This 2008 film, directed by Justin Timpane was the starting point of the 'Ninjas Vs' franchise and we have looked at
Ninjas Vs Vampires and
Ninjas Vs Monsters previously. As such this is the lowest budget of the three and the origin story.
However, whilst there is a fleeting vampiric visitation later I had to make a decision as to whether primary villain Eric (P.J. Megaw) could also be classed as an energy vampire – I decided not, as I’ll explore as we go along, but this is why I’ve looked at this as an honourable mention rather than review the film. I’ve looked at the special edition of the film that has been remastered and has 10-minutes extra running length.
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| back from the grave |
So, things begin with Randall (Dan Guy) performing a ritual in his room. This is interrupted briefly by Herman (Will Stendeback), a day early for D&D, but when he’s gone Randall continues. He is using an evil book (as the film progresses, we discover the book has been in the family for generations and it was through it that his brother, Eric, died). He is trying to commune with Eric but it doesn’t seem to work. However, in the cemetery Eric rises from his grave.
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| soul sucking |
We see a party and a couple go outside to get to know each other better when the shambling Eric appears – so far, so zombie. However, he tosses the woman to the side and tells the man to run and we see he is sentient. He goes after the man, breaking his neck, and then grabs the woman. He then pulls her soul out, making her a zombie. He seems to heal at this point. So, Soul-eating?
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| zombies |
Not quite, I decided. He is certainly siphoning souls (or sucking them as he describes later). However the healing seems to be due to his powered up magic and he states that the souls have given him immense power. It just didn’t feel like he was stealing them for any reason than to make zombies and use the souls as fuel for his magic but not consuming them himself. Eric is now wanting to get the book back from Randall and is somewhat bummed that erstwhile girlfriend Lily (Carla Okouchi,
Drakul) is now with Cole (Cory Okouchi), one of Randall and his circle of friends.
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| Daniel Ross sa Kyle |
That circle also includes Fitz (Daniel Mascarello) and his wife Anne (Melissa McConnell), Lily’s best friend Kara (Tara Moore) and Kyle (Daniel Ross, also Drakul,
Vampire Sisters &
Mrs Amworth). In order to defeat Eric and his zombies, Randall consults an avatar of the book (Nicolette Smith) who offers him help in the form of ninjas – in other words Cole, Fitz and Kyle become ninjas. Only they can kill the zombies – heart or head being kill points.
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| vampiric Lily |
The vampire moments are twofold. Firstly, at the finale we see Eric with Lily, he feeds her blood from a chalice and sucks her soul. What this does to her isn’t revealed, but she isn’t zombified and simply says she feels differently. Sharp-eyed viewers will also see that she kills a zombie when only the ninjas were meant to be able to do that. Secondly, in a coda, the survivors have started fighting evil generally – Lily is with them and reveals her new vampire nature.
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| Randy Jones as Nosferatu |
This is whilst they go after a creature summoned by a mother to kill her ex but who seems to be disinterested in that, as she has a baby he can eat. The creature is, himself, a vampire and he calls himself Nosferatu (Randy Jones), and that really is it, a fleeting visitation. Although turned in film, there is no vampiric activity on Lily’s part until that coda and that lasts for a couple of minutes only (if that). The imdb page is
here.
On Demand @ Amazon US
On Demand @ Amazon UK
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