Blu-Ray Review: Ninja III: The Domination

By Brad Henderson

There are many words for Ninja III: The Domination but so little time to express the awesomeness of this weird piece of cinematic gold. Yes, it is the third film in a trilogy produced by Golan-Globus. No, it has nothing to do with the previous two films, but don’t let that stop you from watching this eccentric, romantic ninja flick. I said it, romantic. I imagine Scream Factory has a very long list of films that they want to release under their label, and I’m very glad that Ninja III: The Domination was part of their grand scheme.

Ninja III: The Domination has quite the story. A young woman is possessed by a ninja that is out for revenge against the police officers that killed him. That is pretty much it, and all you really need to know. If you are not already hooked by that one sentence, then I suggest you find a different hobby that doesn’t watching cool movies.

I first watched this film when I was younger, probably 13 or so. I caught Return Of The Ninja on USA one night and was sucked in right from the beginning, and guess what played next? That’s right, Ninja III: The Domination. At that moment, a fan was born. I then immediately did research and found the first film, Enter The Ninja and watched it at once. None of the films in the trilogy relate to each other, so you can pick up any one you like and get down to business. I suggest Ninja III: The Domination first.

The transfer is flawless with this flick and it is brought to us in anamorphic widescreen. It keeps the warmth of the original picture, and you can see some of the raw lines and grain. You can actually see the flick a little too well (if that is even possible) because at one part you can see the string that is holding the floating samurai sword while it is trying to possess Lucinda Dickey.

With a film like this, the sound might not matter that much but it didn’t stop Scream Factory from putting forth full effort to make it sound nothing but awesome. I’ve only seen Ninja III: The Domination on VHS, but this is so clear you can hear all of the whispering ghosts throughout the film. No need to turn it up full blast to hear anything, because the audio is perfecto.

The features don’t really exceed basic commentary and trailers, but the commentary is still enjoyable. I imagine there wasn’t too much that Scream Factory could do about this as I don’t see a bunch of extra stuff for films like this existing.

Did I mention Lucinda Dickey stars in this? Well, she does, and she is gorgeous. You might remember her from the Breakin’ films and Cory the mascot from Cheerleader Camp.

I love that Scream Factory isn’t just about the popular horror films only. They like to get their hands deep down in the bowels of the cinematic realm and pull out the gems that exist under layer after layer of pop culture treasures.

The Blu-Ray of Ninja III: The Domination was released by Scream Factory on June 11.