Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops

Every once in a while a movie comes out that is just made for you. You hear the title, or you see the trailer, and everything just clicks. Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops is one of those movies. I mean, how can anyone screw this recipe up?

Zombies that are ninjas.

Bad ass Black Ops dudes.

Both going at it for survival.

Yes, this is just about everything I could hope and dream for wrapped into one big movie. But can it live up to its (incredible) promise? Let's find out.

The film is directed by Rody Claude. This is his second feature, after making the film Deadtime. The story is a simple one. A Japanese security firm has been experimenting on dead soldiers at a research facility located in a non-descript tower in Australia. A party is going on and Dillon (Adam T Perkins) is called in for a late night interview to work security for the firm. But all hell breaks loose when a young scientist named Mali (Kira Lee Caine) wakes up the soldiers. A Black Ops team is called in to neutralize the situation but by the time they show up it's clear that there is more going on here than meets the eye.

From the very beginning you know this is going to be one intense movie. It goes right to the action, showing you just how ruthless and capable these "Zombie Ninjas" can be. Headed by the Zombie Ninja Boss (UFC heavyweight Soa Palelei), they show no mercy and are unlike any zombies you've seen before. From the wild performances to crazy stunts you'll be dropping your jaw at some of the stuff these zombies do. If you think about the sheer number of zombie films out there it's all the more impressive that they were able to pull off a unique take on a classic villain.

But what about the other side of the coin? Those brave Black Ops soldiers sent to kick ass and take names? Adam T. Perkins is an obvious highlight. He gives a very subtle, tough performance and manages to portray Dillon as a sullen hero despite what little time is given to his introduction. Jason Britza also stands out among the Black Ops soldiers for his snarling performance as "A.K." While we're on the subject of acting we need to discuss Soa Palelei. He does get top billing, and the other zombies to a great job, but Palelei is a nutcase throughout and his absolute physicality comes through in his fight scenes, which are some of the best of the movie.

And that is saying something in a movie as chock full of action as this one. The fight scenes go on and on. Bullets are flying left and right and all manner of beat downs commence. It's beautiful.

Is it perfect? While the movie has Die Hard dna written into it there could have been some more humor dotted throughout to fill some of the gaps between those epic fight scenes. That may have gotten in the way of some of the horror beats you have here, but it also would have been a welcome diversion. There are also some wooden performances that creep in as well.

However, those are relatively minor quibbles compared to what is going on here. If you you've been paying attention, it's been a good year for movies coming out of Australia. Between Wormwood and Mad Mad: Fury Road I thought I had my fill of crazy films from down under, but Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops fits right in there nicely. This is an action movie for the Call Of Duty generation, where people aren't scared to mix genres and ideas just to see what happens. In this case, what happens is an entertaining balls to walls slugfest from start to finish that manages to do something very rare in this day and age: do something fun AND original.

This is a hard theme to play, but they did a good job. While I haven't watched the film entirely, I totally support what is going on with this film for few reasons: 1> Black Ops is tough. 2> Zombie Ninjas are even tougher. 3> It's far out enough that is worth a 10. 4> There are naturally lots of haters on this genre. 5> This genre is new. 6> Cant wait for a sequel.

Make sure to join the fan club if you wanna get a nice t-shirt!

This is a hard theme to play, but they did a good job. While I haven't watched the film entirely, I totally support what is going on with this film for few reasons: 1> Black Ops is tough. 2> Zombie Ninjas are even tougher. 3> It's far out enough that is worth a 10. 4> There are naturally lots of haters on this genre. 5> This genre is new. 6> Cant wait for a sequel.

My quick rating 2,1/10. Bad acting, bad fight scenes, no zombies, no horror elements. No entertainment. The fights are terrible minus the one guy who apparently is in the UFC as the head "zombie" but you wouldn't know it aside from landing a few knee lifts. Don't bother, there was no plot, the other zombie ninjas just kicked around for no reason and the good guys were pathetic. I am all for a martial arts school of young adults pooling there money together to make a film which is what this mess had to be but at least give us some semblance of a plot. I get the flashbacks of "his happened, that happened" but when they don't explain anything?

I am binge watching every Z movies I can find and this one found itself on my list, Sadly, I sat through the whole thing.

Not a single "actor" is convincing and the story could've been written by a failing 5th grader for all we know. But the worst thing is that, despite is obvious lack of talent, skills, tech or budget, this movie seems to pretend to be something serious from start to finish. Most B movies have the decency to not take themselves seriously and offer the usual laugh and "mock us here" moment. This one did not.

While its performance's won't be studied by aspiring actors and it's unlikely to feature at next year's Academy Awards, with a title like Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops these were never really goals for this low budget privately financed Australian effort and at the end of the day, Rody Claude's film delivers on its title promise.

Showing aspiring filmmakers that all it takes is some determination and willingness to follow your dreams, Claude and his willing cast and crew have crafted a fun and in many ways original zombie tale that doesn't rely on endless blood spraying zombie kills or one liners to get it through the hordes of undead and in reality Zombie Ninja's doesn't even really have zombies in it, a fact that ear marks it as something more original than many other recent undead movie entries.

The "zombies" here are more like red eyed one man armies, ninjas chopping and fly kicking their way through the unsuspecting contingent of human survivors and it's here that Claude delivers the films best scenes.

The action that takes place through Zombie Ninjas; it must be said, this is an action film over a horror film so those wanting to get their scares on will be disappointed, is of the highest order and there's a frenetic and energetic nature to what takes place when the hits start flying. With the zombie ninja warriors led by UFC fighter Soa 'The Hulk' Palelei. Claude and his stunt team really get things moving and it helps overcome the films less proficient elements.

The films script work and acting leaves much to be desired here and while films of this nature aren't won or lost on this alone, delivery in Zombie Ninjas sometimes remains far too flat to engage and some of the performances here are barely above High School production level. It wouldn't have taken much for a performer here to take hold of the situation and carry the team but not one of human team nails a home run.

Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops is a fun and in many ways original Australian production that's worth tracking down. With the potential for this idea to grow into the future we can only hope that Claude and his team can match their skills behind camera with people's skill in front of camera and then we'll be treated to what could well be an Australian cult classic.

3 unfortunate office cleaners out of 5