Who was York Lam and did he have any talent? Hell, who cares when credits that roll before us are largely made up anyway and even presenter Tomas Tang gets duties as production designer! What Ninja In The Killing Field eventually turns out to be though is another patchwork of unreleaseable material combined with Filmark's VERY bankable material. A modern day Thai movie involving cops and military blended with a Ninjas as drug dealers-plot (Louis Roth stars as the leader...in red) and that's it for synopsis requirement. There's already a whole lot of bankable crap here such as cars, bombs, cops, army, helicopters, planes, broad spaces and ninjas using terrorism as a cover for their heroin deals. Brilliant business sense courtesy of Filmark and coupled with the fact that the dub tries hard to time mouth movement, creating pitch perfect ILL delivery in the process, Ninja In The Killing Field will easily find a place amongst fans of the product. It is strange because the Thai movie definitely drags down the pace for large stretches of time but by the time Tang and company injects their requisite climax, it's merely enough sometimes to have white folks (Stuart Steen and Louis Roth in this case) duke it out in brightly coloured suits. Best technique displayed is Roth's severed hand acting as a explosive device but him turning into a toad by the end is perhaps one of the strangest thing you'll ever see in a ninja flick.

TROY'S REVIEW: Alexander Lou headlines in this typically silly ninja entry as groom to be Jerry who is tying the knot with his true love Penny. Sounds jolly nice so far? Well of course matters don't stay so for long however as Penny, who happens to be an investigative reporter, receives some stolen photographic film which incriminates a top drugs lord who she is already keen to see brought to justice. Needless to say, getting wind of this, the somewhat unpleasant fellow has her kidnapped. Such a decidedly unsocial act in turn prompts Jerry to swear revenge but there's one catch, the crime lord previously saved Jerry and a young friend's life way back in Vietnam which of course leads to a bit of a dilemma. Yes indeed, this is an ethical conundrum but we're hardly given time to ponder it for the fists and feet start flying as both Jerry and his nemesis happen to be ninjas (as is most of the cast seemingly!) Although sadly far from Lou's best, this should nonetheless provide a chuckle or two for fellow fans of trash cinema and is an entirely harmless way to waste ninety or so minutes. Also known as USA Ninja.

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TROY'S REVIEW: Yes indeed, it's time for yet more luminous clad ninja antics in this typically bungled cut & paste outing as delivered unto us lucky viewers by our old friend Joseph Lai. Poor Richard Harrison appears for the umpteenth time as a chap named Gordon who possesses a curious predilection for donning decidedly ugly Hawaiian shirts when not decked out in his even more garishly coloured ninja togs. This time around our unsightly shirt wearing hero recruits David (Filipino star Sorapong Chatri who appears courtesy of a completely different film) to prevent the attempted assassination of a Senator. Added to this, Gordon must also contend with a group of nefarious ninjas led by non other than bad acting maestro and regular IFD bad guy Stuart Smith who as it happens has been further blessed with a particularly awful voice overdub, presumably provided by some unweary foreign tourist dragged hastily off the street into the IFD recording studios. Predictably enough, it all ends in a one on one confrontation between the ninja adversaries whereupon our man Gordon gets to show off his combative skills with some musical cymbals (yes, you read that correctly). Note: Percussion instruments are always deadly in the hands of a ninja. Keen eared viewers will no doubt also be highly bemused to find the main theme to the Chevy Chase comedy classic Fletch popping up and later snippets from Jean Michel Jarre's Magnetic Fields album. Erm...copyright infringement anyone?

TROY'S REVIEW: At last! - A film that touches upon a subject that all ninja fans must have surely pondered at some point or another, namely the economical pitfalls of running a ninja clan. Indeed, financial analysts will no doubt find this film to be highly fascinating stuff... or probably not. For the rest of us, we can at least content ourselves in laughing at the grand ineptitude on display here as good ninja George and bad ninja Michael go up against one another to decide...erm, well I'm not quite sure what the point of it was in all honesty. What I am entirely sure of however is that the film into which these ninja segments are spliced is pretty much bloody interminable! The plot herein concerns some precocious little kid militant called Jimmy, who is seized by the army and shown the errors of his rabble rousing ways. The good news is that you'll be cheering rather than crying when the little git gets killed at the end! Also known as Ninja Project Daredevils.

