Ninjas are notoriously hard to kill, but the black ninja in Ninja III: The Domination is tougher than most, effortlessly laying waste to a dozen or so cops after carrying out the assassination of a scientist, and then making his escape despite being caught in a hail of bullets. He eventually dies of his injuries, but not before his spirit has passed into the body of sexy telephone maintenance worker and part-time aerobics instructor Christie Ryder (Lucinda Dickey). Unaware that she is possessed by the malevolent ninja, Christie begins to date hairy policeman Billy Secord (Jordan Bennett), but whenever she is alone in her apartment (playing her arcade machine, doing aerobics, listening to her boom-box, or admiring her neon wall art), the spirit takes control of her body and proceeds to exact revenge on the policemen involved in the firefight. Will Billy fall victim to the black ninja's wrath before he can figure out a way to exorcise his girlfriend?
Produced by the Cannon Group, who were responsible for countless crap-fests during the 1980s, Ninja III: The Domination is pure, unadulterated trash, with inept direction from Sam Firtsenberg, dreadful performances from everyone, terrible martial arts choreography, and hopeless special effects. The film opens with a poorly executed action sequence that quickly sets the amateurish tone: the black ninja unconvincingly beats up some bodyguards, (stopping one by blowing a dart into the barrel of his gun), kills his target with ease, outruns a police car, and then jumps onto the car and punches the driver through the roof (the car, which was trundling along at approximately 15mph, then flies 40 feet through the air). After this, the ninja climbs up a tree, leaps onto a helicopter, and kills the pilot by throwing a shuriken with his foot!
This, however, is far from the worst part of the film
A supposedly sexy scene in which Christie seduces Billy by straddling him and pouring fruit juice down the front of her shirt is ham-fisted in the extreme. A scene inspired by The Exorcist, in which Christie visits Japanese spiritualist Miyashima (played by James Hong), is unintentionally hilarious, the poor girl happily allowing herself to be restrained via chains and a harness, after which she spews green smoke into Miyashima's face (it's far less messy than pea soup) and spins around at top speed like a human windmill. Another craptabulous moment sees Christie, possessed by the ninja, tracking one of the cops to a health spa: as he frolics in a jacuzzi with two bimbos, Christie slips into the slinky black swimming costume she just happens to carry around with her, enters the water, makes out with the cop, and then kills everyone!
Other unforgettably dumb moments include Christie (possessed) crushing a ball from a pool table with her bare hands, several impromptu aerobics/dance scenes (allowing for lots of shots of Dickey in lycra!), a battle between the black ninja and some monks on an assault course inside a Japanese temple (?!?!), and the black ninja disappearing into the ground like a drill after fighting good ninja Yamada (Shô Kosugi).
There is no denying that Ninja III is a really, really, really bad film, but, with so much craziness, it is hard not to be entertained at least a little bit. Even if it is only by Dickey's dancing.
Produced by the Cannon Group, who were responsible for countless crap-fests during the 1980s, Ninja III: The Domination is pure, unadulterated trash, with inept direction from Sam Firtsenberg, dreadful performances from everyone, terrible martial arts choreography, and hopeless special effects. The film opens with a poorly executed action sequence that quickly sets the amateurish tone: the black ninja unconvincingly beats up some bodyguards, (stopping one by blowing a dart into the barrel of his gun), kills his target with ease, outruns a police car, and then jumps onto the car and punches the driver through the roof (the car, which was trundling along at approximately 15mph, then flies 40 feet through the air). After this, the ninja climbs up a tree, leaps onto a helicopter, and kills the pilot by throwing a shuriken with his foot!
This, however, is far from the worst part of the film
A supposedly sexy scene in which Christie seduces Billy by straddling him and pouring fruit juice down the front of her shirt is ham-fisted in the extreme. A scene inspired by The Exorcist, in which Christie visits Japanese spiritualist Miyashima (played by James Hong), is unintentionally hilarious, the poor girl happily allowing herself to be restrained via chains and a harness, after which she spews green smoke into Miyashima's face (it's far less messy than pea soup) and spins around at top speed like a human windmill. Another craptabulous moment sees Christie, possessed by the ninja, tracking one of the cops to a health spa: as he frolics in a jacuzzi with two bimbos, Christie slips into the slinky black swimming costume she just happens to carry around with her, enters the water, makes out with the cop, and then kills everyone!
Other unforgettably dumb moments include Christie (possessed) crushing a ball from a pool table with her bare hands, several impromptu aerobics/dance scenes (allowing for lots of shots of Dickey in lycra!), a battle between the black ninja and some monks on an assault course inside a Japanese temple (?!?!), and the black ninja disappearing into the ground like a drill after fighting good ninja Yamada (Shô Kosugi).
There is no denying that Ninja III is a really, really, really bad film, but, with so much craziness, it is hard not to be entertained at least a little bit. Even if it is only by Dickey's dancing.