THE NINJA SQUAD (1986)
“The Ninja Squad,” a 1986 martial arts action film directed by Godfrey Ho, is a quintessential example of the cut-and-paste ninja exploitation flicks churned out by Ho and producer Joseph Lai. The movie stitches together two unrelated narratives, blending new ninja footage with a 1984 Filipino crime drama, “Hatulan Si Totoy Angustia.” Richard Harrison stars as Ninja Master Gordon, a stoic figure in a pink headband (labeled “Ninja” for clarity), training his disciple Billy (Dave Wheeler) in the art of ninjutsu. Ten years later, Billy returns to his family, only to tangle with a local gangster, Larry, sparking a revenge quest after his mother’s murder and his sister’s kidnapping.
Meanwhile, Gordon faces his own battle against Ivan the Red (Eduardo Martinez), a power-hungry rogue ninja clad in garish red, who challenges Gordon’s supremacy by slaughtering other ninjas—each in color-coded outfits like white, yellow, and camouflage. Ivan’s dubbed husky voice and golden boomerang add absurd flair as he taunts Gordon into a final duel at Falcon Ridge. The Filipino footage dominates, with Billy opting for an M-16 over ninja skills to gun down foes, while Gordon’s sparse ninja interludes—roughly 10 minutes—feature plastic katanas and cartwheels, barely tying the plots together. The climax delivers a rushed Gordon-Ivan showdown, overshadowed by Billy’s gangster vendetta.
Shot on a shoestring by IFD Films, “The Ninja Squad” revels in its disjointed chaos—atrocious dubbing, a funky stolen soundtrack, and laughable editing define its charm. Critics call it a low-tier Ho effort, lacking the sleazy hilarity of his best, but its “so-bad-it’s-good” appeal endures. A cult oddity, it’s trash cinema at its most earnest, offering fleeting ninja thrills amid a nonsensical crime saga.
