly neighborhood reviewer was back in the day. Anyway, Ninja III's story is pretty ridiculous, even by the genre's admittedly low standards.

The movie begins with an evil ninja slaughtering not a rival clan, but a group of mulleted yuppies on a golf course, and then possessing the body of aerobic instructor Christie (Breakin' 2's Lucinda Dickey) so he can carry on his dirty work. Christie's boyfriend enjoys the fringe benefits of demonic ninja possession at first, which includes foreplay with liberal amounts of V8 juice, but soon freaks out and turns to the wise old master Yamada (played by Sho Kosugi, who starred in this movie's spiritual forefathers, Enter the Ninja and Revenge of the Ninja) for help.

Obviously, Ninja III: The Domination is not in the same league of films like Enter the Dragon or Ip Man that are serious portrayals of martial arts. This is a release that revels in 1980's excess and overdose. For those younger viewers out there who have been raised wearing visors made out of cynicism tinged with irony, Ninja III might just be yet another one of those "bad" movies you're forced to flip past when you're not able to torrent the latest hipster lovetwaddle meetcute critical indie darling off of the net. But, for many of us old-timers, films like this bring us back to a simpler time when all you needed for a good Saturday night was a greasy pizza, a Big Gulp full of sugary goodness, and your favorite well-worn VHS tape in the player.

RATING: 7

Release Information

As with many home video editions put out as of late, Shout! Factory's package contains both the Blu-ray and DVD versions of the movie. For a low-budget film made almost thirty years ago, Ninja III looks shockingly good. The 1080p picture is presented in a 1.78:1 format, with no real negatives to speak of, as the neon colored garb pops off of the screen. Soundwise, we are treated to a DTS-HD track that perfectly brings forth all of the nuances of the synth-heavy soundtrack. For those of you without a Blu-ray player, the DVD looks and sounds fine in its' own right. Extras on both discs include a fun commentary with director Sam Firstenberg and stunt coordinator Steve Lambert, as well as an extensive photo gallery.

The set is available from Amazon.