Ninja III: The Domination (1984) Blu-ray review

There is an inherent fear in watching some much-lauded, sleazy cult title for the first time, decades after it first came onto the scene. As an example, I worshiped the ground that Masters of the Universe (1987) was shot upon when I was 6 years old. To think, there was a time in my life when I considered that movie to be the greatest thing I'd ever laid eyes upon. 25 years of refining tastes have made it clear to me just how foolish my young mind was, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying the film through rose-tinted lenses every single time I found it on cable. If I showed it to someone who'd never seen it today, they'd probably bail out as soon as Gwildor started talking. Sometimes you just have to see something in the right moment to fully appreciate it, warts and all.

But sometimes, every so often, a film hits your radar that lives up to all of the hype. That film is Ninja III: The Domination (1984).

So, having known nothing about the film before it was announced by Shout! Factory, what appealed to me enough to warrant a blind buy? For one thing, this is a Cannon Films production. If you aren't familiar with their outstanding roster of '80s hits, think of titles like Breakin' (1984), Invasion U.S.A. (1985), Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), and Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989). Basically, if you were a fan of break dancing, Chuck Norris, Tobe Hooper horror, and Charles Bronson's late-'80s revenge run, this was the studio of your dreams. Of course, success can't be attributed to a faceless studio, which is where my second point of interest comes in: producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. These two guys were not only responsible for nearly every film under the Cannon Films umbrella, but a host of others as well - pictures like 52 Pick-Up (1986) and Over the Top (1987). Their involvement almost always assures a winner in my book; I don't think I've ever seen a Golan/Globus production that didn't at the very least entertain me. I was already sold on the film purely based on the production studio, producers, and production year. As far as I'm concerned, anything patently '80s is worthy of a viewing. And then I kept reading about how V8 is used as an aphrodisiac, eliciting a completely-out-of-left-field sexual response. Review after review made mention of this, piquing my curiosity since I don't find V8 all that appealing and I figured these reviewers must be making a mountain out of a molehill.

It's like a healthier version of 9 1/2 Weeks.

Nope. This movie is fucking nuts. There's no other way to describe it. Director Sam Firstenberg, he of Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo fame, took the approach of packing the film with one moment of insanity after the next, never taking things too seriously, and never allowing it to lag. The opening sets a high bar when an Evil Ninja, who wears an awful lot of mascara, wreaks havoc on a gold course for seemingly no reason at all. At first it seems like a typical low-budget, moderately-choreographed, incredibly cheesy bloodbath... but once Evil Ninja throws a dart into the barrel of a dude's gun, causing it to explode in his face, then that's when shit got real. Evil Ninja keeps his massacre going full steam, plowing through dozens of cops until finally he disappears after getting pumped full of about, oh, 167 bullets of so. He should've considered a career in hip-hop. Too obvious? He reappears to the hottest phone company worker I've seen since some porno back in middle school, at which point he mumbles some ninja words and transfers his soul into Christie (Lucinda Dickey). And now it's an Evil Ninja Possession movie. Super.

Apparently, possession comes with mandatory eyeliner.

Christie's possessed, so now she can do things like fight off a hilariously stereotypical pack of meat-headed thugs who attempt to rape women from an aerobics class in broad daylight, right outside the gym where they are apparently members. And she also kills every cop Evil Ninja's mind remembers from the day he got shot a lot but didn't die. Luckily his memory gets a good jogging because Christie gets hooked up with Billy (Jordan Bennett), local cop and one of the most hirsute leading men since King Kong. Seriously, this guy could shave a design into his chest and it would look like he's just wearing a dark sweater. Christie picks off his buddies one by one until Billy starts to figure out what's up, at which point he brings her to Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China for an exorcism. That fails, but it does provide a great excuse for Christie to show off her gymnastic skills. That body wasn't made hard, right?

Sho Kosugi spends the entire film following Christie's bloody wake. He's less concerned with killing her, per se, as he just wants to steal Evil Ninja's corpse, then speak some Good Ninja words to get Evil Ninja's soul out of Christie and back into his somehow-not-decomposing lifeless body. Solid proposal, should work out just great. After a fierce battle through a downtown Arizona industrial complex, Kosugi manages to pull off the plan we all knew he would. Now we get an epic battle of ninja vs. ninja, which, thankfully, manages to bookend the film with nearly as much insanity as it began with. Even if you're a ninja, it takes a lot to kill an Evil Ninja.

Has this review sold you? Shit, it's sold me on watching this for the third time in a month. I really can't get enough, and it only rewards more upon subsequent viewings. Fiery possessed ninja swords clearly dangling from stage wires as it moves through the night air. Jacuzzi orgies with police officers that end in multiple deaths. Ninjas doing ninja stuff. It has every hallmark I'd want from a gooey slice of trashy mid-'80s cinema.

Shout! Factory did a wonderful job on the recent blu-ray release. As a new fan, I can't thank them enough for giving such lavish treatment to a film most studios would be embarrassed to admit is within their ranks. The 1.78:1 1080p/24fps AVC MPEG-4 encode looks stunning, with few deficiencies for such a low-budget film. The print used was clearly in great shape, allowing for excellent clarity and sharp, defined lines. Audio comes in the form of a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track. It gets the job done with a relentless dance/synth score and plenty of terribly awesome '80s forgotten tunes that fans will eat up.

The disc includes a photo gallery in full 1080p, which features some poster art and other ephemera. Unfortunately, the trailer listed on the back isn't included because they were "unable to find suitable elements", or something to that effect. I find that excuse a bit lame since, frankly, I don't think anyone would've cared if they used a trailer that was a little worse for the wear. At least we do get a commentary, with director Sam Firstenberg and the film's stunt coordinator. I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet (sorry, I'm too hooked on just watching the film), but I plan to get to what I hear is a lively and informative track. Also cool: the packaging includes many alternate poster designs on the inner sleeve. Shout! is the only company that uses that space for images aside from, oddly enough, Sony.

Again, I can't really recommend this enough. I'm dying to see it with a crowd (I know L.A. had a screening recently), but even with yourself or one other person it plays like gangbusters. Must be seen to be believed. And if you're thinking of making it a date night, be sure to stock the fridge with V8. You never know.