Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Mika Hijii, Ben Hiura
Shuuji Kashiwabara, Masanori Mimoto
Yuki Ogoe, Donpei Tsuchihira
Written by Seiji Chiba
Certification Not Rated
Runtime 80 minutes
Directed by Seiji Chiba
There are some films that just do exactly what they say on the tin. Or poster. Or box art. There are so many wacky flicks coming out of Asia these days that all feature totally exaggerated fight scenes, wild wire-fu, and cheap as chips digital effects. Not all of them belong in the category of weird and wonderful – some of them are outright terrible – but every so often you land on a gory gem like Japan's Alien vs. Ninja that does what it sets out to do: be an incredibly fun ride.
You must leave your brain at the door with Alien vs. Ninja to enjoy it the way its meant to be enjoyed. No snobby, ignorant viewers allowed, just those of us who want to have a good time. The plot, what there is of one, is far from high concept. Alien vs. Ninja is what it is – aliens against ninjas. The battle takes place in a vast woodland of tall trees after a group of ninjas see a fiery object plummeting to Earth. Moments later they are embroiled in an intergalactic fight to the death, with humanoid creatures from another world ripping the katana-wielding warriors apart before they have a chance to realise the situation. The ninjas begin to mount an assault against the invaders and desperately try to find their weakness.
The aliens themselves are pretty hilarious – they're just guys in rubber suits! And cheap ones at that. You can even see the creases when the camerawork is tight. The humanoids have dolphin-like heads (which is ironic given it's a Japanese film) with small holes that house tiny, gooey... things that slither into victims' mouths and make them their host. There's even a scene with a very cool, but very silly sword fight between our band of heroes and the infected. It's kind of like the bastard child of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Alien vs. Predator to sum it up. Never once taking itself seriously, Alien vs. Ninja is a warped riot of bloodshed, exploding limbs, ooze and laughs aplenty.
• Alien vs Ninja screens at the Film4 FrightFest. Check out our full coverage of the festival