Metacritic reviews

Enter the Ninja represents an unusual hybrid action film, an Italian Western-type story filmed as a contemporary Japanese martial arts action film in the Philippines. Results are pleasant though unspectacular.

The film‘s sparse narrative exists to simply connect one action set-piece to the next, with sporadic breathing space in between. It’s the kind of undemanding entertainment which was enthusiastically lapped up by viewers during the early video rental era.

Ultimately, it's hard to decide which is more deadly, the action or the dialogue. [26 Dec 1981, p.D5]

Despite its lack of imagination, this dull martial arts entry spawned two sequels: Revenge of the Ninja and Ninja III--The Domination.

Even on the level of unintentional humour this fails to entertain: the mark of a truly dreadful movie.