Ninja III: The Domination

"He's the ultimate killer. She's the perfect weapon."

1984 1h 34m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🥫

33%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.4

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 158🥫33%Rotten Tomatoes●25Metacritic★5.4IMDB · 5,753

ActionFantasyHorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An aerobics instructor becomes a ruthless assassin after being possessed by a slain ninja's spirit, leading to a showdown with a martial arts expert.

“He's the ultimate killer. She's the perfect weapon.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Sho Kosugi
Yamada
Lucinda Dickey
Christie
Jordan Bennett
Billy Secord
David Chung
Black Ninja
Dale Ishimoto
Okuda
James Hong
Miyashima
Bob Craig
Netherland
Pamela Ness
Alana

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sam Firstenberg
Writers: James R. Silke
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

42 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Part of the "The Ninja Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sam Firstenberg, shot by Hanania Baer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Udi Harpaz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sho Kosugi and Lucinda Dickey and Jordan Bennett carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He's the ultimate killer. She's the perfect weapon.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sam Firstenberg directs. Hanania Baer behind the camera. Udi Harpaz scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.
342 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "The Ninja Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Sam Firstenberg, shot by Hanania Baer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Udi Harpaz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Sho Kosugi and Lucinda Dickey and Jordan Bennett carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "He's the ultimate killer. She's the perfect weapon.".
9IMDB entry: tt0087805 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hanania Baer
Original score: Udi Harpaz
Stunt coordinator: Steven Lambert
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $7,610,785
Return: 381% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Ninja III: The Domination (1984)
Rotten Tomatoes: 33% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 25/100
IMDB rating: 5.4/10 · 5,753 votes
MPAA: R

Part of

The Ninja Trilogy

The so-called Ninja Trilogy comprises Menahem Golan’s Enter the Ninja from 1981, and Sam Firstenberg’s sequels in-name-only, Revenge of the Ninja (1983) and Ninja III: The Domination (1984), all unified by the appearance of actor and real-life practitioner of ninjutsu Sho Kosugi (playing a different character in each title), and all rightly celebrated as showcases for the most egregious, ’80s-inflected cash-in excesses of Golan and Globus’ Cannon Films. Though the groundwork was laid by 1980’s The Octagon, it was these three films that began a veritable explosion of ninja presence in mainstream action flicks.