TROY'S REVIEW: Godfrey Ho strikes once again with this unintelligible, yet curiously enjoyable cut & paste ninja entry starring IFD regular Pierre Kirby. The muddled plot has Kirby setting out to avenge the death of his master at the hands of Ross, a snide looking git who decides, for reasons best known to himself, that he will form his own break away ninja clan. Edited into proceedings we also have a baffling story featuring Lee, who we are told, was also a pupil of the slain ninja master and who is likewise seeking revenge. The film is about as disjointed as humanly imaginable but frankly, who cares when it's so much damn fun. Alas, this served as one of the last of the cut & paste ninja efforts to emerge from IFD, as ninja mania had by this time, all but ended. A genuine shame (although the more discerning of cinema lovers would probably disagree!). Also known as American Ninja: The Magnificent.

TROY'S REVIEW: Richard Harrison once again dons blindingly bright ninja togs in yet another enjoyably silly, cut & paste effort brought to us by those endearingly demented fellows at IFD. Here our hero must prevent a bunch of evil ninjas from killing the Prince of Justice, a small baby called Alpha, who we are told will grow up to vanquish all darkness and evil from the world. Of course, being a ninja, our man is an expert on tactics which he readily employs to accomplish this honourable task. This is clearly demonstrated by his ingenious method of loitering around in bushes and behind walls, waiting for the aforementioned bad guys to turn up, whereupon he invariably flips out on them and subsequently challenges them to ninja combat. In the meantime, Alpha is being cared for by a truck driver called Rick who finds the baby dumped unceremoniously in the back of his vehicle one day. Quite aside from this decidedly abrupt entry into parenthood, Rick is also having troubles with the union, the resulting disputes of which invariably end up being settled via a good old scrap (isn't this common practice?). Yes, this is typically imbecilic IFD fun and is as such, intrinsic viewing for all fans of cinematic trash. Now... where can I get myself one of those rather fetching ninja headbands? Also known as Ninja Operation 3: Licensed To Terminate.

TROY'S REVIEW: Yep, it's yet another completely nonsensical cut & paste job from infamous hack maestro Tomas Tang featuring a mundane plot so confusing as to render one into a state of catatonia. This one also boasts some of the most inappropriate music ever to back an action scene - the sort of ear numbing strains one might very well expect to hear playing in a shopping centre in fact! Whilst the main body of the film is sadly a rather boring experience to sit through, the last five or so minutes do luckily more than make up for it. Witness in astonishment if you will, as our ninja pals battle it out with flying metal discs, a bullet firing parasol and last but not least a bizarre twirling thing which closely resembles the inner blade component of a food mixer! If this wasn't baffling enough, we are finally treated to a completely "What the hell?!!"-ending which appears to have been tacked on as an after thought! Truly deranged stuff indeed, but with Tang on the credits, what more could you possibly expect? Also known as Ninja Phantom Heroes USA.

TROY'S REVIEW: A decidedly mundane crime drama chronicling the tale of childhood friends Frankie and Albert who end up on opposite sides, forms the basis for this sadly somewhat forgettable cut & paste ninja entry brought to us by Joseph Lai's IFD production company.
Equally as sad, the ninja segments themselves are even fewer and further between than is normal in these flicks which proves to be a genuine shame. Having said the above, there are nonetheless a few high points worth mentioning for the record however, which certainly deliver a chuckle or two. For instance, check out the head evil ninja; a decidedly odd choice of casting if ever there was one in that he is, how shall I phrase this politely...a somewhat portly fellow to put it mildly.
Not only this, but you'll probably have to do a double take when you first lay eyes on the aforementioned ninja's main henchman who sports a mousy, curly moustache that would probably look more at home on the upper lip of a circus ringmaster! As a final note, may I recommend that when watching this film, you might be advised to have some sun glasses and a bucket at hand; the former to protect your vision from the garish, brightly coloured togs that our ninja pals are decked out in whilst the latter object may come in handy for when you set eyes upon the rather horrific series of shirts Harrison wears when in his guise as an officer of the law. Yep, stomach-churningly bad and veritable crimes against fashion they are! Tom Selleck/Magnum P.I. - all is forgiven my good man! Also known as Ninja Operation 4: Thunderbolt Angels.

