House of Ninjas, a short kung-fu/martial arts spoof, begins with a masked ninja emerging from the tall plants behind an apartment complex. There's a really funny bit where the ninja is looking at his map and locating his target. I took an immediate liking to the simple but very cool sense of humor of these young filmmakers. The music soundtrack is well-chosen and heightens the humor as well as the "suspense", what there is of it. There's a neat little effect in this opening sequence where the ninja jumps to the second floor balcony of the "target" apartment to make his clandestine entrance.

The simple effects and the less-than-perfect video quality only serve to heighten the comedy and give the story a look and feel that is well-suited for a spoof of this genre. I couldn't help but laugh at the - phhfftt! - sound of whooshing air - so common in martial arts fight scenes, that accompanied almost every movement of the three ninjas within the target apartment. Rather than seeing the shirts tied around the head of the ninjas (their "masks") as being cheesy, I thought they were a good comic device.

This light-hearted film is well worth eight minutes of your time, and is good not only for a few chuckles, but maybe even a belly laugh or two. When you see this film, if you grouse about the occasionally grainy picture, the seemingly cheesy props, the "flying objects" special effects or any other aspect of this funny piece, you've totally missed the point. All the above - and more - are totally appropriate - and occasionally hilarious - in a martial arts spoof of this kind.

House of Ninjas can currently be seen on the internet at the Indyfilms official site.
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House of Ninjas (1998, Indyfilms) (out of 4)
written by Darrell Hazelrig, John Yang, Eric Fullerton and Rico Rodriguez
directed by Darrell Hazelrig
produced by Eric Fullerton
director of photography: Eric Fullerton and Rico Rodriguez
edited by Rico Rodriguez
music by David Arkenstone, Mechwarrior 2
Darrell Hazelrig as Hero Ninja
John Yang, Eric Fullerton and Rico Rodriguez as Three Ninjas

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