User Reviews

I'm in awe! Wow, prepare to be blown away by the uncanny ways of the ninja. Watch them as they pounce, crawl along the ground (on their backs or stomachs) like a caterpillar, fly through the sky, climb buildings, hide and spring from trees, throw about ninja stars, role out blue welcome mats, disappear in smoke bombs, make a lot of swoosh noises with their blades and quickly sneaking or trotting about on their toes. What a sight! Really I could go on about the many traditional actions, but I'll be here all day. Oh not to forget we even get the legendary Chuck Connors popping up now and again, and watch him dispatch some ninjas with his shotgun with little ease. What class! What a badass! Anyhow the ultra-cheap 'Sakura Killers' is some stupid, but cheesy ninja action fun that only fanatics of the genre would get anything out of this shonky b-grade debacle.

A genetic lab in America has a very important video that's stolen by a couple of ninjas. Two Americans are sent to Japan by the Colonel (Chuck Connors) to retrieve it.

The opening of the feature sets it up nicely. Get ready for the laughs! Afterwards it slows down, but soon after the two main protagonists learns about the ninja and goes through the training it gets a head of steam as they break in costumes and fled after the stolen beta tape that contains a very important formula. This is when the violently swift action and aerobic marital arts really come in to play. It's not too shoddy either, (like the moronic script and daft performances). The final climatic showdown is very well done.

In the slow stretches it has the two Americans (Mike Kelly and George Nicholas) looking in to the case, sharing brainless conversations and encountering some minor problems. What made me laugh was how the ninjas were put off by how brave and clever these two were. These were supposed to be professional killers? Director Dusty Nelson ('Effects (1989)') does an earnest job with what he had and plays it for what it is. He centres the on-screen activities around striking Taiwan locations. The score is a chintzy arrangement.

SAKURA KILLERS (1+ outta 5 stars) Maybe in 1987 this movie might have seemed cool... if you had never ever seen a *good* ninja movie. Cheesy '80s music... cheesy dialogue... cheesy acting... and way-beyond-cheesy martial arts sequences. The coolest scene is at the beginning... with an aged Chuck Connors playing golf on a beach... several black clad ninjas try to sneak up on him and it looks like he is too intent on hitting his ball to notice... suddenly he reaches into his golf bag and... naw, I won't spoil it for you... if you ever have the misfortune of seeing this movie you'll thank me. The story is a lot of nonsense about some stolen videotape or something. A bunch of dim-bulb Caucasian heroes are trained in the ways the ninja because "only a ninja can fight a ninja" or something like that. Strange, these guys don't seem to fight any better after their training than before... oh well, the movie does move along pretty briskly. The fight scenes may not be great.. but they are plentiful... and the overdone sound effects are good for a few chuckles.

Oh yes, Sakura Killers is a goofy, horrible ninja movie, make no mistake. But it's also an incredibly enjoyable one. This is largely thanks to the awesome presence of one Chuck Connors, who is billed as starring in the movie but really only shines in a few scenes. I suppose he's supposed to be sort of an Obi Wan Kenobi type ("The tough ninja-buster", the box copy exclaims) but his 'wisdom' is laughable. "Move without thinking"??? My friend says this is the sign of mental retardation, not of supreme concentration.

But really, his two aides, Sonny and Dennis, have such horrible dialogue that 'Brooklyn', as we call The Colonel, tends to shine in comparison. Especially watch for Dennis' logic regarding the 'genetic splicing' the Sakura are involved with. If you know anything about cloning you will die laughing. And yes, this is a major plot point, folks.

A terribly fun movie, Sakura Killers is a hard-to-find gem. I won't spoil the 'trick' ending for you either, except that it's a perfect set up for a Sakura Killers 2. Too bad Chuck Connors died. :-( Because he does have a the smoothest ways of blowing away ninjas.

This movie's one of my favorites. It's not really any good, but it's great to laugh at. The dialogue can become incredibly ludicrous and poorly acted (eg, "Manji, can we ask you a few questions?" "Sure." "We think you can help us with the answers.") Any fighting is more or less surrealistic. Make sure to watch for Brock, the oafy white guy who attacks the main characters. He only has two lines, but he's one of the best guys in the movie!

My review was written in May 1987 after watching the film on Key Video cassette.

An okay martial arts picture, "Sakura Killers" is a bit schizophrenic in that it consists of two separate sets of footage, shot by different filmmakers in Taiwan and the U. S., joined together in a convincing whole.

