Ninja Badass, doesn’t defy someone’s expectations. It spits in their face, swears at them, and you actually end up admiring this flick for that.
Created on the cheap with a design aesthetic that is purposely made to look even more low-budget, Ninja Badass, has a weird vibe that reminds me of early-2000’s Adult Swim shows back when Cartoon Network’s late-night block of strangeness could get extremely quirky.
Directed, written by, and starring Ryan Harrison, he plays a lowlife name Rex.
Rex lives in squalor with his Mom and is generally a jerk. Early in the film it is noted by some guys at his community service gig that his bicycle, “Looks like a little girls bike.” Rex responds that’s because he indeed stole it from a little girl.
Rex’s best friend is played by Mitch Schlagel.
The plot–as much as there is one–involves a, “Ninja VIP Club,” that is actually a cannibalistic cult bent on taking over the World.
They kidnap a woman who Rex thinks is pretty from the pet shop she works at and Rex embarks on a quest to save her (that’s how things go at first, at least).
There also is a lady named JoJo (Tatiana Ortiz) who wants to take down the cult, and the cult’s leader Big Twitty (Darrell Francis) who is a horrible person but hilarious in his villainy.
There are other strange characters too such as Steven C. Roses’s Haskell, a ninja prone to getting his arms ripped off by opponents (they grow back thanks to his ninja healing powers).
Ninja Badass may be low-budget but the acting is actually quite solid in it. In some indie flicks the performers can be stilted or awkward. Everyone here actually is committing 100% to their bizarre and silly characters, which makes, “Ninja Badass actually have more of a professional expertise to it than the purposely shoddy explosions and green-screen effects would have you expect (but you remember what I said above about expectations).
Yes, the plot is totally silly, but the off-the-wall vibe keeps things moving along pretety well besides some moments where the film drags between the set-piece moments of wild fights or random jokes.
Ninja Badass is a silly movie that doesn’t hesitate to embrace being bizarre. It’s weirdness might turn off some viewers and immediately endear it to others.
Should it be up your alley you will find it quite fun, I know I did.
4 out of 5 stars.
* * * * *
Produced by Ryan Harrison, Tami Harrison
Written and Directed by Ryan Harrison
Starring Ryan Harrison, Darrell Francis, Mitch Schlagel, Steven C. Rose,
Tatiana Ortiz, Paisley Blackburn, Dan Holmes, Lisa Schnellbacher
