Review: ‘Ninjas Vs. Zombies’

Who needs ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ‘The Reader’, and all the prestige that comes from winning upwards of eight Academy Awards? Â  We’ve got ‘Ninjas Vs. Zombies’ to talk about, people!

How did they do it, you might ask. Â  How did they come up with something so wonderously awesome and so Combo-like in its geekdom? Â  Well, it’s simple, really.

You take a curse that raises a dead teenager. Â  You make him evil and give him the ability to turn people into flesh-eating zombies. Â  He’s been possessed by an evil demon, but he’s not so bad he won’t let you eat breakfast before sucking your soul.

You take his brother, who is an uber-nerd, the kind of guy who is more worried about zombies eating his comic books than eating human organs. Â  You make that brother a sort-of Dungeon master with actual abilities. Â  You take three friends, you empower them with the Shinobi-like abilites, and you unleash these friends on the horde of the undead.

That, my friends, is how you make ‘Ninjas Vs. Zombies’.

But this film, for all of its low-budgetry and amateur upbringing, comes off as a whole lot of fun. Â  Writer/director Justin Timpane knows his geekhood, and he flaunts it like a first-place Spelling Bee trophy.

There are several references and homages in ‘Ninjas Vs. Zombies.’ Â  Some are pretty obvious. Â  There are several references to ‘Star Wars’ and the “numbers” from Lost unexplicably pop up. Â  Other references are a little low-key. Â  There’s a ‘Jurassic Park’ quote that’s a little out of place, but funny, nonetheless, if you catch it. Â  Still others are just downright hilarious. Â  One kid recording his podcast goes off on ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ and reenacts what the conversation between Lucas and Spielberg might have been. Â  Seriously try to keep a straight face when the kids spouts the line, “F**k you, Steven, I’m George Lucas. Â  I can do whatever the f**k I want.”

The dialogue is very funny even when the lines don’t reference a sci-fi movie or TV series. Â  Daniel Ross plays Kyle, and he gets by far the best non-referential lines in the movie. Â  He’s the comic relief of the film, just in case you thought it was needed. Â  However, when there are zombies chowing down on yuppy suburbanites and douche bag jocks, you don’t really care too much about the comic relief.

The action scenes are surprisingly really well done. Â  The stunts, particularly the ninjas doing back-flips and kip-ups, are top-notch. Â  Timpane utilizes the acrobatic nature of stuntmen Jay Carpenter and Daniel Mascarello to their fullest extent. Â  It doesn’t hurt either that the editing on the film is really good. Â  What better way to hide cheap makeup effects and unprofessional lighting than with some expertly timed editing.

Timpane served as editor on the film, and he does a great job. Â  There are some cutaways that work perfectly. Â  There’s nothing like transitioning from a gory as hell bloodbath to a shot of someone scooping out pumpkin pie icecream. Â  It gives you a new idea for the Ben and Jerry’s Flavor Generator, let me tell you.

Certain things about the film don’t work all that well, though. Â  There are certain moments where the film goes for the dramatic. Â  Certain characters die and other characters are suppossed to be grieving for them. Â  It doesn’t work too well when the actors aren’t at the top of their game.

Also, it’s a pretty minute detail, but including title cards near the beginning that tells us what your character’s names has become kinda lame. Â  It cries out cheap and independent, but, like I said, it’s a minor point.

‘Ninjas Vs. Zombies’ is exactly what you would expect, a blood-soaked, hilarious geek-fest that will satisfy anyone who picks it up just on name alone. Â  Let Hollywood have Sean Penn and ‘Frost/Nixon’. Â  We’ve got Black Belts vs. the Brain-dead, and we couldn’t be happier.

For more information on ‘Ninjas Vs. Zombies’, check out their website, their Myspace page, or their Facebook page.

Here’s the trailer for you to enjoy, as well:

And, just for shits and giggles, here’s what I came up with:

Makes Ninja mouth happy!