Chuck Connors is featured in the U. S. shoot (written and directed by Dusty Nelson), wearing his old Brooklyn Dodgers warmup jacket while fiddling with a modern version of his rifle (not the trademark flip-cocking model of his "The Rifleman" tv series). He sends Mike Kelly and George Nichols on a mission to Taiwan to retrieve a stolen videotape of genetic engineering experiments, lifted from a secret scientific installation by ninjas.

Athletic team of Kelly & Nichols discover that a Japanese organization of Sakura killers is behind the action and planning to sell the U. S. secrets to the Soviets. Fortunately, the Yanks get intensive training from a martial arts master.

Action scenes are well done, though the usual exaggeration of sound effects detracts. William Scott's energetic musical score is a plus, as are several attractive women in the cast. Sound recording for the U. S. footage is fine, but the post-synching of the Taiwan segments is crude. My review was written in May 1987 after watching the film on Key Video cassette.

An okay martial arts picture, "Sakura Killers" is a bit schizophrenic in that it consists of two separate sets of footage, shot by different filmmakers in Taiwan and the U. S., joined together in a convincing whole.

Chuck Connors is featured in the U. S. shoot (written and directed by Dusty Nelson), wearing his old Brooklyn Dodgers warmup jacket while fiddling with a modern version of his rifle (not the trademark flip-cocking model of his "The Rifleman" tv series). He sends Mike Kelly and George Nichols on a mission to Taiwan to retrieve a stolen videotape of genetic engineering experiments, lifted from a secret scientific installation by ninjas.

Athletic team of Kelly & Nichols discover that a Japanese organization of Sakura killers is behind the action and planning to sell the U. S. secrets to the Soviets. Fortunately, the Yanks get intensive training from a martial arts master.

Action scenes are well done, though the usual exaggeration of sound effects detracts. William Scott's energetic musical score is a plus, as are several attractive women in the cast. Sound recording for the U. S. footage is fine, but the post-synching of the Taiwan segments is crude.

Two old buddies are sent to Japan to get back results of a genetic research containing videotape, which is stolen by the black suited ninjas at the beginning of the movie. First they just have to learn some ninja skill, because "only ninja can beat the ninja."

Sakura killers tries hard to be enjoyable ninja-flick but fails that badly. The whole movie is just so hollow and predictable that is hard to say anything good about it: Same plot has been seen in different variations dozens of times before, characters are too briefly drawn, direction is dull and script doesn't offer anything surprising, even in the ending scene, which by itself reduced movie's (trash)value.

Even 80's ninja-flick-fan, who understands the esthetic of trash-movies, is hard to find this movie even barely enjoyable. It simply doesn't offer anything new to viewer, neither in visual level nor in plot. Shurikens are thrown and katanas are swinging, but it's not enough to lead the movie direction it meant to be and recurred similar fighting scenes numbs even the most calloused viewer after the first 30 minutes.

It's hard to recommend movie to anyone. Even Franco Nero's clumsy performance in "Enter the Ninja" falls behind Sakura killer's American-ninjas. Even in visual level movie doesn't have any balls and it's waste of time to try to find any great fighting scenes in this movie: There isn't any. In all, one of the most futile ninja-flicks, I've ever seen. Doesn't interest even in curiosity. Trust me on this one.

½ out of 10.

Having just finished watching SAKURA KILLERS, I'm befuddled as to why this is not a wider-known cult favorite. Perhaps the fact that the filmmakers don't even include complete credits says something about their budget and ability to advertise, but when solely considering content, this is some high grade B-movie madness. Entertaining in its zaniness and more than competent in the action department, this is the "No Retreat, No Surrender" of ninja movies and it's worth owning a VCR for.

The story: A trio of operatives investigates a number of deadly ninja operations. To counter the threat, they themselves will need to channel the art of ninjutsu.

Directors Dusty Nelson and Wang Yu may not qualify as entities of filmmaking, but they display particular talent for merging American and Hong Kong cinema on a B scale. There are plenty of non-fighting scenes that I could have sworn were directed by Philip Ko, and for all its excesses and troubled dialogue, the script feels more accessible to audiences who are not fans of Hong Kong-style screen writing. There's nonstop energy here, with the film never sitting still, even if it means that we just get another oddball training scene of the heroes chopping straw bales.

