"Ninjas Vs Zombies" Is More Fun Than We Deserve From Such A Low Budget. Should Not Have Been Renamed

[philosoraptor42]

Zombie Contagion (2008) (aka Ninjas Vs Zombies)

Quite a while back I checked out a movie called "Ninjas Vs Vampires". It was a low budget feature, but it made the most of its low budget and had a really good sense of humour. In fact, there was something akin to Buffy The Vampire Slayer in the style of it.


(Click to see "Ninjas Vs Vampires" poster larger.)
(Click here for the entry with the "Ninjas Vs Vampires" review.)

I had thought that "Ninjas Vs Zombies" was the sequel, but actually it turns out that I should have watched this one first. After inexplicably disappearing from my rental list for a while, it finally resurfaced with the new title "Zombie Contagion". It's a particularly unsuitable title since these are more magic zombies than virus zombies. (The tagline "burn the dead, before they spread!" is particularly misleading.) Certainly the zombies are dead and they change their victims into zombies too. However, like in the Lucio Fulci movie "City of the Living Dead" there is a 'master zombie' who is more intelligent than the zombies and directs them where he wants them.

Some posters with the original title are posted below (click on the images if you'd like to see them larger):


In "Ninjas Vs Vampires" the main villain seemed to be lacking in acting talent, but here in "Ninjas Vs Zombies" the villain is perhaps the most entertaining thing in the film. The main villain is, of course, the master zombie and I'm pleased to hear that his character is (somehow) returning in the director's next sequel "Ninjas Vs Monsters".

The plot is simple but effective. Some magic falls into the wrong hands and creates an evil zombie master, so someone else with magic abilities decides to stop the master zombie before it's too late. To do this, he casts a spell to turn all his friends instantly into ninjas. There's some great comic moments when the ninjas each discover their new powers. Finally they discover what has happened and get to be badasses fighting against the zombie army.



A lot of the gags are funnier in "Ninjas Vs Zombies" than they are in the sequel. However, some of the action sequences (particularly the part where they train a newcomer) are a lot better in the sequel. Also one thing that definitely improves is that the female characters get a lot more involved in the action in the sequel. Having seen the films in the wrong order, I was very surprised when only male characters were selected to be given magical ninja powers. It's not until "Ninjas Vs Vampires" that the female characters start getting unique talents of their own (though that is hinted at the end of "Ninjas Vs Zombies" too). But with a low budget film like this, the gags are probably the main thing that keeps the audience engaged and so I think "Ninjas Vs Zombies" wins out as the better of the two.

"Ninjas Vs Zombies" is a lot of fun. Like the sequel, it's a very low budget film which benefits from a great deal of charm. However, it's very funny and I would say that it is well worth your time. I'm now quite excited about a third instalment. Apparently "Ninjas Vs Monsters" has already been filmed now and hopefully it's only a matter of time before I can rent that one too.



These films might not be masterpieces and the low budget is pretty obvious, but the enthusiasm of everyone involved really pays off. These are good fun entertainment and have real charm to them.

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