Alien movies: “Alien vs. Ninja”

If you thought that AVP: Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem had a certain trash movie appeal, then Alien vs. Ninja will be an overkill for you sci-fi action senses.

Alien vs. Ninja
(Japan 2010, director: Seiji Chiba)

A group of ninjas investigates a comet that crashed down near their village, but it doesn’t turn out to be a weapon from a warring clan but as an alien that leaves a path of destruction.

I’ve always been a fan of Sushi Typhoon’s trash splatter movie output, having first experienced the awesome crowd pleaser Helldriver and Karate Robo-Zaborgar at the Nippon Connection 2011 film festival in Frankfurt and then Deadball a year later at the same festival, but I missed their first production that I only imported later from the US. While it might not be in the same league as the following movies, it’s still worth checking out. The biggest issue isn’t necessarily the rubber alien suit or the cheap digital camera look and bad special effects. After all, this is a low-budget production. It’s much more annoying how the first half hour or so drags on with too much talk and not enough action. Asian humor and over-acting is to be expected, but one doesn’t watch this sort of movie for less than subtle sexual allusions (like a gay ninja clan member who doesn’t have any impact on the story) or long conversations about a character’s past, as each one is forgettable, anyway.

However, when the alien finally appears (after a few cool ninja-vs-ninja action sequences accompanied by an overused techno soundtrack) the pacing picks up and more importantly the craziness finally starts. It’s not only one alien the group of ninjas has to fight, as others get infected by small aliens controlling the unfortunate victims from inside. Without taking too much away from the surprise, it gets ridiculous and quite disgusting very soon. Even if it never reaches the amount of blood and guts thrown around in later Sushi Typhoon movies, expect quite a few dismemberments of a very original nature. There’s still some slapstick humor thrown in that doesn’t always work, but it doesn’t really matter as the movie finally delivers on the eye-catching title. It’s sad to have heard about Sushi Typhoon being put on indefinite hiatus in early 2012, because despite offering entertainment for a niche genre audience, there hasn’t been a company that mixed absurdity, awesome fight scenes and splatter together with low budget special effects and retaining a clear sense of fun often lost in this genre.

Score: 7/10

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