Speaking of heroes, the film introduces us to two or three particularly promising ones. Western staple Chuck Connors is given top billing, but his role is limited. Not so those of Mike Kelly and George Nicholas. In true cult fashion, these two virtual nobodies deliver wonderfully hammy dramatic performances before displaying some breakout karate moves. Later on, they're joined by Manji Otsuki, whose character spends most of the film supplying non-physical support before inexplicably donning a jumpsuit and giving just as impressive of a martial performance.

It takes a while for the movie to hit a stride in both the quality and quantity of its fight scenes, but when it does, watch out. The Hong Kong influence shines here more than anywhere else, and while there's no shortage of goofy ninja trickery, the physicality of the performers merges harmoniously with the choreography to make for some choice fights. The quality of the fisticuffs may never reach undisputed excellence, but it's definitely good – sometimes very good, such as the awesome three-on-one swordfight finale. Everyone benefits from some doubling, but the ninja garb nullifies this detriment. Watch for the scene wherein poor John Ladalski is crotched to death on a tree.

Some unlikeable moments from the lead characters and the underutilization of Chuck Connors keep this one from a higher rating, but I can nevertheless state that SAKURA KILLERS is the most fun I've had with a low budget action flick in months. If you can't stand ninjas or their parade of decoy dummies, then this one is not for you, but if you're up for a good time with some decent fighting, you can put it on your wish list.

Hey people, what's up. It's me man, the one and only Mike "Sonny Sakura KIller" Kelly. You know........ you can't really write a review on the script of Sakura, cause there we didn't have one. As far as I know, the story was just made up as we went along. I had the best time of my life making that film, and got so much stank that I ran out of Jism...........fun times. So glad that you all enjoyed the film. I really didn't get to do the fights that I had envisioned. Every time I set up some moves, the fight director kept changing them. Still, I had a blast and met some really great people. Especially the purple female Ninja who has seem to fall of the film-making scene.

It has been many years since i last watched this film, way back in my teenage years. Back then ninjas were the coolest thing to me and this film was one of my favourites at the time. I can vaguely remember the fight scenes being totally OTT which made it all the better. As i have not been able to track down a copy here in the UK, if i watched it today i can only imagine the film to be little more than a tackey eighties ninja flick ala 'the american ninja' series. Hope i haven't offended anyone!!!

First things first, I hate Ninja movies, in fact I can't stand Martial Arts movies either, the exception of course being ENTER THE DRAGON. But this is one Ninja movie I like, I first saw it back in the mid 80s when it was first released on video in the U.K. by Entertainment In Video, and it blew me away with its great action sequences and excellent music score. It is just great fun from start to finish and Chuck Connors adds a touch of class to the proceedings. A few years back I was able to buy a brand new copy for £10, also got COBRA MISSION for the same price and condition, check out the trailer for SAKURA KILLERS on this release also from EIV it is a blinder...

Remember the '80s ninja craze, when crappy martial arts flicks clogged the shelves of local rental shops? Well, Sakura Killers is one of the better ones, and by 'better' I mean 'enjoyable', and by 'enjoyable' I mean 'hilariously bad'.

Sakuya killers has it all: tunnelling ninjas, a 'Spiderman' ninja, smoke bombs, sword fights, acrobatics, ghost-faced ninjas, a metal boomerang, scuttling ninjas, straw ninjas, a ninja hiding underneath a room service trolley, a 'no-squeak' ninja carpet, and a ninja springboard (literally, a spring with a board on top). It also has an ageing Chuck Connors who has little to do with the main film, the action occasionally cutting to his State-side character so that he can link otherwise seemingly unconnected scenes, and shoot the occasional ninja (no messing with swords and shurikens for Chuck!).

The wafer-thin plot sees two American agents, Sonny (Mike Kelly) and Dennis (George Nicholas), sent to Taiwan to try and retrieve a stolen video tape containing a top-secret chemical formula; to do so, they must first learn the ways of the ninja. After their crash course in ninjitsu (which involves running up sand dunes with large straw hats), the guys set off to find the tape, doing battle with a variety of foes along the way. Although this story makes little more sense than the average Godfrey Ho movie, the fighting is surprisingly well choreographed and competently executed, making Sakura Killers a fun time-waster for fans of all things ninja.

It's hard to rate films like this, because do you score it on production or just fun? I'm going to go with the latter, because it's one of those films which is objectively bad but subjectively good!

