Ninjas vs Monsters Movie Review

Our ninjas have fought scrambling zombies and bloodthirsty vampires, and now they're back to tackle monsters in this Kickstarter crowd-funded finale to the 'Ninjas vs' trilogy. There's no reason it cant be your first taste of the franchise – a pre-ambling montage of clips and voiceover provides a bitesize sum-up of the gang's previous crusades – but know that this basement-level-low-budget spoof franchise is not quite your Freddy vs Jason match-up. 

Basically, a group of guys are attacked, turn into ninjas and become suddenly blessed with special powers to fight the world’s evil. Sounds silly? Well, it is.

For 'Ninjas vs' is wholeheartedly all about the guns, guts and goofiness, where the fight sequences look as though they're filmed by a handheld camera in someone's backyard, and where bystanders in the background are probably just that.

Buy into the trashy production values (dubious SFX and homemade costumes), hammy acting and camp lines, and Ninjas vs Monsters is, actually, a real romp – as long as you’re sold on daft, off-the-wall silliness, mind. (If that’s not your thing, don’t touch this disc with a bargepole).

Every penny of the bare budget is put to good use in lengthy martial art fight sequences, and a consistently amusing script lifts its loose story (to rescue their own and, obviously, defeat the monsters). It helps that the dedicated ensemble pant with enthusiasm, despite their clear lack of acting talent.

There’s enough to cling onto for a good time – there’s even a surprising twist (and not just of the ‘martial arts move’ kind, either) near the end to chew on. 

A slow middle makes it feel a little padded out to fit its feature-length bill, though, and going in blind without the prior familiarity of our unsung heroes will no doubt make it harder to root for them as they’re pitted against Dracula, The Mummy, a werewolf and a band of witches, too.

The franchise may have an endless potential for installments, but thankfully the creators know when enough is enough. Ninjas vs Monsters derives at a neat ultimatum that surely rubberstamps its wrap-up. Some will feel sad at its conclusion; others may be thankful the whole thing is over. They really are those sorts of movies.