The evil Abbot White of Wudang joins forces with a ninja clan to destroy Shaolin. The survivors go into hiding where the secrets of the Shaolin Finger Jab are passed on and mastered in order to get revenge.

Shaolin monks represent the best of Southern kung fu, Wudang (or Wu Tang) represents the best of Northern kung fu, and ninjas represent the best of clandestine martial arts. They all come together in Ninja Hunter, a relentless cheese fest of epic proportions containing scantily-clad women drained of their life essence, a corrosive zombie, and exploding ninjas. For the B-movie lover it’s all pure genius.

The great Jack Lung is Abbot White, a Wudang priest who makes a play to rule the martial world after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of a student of Shaolin. He recruits the “Yee Ho” ninja clan who begin abducting young women so that Abbot White can drain their life essence, which gives him iron skin. He also sets the ninjas against Shaolin and sends assassins after the Emperor in order to frame Shaolin. The Emperor orders the destruction of Shaolin Temple and the ninjas are sent to finish off all Shaolin pupils. But a few escape to begin training the next generation of fighters. Enter Wen Ding (Alexander Lo Rei) and his friend Biao who begin training in the Shaolin Finger Jab technique after their master (Mark Lung) receives the manual from a young woman. Abbot White has a spy amongst their ranks, but after the young woman is kidnapped, so do the Shaolin heroes who learn that Abbot White has a single weak point. Ready for action, the pair takes on the ninjas and eventually Abbot White.

Ninja Hunter falls into a category of kung fu movie that could be described as extreme kung fu. The action choreography resembles a live-action cartoon with wirework and trick editing used to show superhuman feats. Supernatural elements are thrown in and situations can get pretty ridiculous, but entertaining. In this case, we see ninjas in their natural habitat, a training yard with swinging spikes, balance beams, and elevated ropes to zip across. When preparing to attack they burrow underground or hang upside-down from trees. They also make explosive entrances with colored smoke bombs and dynamite. As representative of the Wudang, Jack Lung masters an internal kung fu technique known as the “Ying-Yang” style, also known as the Iron Vest. He does this by drawing energy out of pretty young females in sensual rituals that leave the women pale and Jack bright red with the strength to repel blows and bladed weapons. Shaolin monks round out the action by performing more traditional kung fu, leaping great heights and engaging in index finger strength training.

It’s a little difficult to follow the characters because they change around, but the dialogue is a no-brainer. In the English-dubbed version characters are referred to as “Old Schmuck” or “Egghead” and entire conversations are made up of evil laughter.

Apart from some sexuality, Ninja Hunter is otherwise made for junior audiences craving ninja action. The acting and dialogue are lunacy and the action, though well-constructed, follows right behind. As a budget flick, sets and costumes are corny, but suitable. The music features more generic pop tunes than orchestrations. If you have a base sense of humor and a taste for the nutty, this film should satisfy.

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