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NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP (1984)
Tai Seng/Martial Arts Theater
Directed by Phil Kwok
Produced by Wu Duen
Written by Shun Sai Sing
Cinematography by Yu Kam Cheh
Music by Wang Mu San
Fight Choreography by Phil Kwok
Cast: Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng, Phil Kwok, Ti Lung, Yasuaki Kurata, Tsang Tyan, Chung Chuen Yung, Fuk Tin Chin, Yue Chun Sin, July Chu, Chang Pang
Video: Full Frame (1.33:1)
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono 2.0
Subtitles: None
Packaging: Keepcase
Chapter Stops: 8
92 Minutes

Around 1982, the Taiwanese Venom players (Phil Kwok, Chiang Sheng, and Lu Feng) had a falling out with Chang Cheh and the Shaw Brother’s studio. This lead to these talented actors leaving the studio right before filming commenced on CHINESE SUPER NINJAS. Chang Cheh continued on with the production, which showcased mainland Chinese muscle-man Lo Mang (as well as promoting the other Venom bit players into major roles). The script for CHINESE SUPER NINJAS contained a Chinese martial arts vs. Japanese Ninjitsu theme, with the protagonists going up against a variety of outrageous Ninja techniques. Phil Kwok, Chiang Sheng, and Lu Feng, once attached to this project, decided to go forth with their own version of CHINESE SUPER NINJAS. Since these three men are idols in their home country of Taiwan, they were able to stir up enough financing and talent for their own Chinese vs. Japanese production, NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP. Phil Kwok, at home behind the camera as he is in front of it, handled the direction chores and supervised the fight choreography. The supporting cast and crew for NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP are all no-names from the Taiwan film industry. However, Phil Kwok and the producers hired veteran martial arts superstar Ti Lung for added marquee value. And of course, what Chinese vs. Japanese movie would be complete without an authentic Japanese superstar? Yasuaki Kurata (PROFIGAL BOXER, SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA, LIFE OF NINJA) was wisely brought on board as the evil Japanese Ninjitsu master. Ultimetly, NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP failed to garner big box office receipts, and the changing climate in the Hong Kong film industry ensured that this was the last Venoms movie and the end of an era. NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP saw new life on home video thanks to Ocean Shores, who snapped up every independent martial arts picture they could in the mid 1980’s. NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP emerged onto DVD in 2001 from Tai Seng, and release these Ocean Shores classics through their Martial Arts Theater Collection.

In the 16^th century, Japanese pirates terrorized the harbors of China for decades until General Chi Ching Kwong (Ti Lung) masterminded a naval task force to combat the invaders. The oppressive Japanese government sends a contingent of stealth Ninjas to assassinate the General in his palace. His son discovers that these killers have pledged their lives to eradicate his father. Soon Ninja assassins are attacking the General’s soldiers in order to get to him. General Chi Ching Kwong sends his son on a mission to recruit three Chinese anti-Ninjitsu fighters from the elder Master of Three Arts, who owes the General a debt. When the son establishes contact with the Master of Three Arts, the old one informs the General’s son that his three pupils do not know each other’s identity. The General’s son first meets up with the mischievous Chow Chun (Sun Chien) who he quickly enlists to the cause. Together they recruit the other student, a blacksmith named Tung Yen (Lu Feng). Chow Chun and Tung Yen are students of the same master, but don’t know each other and their philosophies cause them to fight playfully. Finally, the contingent adds the missing component to their team, that of weapons specialist, Mao Tin Yeung (Phil Kwok).

Even as General Chi Ching Kwong’s son and his newfound allies return to the palace, several Ninjas have infiltrated the household disguised as servants. The General’s son then assigns each of his fighters to pose as servants as well , to catch any possible assassination attempts. Chow Chun is assigned to assist in the kitchens, to watch over the staff. He sees the lead cook load a deadly blade onto a tray and try to deliver it to the General for dinner. Chow Chun races out to the serving room and faces off with the Ninja assassin. General Chi Ching Kwong watches as his dinner is interrupted by this life or death battle. Next, one of the guards turns out to be an assassin, and is discovered by Tung Yen and soundly trashed. Mao Tin Yeung uses his wits to determine that the recent hiring of a palace maiden is indeed a female undercover Ninja. When he confronts her, she goes crazy and he is forced to fight her to the death. The leader of the Japanese Ninjas, Shi Ping Wei (Yasuaki Kurata) deploys a plan to kidnap the General’s son to lure the General’s bodyguards away from the palace where he will be unprotected. A band of sneaky Ninjas make off with the son, and hide him away in the nearby gardens. Chow Chun, Tung Yen, and Mao Tin Yeung unite and attempt to rescue the General’s son. Along the way, they are attacked by various bands of Ninja, including Tree Ninjas, Earth Ninjas, Sun Ninja’s etc. They finally fight their way past the Ninja horde, only to discover the General’s son is the prisoner of the sword-wielding Shi Ping Wei! The heroes must fight their way past this deadly swordmaster and his Ninja disciples if they are to rescue the General’s son…

NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP is pretty much a remake of CHINESE SUPER NINJAS. The Ninja scenes especially ape those of Chang Cheh’s benchmark film. The Ninjas here are clearly elemental, with many employing the same techniques, including Ninjas dressed in gold tin foil who blind their opponents by reflecting sun light. Other attacking Ninjas are dressed head to toe in green, and others are clad in white. The uniforms change according to the backgrounds. The Venoms just cleave through these Ninjas like no tomorrow. Yet the film is never excessively bloody or mean-spirited like Chang Cheh would have made it. One great bit is when rather than facing capture, some Ninjas dissolve themselves with acid. Another plot thread torn from CHINESE SUPER NINJAS is the female Ninja who goes undercover in an attempt to infiltrate and betray the Chinese. Only this time she is joined by several of her Ninja brethren. The script also borrows a major plot device from earlier Venom movies. Phil Kwok, Chiang Sheng, and Lu Feng do not know each other’s identities. This gimmick was employed for THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS and later in MASKED AVENGERS, and seems like quite a stretch here. First time director Phil Kwok is a surprisingly capable director, but he overuses his trademark humor. Kwok also has problems with the pacing, and many moments seem slow and forced to pad out the running time. The characterizations are also thin, and outside of Ti Lung’s righteous General, there is no character development. Even the major Venom characters are devoid of a background, and the script merely implies that Lu Feng is a blacksmith as his former profession.

Yasuaki Kurata is excellent as his portrayal of the evil Ninja leader. Strangely, Kurata is a Japanese actor playing a Japanese character, but his name in the movie, Shi Ping Wei, is decidedly Chinese. Phil Kwok makes the mistake of building up the character of Shi Ping Wei, then Kurata is only in the film for a short time (he probably shot his scenes in a weekend). The biggest sin of all is that the fearsome, sword-wielding Kurata is defeated all too quickly. For those who want to see Kurata in action as a Japanese Ninja/Samurai, check out his role in SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA. Ti Lung is shown even less, and was probably hired for his name value only, and he doesn’t even do any martial arts. But even with his limited screen time, Ti Lung delivers another fine performance. He portrays General Chi Ching Kwong in a supremely regal manner, reminding you how talented this man is beyond the realm of Kung Fu. Phil Kwok also provided the fight choreography, which has its share of problems. When NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP was released, traditional martial arts epics were out, and outrageous films such as ZU, WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN were gaining popularity. Everyone was bored with natural traditional fight scenes and audiences wanted to see people flying and moving faster than the speed of light. Phil Kwok balances the outlandishness with traditional Venoms’ kick-ass sequences. Many of these brawls in the final minutes are slightly sped up. The elemental Ninjas are guided by cables and exhibit outlandish movements and weapons which sometimes make the action hard to swallow.

SIGHT

The majority of martial arts films distributed by Ocean Shores movies are classics from the 1970’s, meaning flawed prints and faded colors (from cheap film stock) have become the norm. But NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP was produced in the mid-1980s with better film stock than those older movies. Tai Seng’s video presentation is one of the best from their Martial Arts Theater line. The source print used for this DVD is a full frame Ocean Shores video master, which has few scratches or other imperfections. Despite the cropped presentation (matted from 1.85.1) the color is full bodied and fully saturated. The picture is almost too good, as it reveals the garishness of the many Ninja outfits. The detail level allows us to marvel at the production values—they fall well short of the Shaw Brothers, but they are impressive nonetheless. Ti Lung and his royal outfit are especially outrageous. The fight scenes themselves are pleasing to the eye, and not as truncated as you may expect. Many of these fights take place in cramped quarters in front of some convincing sets. Unlike CHINESE SUPER NINJAS, the climatic conclusion between the Venoms and the various Ninja take place in wide open expanses of gardens and forest. Tai Seng’s presentation puts a polish on the cinematography.

SOUND

Tai Seng presents NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP in Dolby Digital Mono 2.0. Overall, this is a superior mono sound mix with none of the problems that plague VHS tape--no scratches, pops, or background noise. The highs and lows span the frequency range for a crisp and clear presentation. The one problem with the soundtrack is the English dubbing; which is provided by an entirely unrecognizable cast of vocal talent. Since the movie was released fairly late in the genre (1984), the usual voice dubbers apparently abandoned ship, so don’t expect to hear those classic "but stills". It’s very surreal to detect British and Australian accents coming from the mouths of Asian actors! Unlike many movies from this era, NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP does not contain a Spaghetti Western score. Instead we get the musical genius of Wang Mu San, who provided excellent scores for many independent efforts, such as Wu Ma’s THE HEROES. Wang Mu San’s music establishes the dramatic elements, and becomes more playful during the lighter moments of the film. A solid acoustic effort from Tai Seng, and you can’t blame them for the atrocious dubbing.

FEATURES

CONCLUSION

NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP provides some magnificent fighting scenes and solid performances from the likes of the Venoms, Yasuaki Kurata, and Ti Lung. However, the old Chang Cheh magic appears to be missing. Phil Kwok shows a lot of promise as a director, but he injects too much of his humorous streak into the material during the first hour. If I were rating the Venoms flicks from best to worst, NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP would come in last. Even though it only has one Venom in it (Lo Mang), CHINESE SUPER NINJAS is a better film with a more entertaining portrayal of Ninjas and their little deadly tricks. That being said, NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP is a superior independent production that Kung Fu fanatics are sure to appreciate. The commentary also provides value, and is a good listen for Venom fans.

NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP is available from HKFlix.com

-- Tony Mustafa

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