TROY'S REVIEW: Yes indeed, it's yet more cut & paste goodness featuring an understandably uncomfortable looking Richard Harrison. In this decidedly muddled entry he is seeking violent retribution against the evil purple ninjas led by Donald, a man who if the truth be told would look far more at home in a bowler hat and suit than in ninja togs. But I digress... Interwoven somewhat haphazardly into this tale of revenge we have a mightily depressing melodrama of sorts, detailing the ill fortunes of lifelong friends Tony, Sally and Teddy. And what a tale of woe it is; poverty, illness, disfigurement, rape, self mutilation and various gang related tribulations all feature in the space of a mere 85 or so minutes.
Damn, it's almost enough to make one want to end it all just watching it! Luckily for the viewer however, every now and then the action switches back to Harrison's ongoing quest to track down Donald, which invariably manifests as our hero takes on individual members of his nemesis's clan. Matters eventually reach a thrilling (or perhaps not so thrilling) climax when our hero does finally catch up with his intended quarry for the eponymous showdown of the films title. Whilst far from the best of its kind, fans of IFD lunacy will nonetheless be able to derive a fair quota of laughs from this typically inept effort. Richard Harrison, we salute you good sir!

TROY'S REVIEW: Great Scott! - Doth thou ears deceive thee or is that Jan Hammer's iconic theme to Miami Vice playing over the opening credits in this film? Yay verily; those honourable fellows at IFD obviously decided in all their wisdom to "borrow" said title track for this joyous ninja cut & paste outing. And what an outing it proves to be; undoubtedly one of the very best of its kind in fact, with both the ninja segments and the original stock film equally enjoyable (and predictably demented). Of special distinction, the newly edited in segments also account for a far greater percentage of the films overall running time than is usual with these flicks; approximately half of the total length in fact as opposed to the usual fifteen or so minutes. So what on earth is going on here?

Well, what we have are effectively two tales of revenge playing out simultaneously. In one, an incredibly acrobatic chap called Edmund is trying to find his father's killer by going around ripping open men's shirts in order to look at their tattoos (no, really he does!) whilst in the other Interpol agent and ninja to boot, Alvin seeks retribution on drugs kingpin Rudolph, who also happens to be a ninja and who furthermore had Alvin's wife murdered ('Boooooo!' 'Hisssssss!'). Taking Edmund's story first and damn - can this guy move! His crazy stunts include flipping over the top of an oncoming car, leaping off of a suspension bridge into the water hundreds of feet below and in another wince inducing scene, leaping through the rear window of a traveling bus. In fact Edmund appears to be pretty much impervious to dying. Take for instance the shocking number of times our hero manages to get stabbed in this flick. Hell, if one were to base a drinking game of one shot for every time Edmund gets a knife poked in him, then you can fully expect severe alcohol poisoning by the climax. Meanwhile, in the other story Alvin enlists the aid of his old ninja pal Gordon (Richard Harrison once again) to bring down Rudolph who has teamed up with yet another ninja boss called Normon. Yes indeed, this means that we actually have not just one, but TWO climatic ninja duels on the cards here.

Highlights on offer... well there's a plethora to choose from but check out especially such hilarious scenes as a particularly lapse police officer who after witnessing Edmund beating the hell out of a bunch of guys merely gives him a decidedly feeble verbal warning, another scene in which Edmund rips open a woman's blouse - somehow having previously failed to notice that she was in fact a woman and best of all of course, the double ninja battle finale, during which one ninja decides upon employing that ever traditional Ninjitsu weapon... the boomerang. Also known as Ninja Operation: Knight And Warrior.