I saw this film back in about 1988/89 or so when I was a boy and I'm sorry to say it started a life long fascination with ninjas. The plot is fairly dire and the acting is of course terrible, but there is a certain mystique surrounding the ninjas in this film which makes for quite a good atmosphere. What is important is that the fight scenes (while a little sparse) are really good.

I must say though, it was better when I was a boy. Only now can I see the glaring points of unbelievable nonsense in the film, but as a "sit back with a few beers" martial arts film I just can't fault it. It delivers the goods, and is much better than the mountains of "American Ninja" Style rubbish that was churned out in the 80's with hundreds of guys in black suits but really not very good fight scenes.

In an interesting note, Dusty Nelson, the writer and director of Sakura Killers did another ninja film under the Bonaire movie flag called "White Phantom" I have no idea if this was meant to be a sequel to Sakura Killers", but the Sakura clan is once again a main feature, including the same logo and similar story only this time including a White Ninja. This too, while being mostly dire, had a small sense of atmosphere, but the fight scenes are even more sparse and to be frank, are pretty awful.

As for Sakura Killers, if you are a martial arts or Ninja fan, then give it a blast, because it has all you need for a real good time.

Don't listen to the many acerbic and derisory comments heaped upon this film.....simply put, as regards ninja movies, this my friends is about as good as it gets!

Yes it's silly, yes the acting and script are admittedly absolutely atrocious, but by gum - it's so much bloody fun! In fact, as is often the case with B-Movies, the horrendous 'acting' (which in the case of the movie in question, is truly amongst the worst I have ever had the joy to behold!) and ridiculous 'plot' actually only serve to elevate the enjoyment level ten fold.

Obviously the fight scenes are the main attraction in this though and for the most part I'm pleased to say, they're very well choreographed, especially the final showdown (during which we witness that ninja are not ostensibly constrained by the normal laws of gravity....)

Trust me on this, if you are a fan of ninja movies and you have not yet seen Sakura Killers, then you are truly missing out on what is in my opinion, one of the true jewels in the crown of the genre.

Loved this as a kid in the 80s. Up there with the Revenge of the Ninja and American Ninja movies. This needs a DVD release!

Found this flick in a videostore, it cost $2 to buy. The whole movie stinks really bad! The so-called colonel, who would the hero here if the cover could have been trusted, must be in his eighties and is barely able to walk. He nevertheless manages to shoot some of the dumbest ninjas in the world. Then the story leaves the colonel, which makes sense given the old man's inability to DO anything worth mentioning, a now two terrifyingly eighties-looking guys take over, in what must have been some sort of story. I got lost a hundred times but didn't mind, because the movie is so bad, it's real fun to watch. Zero-Budget trash with actors not deserving that name. Go check it out!

I personally love this film. I have seen it at least 150 times. Five times in one day once. Almost impossible to find now, I bought it used in 1991 from a video store which has long since closed. But don't bother picking it up if you should come across a copy of it. I'm sure you will be very disappointed.

This is a well done Ninja movie and the actors did a good job, For the time and era the Actors did a good job and the Story wasn't to bad as well 🍿👍🏼👍🏼

We get spoilt there days with amazing martial arts films that have insane choreography, stunt, cgi and some half decent acting.

Back in the day any type of Ninja movie would entertain me no matter what. After 25 years, I decided to watch this again and what a treat it is.

Plenty of great ( over the top ) fight scenes, plenty of swoosh clanging sword noises, awful dialogue and terrible acting but really.... what's not to love?

The end fight is well worth the wait with ninjas moving through the ground, smoke bombs that randomly create dummies , flying kicks , ninja stars and lots of sword fighting.

Easy watching and great fun.

Two American rookie martial arts likely lads are sent to Japan by a Colonel to retrieve some stolen information.

Like many who saw this on its video release it was the best thing since sliced bread. Smoke bombs, ninja stars, climbing walls, tunnelling underground, stealth stances and tiptoeing around. Even with it's bad dubbing and acting it's still thee quintessential 1980s ninja movie. The action scenes are limited, littered throughout but what there is are well choreographed and great fun. Also you get an aged Chuck Connors giving exposition while wearing Teen-Wolfs jacket, aged Connors playing golf, aged Connors blasting ninjas with a shotgun -Connors is the man.

It's not as well paced as the great B-film Deadly Prey or as iconic as Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja or Ninja III Domination. In retrospect it was so much better back in 1987 but it's equally so bad it's good to file under great 80s nostalgia cheese.