This 1921 silent movie might just be the first time the legend of Jiraiya was put on film. It could also well-be the first time giant toad and snake magic with special effects transformations appeared on screen, four decades before … Continued
(Originally published October 2010) A raggedy, reticent ronin meandering through the dusty Japanese wasteland letting his sword do the talking. Sounds all too familiar, but this particular bushido bum has a secret! Yep, he’s a mother fuckin’ werewolf!!! 2004 saw … Continued
Originally published in two parts, October 2009) Kairyu Daikessen was a 1966 Toei fusion of ninja revenge and giant monster magic. It delivered in spades on both fronts and was a fantastic movie. Then it was picked up by American … Continued
An oddity among the tokusatsu status quo is the 1973 12-episode series Majin Hunter Mitsurugi, mainly for its use of stop-motion animation instead of stuntmen in rubber suits. It has its other quirks too, though, such as the heroes: Sure, … Continued
(Originally published October 2010) It’s more than ten years old, watches as good as the day it was made, and is arguably still the best yokai stuff ever filmed. Sakuya: Slayer of Demons (Sakuya Yokaiden) has its detractors, but I … Continued
Welcome to VN’s take on Halloween, a look back at the best monster-related posts from our renowned MONSTERS AND MASKS MONTHS going all the way back to 2009. Let’s call it MONSTER VS. NINJA MONTH, shall we? We’ll be revisiting … Continued
Working an intensified day job schedule with two big side gigs concurrent right now, so sadly I can’t spend the time I want to in the ninja mines, however I did steal a few minutes away to create a couple … Continued
A reader recently sent me these VHS shell inserts from Croatian market ninja releases. Click to enlarge the glory of the good bad art…
The Ninja Murders? Yeah, I never heard of it either… Sadly, this is not a mis-cast adaptation of Andrew B. Suhrer’s book of the same name that explores assassinations in the Japanese feudal era. Rather it’s a 1993 ‘true-crime’ TV movie, … Continued
There’s no better way to celebrate the birth of the USA than by looking back at a low-budget exploitation flick based on a Japanese martial art, produced by Israelis, shot in the Philippines. READ ON, FELLOW PATRIOTS: The seminal film … Continued