Ninja Vengeance

Now, when I sat down here in 2025 to watch the 1993 movie "Ninja Vengeance" for the first time ever, I have to admit that I harbored little expectations. Why? Well, the majority of the ninja movies that I remembered fondly from my childhood in the early 1980s weren't really as good as I remembered them to be, as I have revisited them over the years.

"Ninja Vengeance" was a ninja movie without any actual ninjas in it. That was a massive mistake from writers Karl Armstrong and Carrie Armstrong to do.

The storyline in the movie was pretty straightforward, and it was every bit as campy as you would expect a ninja movie to be, so that at least counted for something.

The dialogue in the movie was pretty wooden and terrible. And the acting performances weren't exactly stellar.

I was not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list, but that was hardly a surprise.

There was surprisingly little fighting and martial arts in the movie. And I have to say that I didn't for moment believe that leading actor Craig Boyett was trained in the arts of Ninjitsu.

If you enjoy ninja movies, then "Ninja Vengeance" is not really worth spending 87 minutes on watching.

My rating of director Karl Armstrong's 1993 movie "Ninja Vengeance" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Watched this on Netflix. Useless acting, terrible dialogue, stupid story - I would have rated it zero if that was allowed. It is also badly edited and very poor quality. The story isn't even original. I watched it in the hope there's would be some decent fight sequences but my local judo club could stage more realistic scenes.

This could have been one of those movies that's so bad it's good. And based on the cover art, that's exactly what you'd expect. A ninja fighting the KKK? Sounnds awesome! Too bad that's exactly what you don't get. There is no action in this movie. NONE. The so-called "ninja" that is the protagonist spends the entire movie running away from the KKK hicks and occasionally getting his butt kicked. You only know he's a ninja because the flashbacks tell you so.

You'll find more action in an episode of Sesame Street. More believable acting too. Don't watch this movie unless you're having trouble sleeping. That's about all it's good for.

Yes, this is a B movie, no question. But what the other reviewers don't get is that this movie features authentic ninjutsu. It features Stephen K. Hayes, the man who brought ninjutsu to the west. The techniques are actually ninjutsu, instead of some flashy movie-friendly dance steps like you would see in a Sho Kosugi movie of the same era. I can see why this wouldn't impress viewers used to seeing pretty-boy actors dangling from invisible wires and doing the splits and the cha-cha-cha, but this movie is a must-see for any student of Bujinkan ninpo taijutsu. It's great for us to see effective fighting techniques instead of Broadway dance steps. For authenticity alone I give this a 7 out of 10.

The plot, dialog and acting are horrible. Why can't a movie be made about the south without featuring the Ku Klux Klan? I guess that's what New York and Hollywood writers think about when they think about the South, but it's as tiresome now as it was tiresome in the late 80s when this movie was made.

This is an independent film with a lot of heart. First time director Karl Armstrong makes his debut with this Ninjitsu inspired story of a couple on the run from the KKK. The drama moves along at a disarmingly easy pace only to be interrupted by a blitzkrieg of fighting. A very non-Hollywood ending caps off this fine work from a maverick director who is working outside the system with limited funds.