This is a very entertaining film. The paranoid, defensive hero of the movie is shown to have serious underlying psychological defects, but somehow his sexual insecurities and strange delusions coupled with a predisposition to always be ready to inflict violence are held up to the light as shining examples of moral conduct.
The hero has a profound rage and hatred towards his romantic rival who happens to be a drug dealer, and he reacts violently whenever they meet. In his mind, he imagines his martial arts teacher (!?), his love rival and his girlfriend in his own living quarters, in a drug-fuelled sexual orgy. On account of such dark thoughts, he is unable to sleep. This and other instances of fantasy blending with reality (especially at the end of the film, where multiple endings are shown and in which the girlfriend is subjected to various demises and the student and teacher have several "final confrontations") turn the whole film into a particularly insightful and compelling piece of psychological drama. This is quite inconsistent with the quality of other parts of the film. For instance, most of the actors' performances are weak bordering on pathetic, and there are strange inconsistencies in the plot devices regarding the attitudes to drugs (i.e. the girlfriend is suggested to have been a drug user at some point, but she remains one of the "in" crowd despite that the drug dealer is universally shunned socially on account of having black, slicked-back hair).
The adults of the film both male and female are shown as commandeering and competent. Only the kids have overt insecurities. However, there are strange irreconcilable behaviours at times. For instance, the martial arts teacher is said to be an illicit drug user because he has PTSD on account of being a war veteran, and when his secret is accidentally discovered he inexplicably steps up his deviant behaviour several notches by threatening to kill a schoolgirl, then violently killing his dealer, and then trying to kill his own best student. He chooses these actions instead of seeking out help, which seems odd within the film because he's shown to be a competent, assertive character who would probably be able to kick any drug habit.. It's all part of the strange 1980s fascination and moralising about drugs. Reefer madness..
All-in-all, this is a fascinating film and well worth seeing for a trip back into the 1980s, with the ninja preoccupation of that period, and its skillful depiction of adolescent angst. There's a cheesy moment for everyone to enjoy! However, it is not in the same class at classic 80s flicks such as Big Trouble in Little China or Death Machines, so having the wrong expectations it may disappoint. 6 out of 10.
The hero has a profound rage and hatred towards his romantic rival who happens to be a drug dealer, and he reacts violently whenever they meet. In his mind, he imagines his martial arts teacher (!?), his love rival and his girlfriend in his own living quarters, in a drug-fuelled sexual orgy. On account of such dark thoughts, he is unable to sleep. This and other instances of fantasy blending with reality (especially at the end of the film, where multiple endings are shown and in which the girlfriend is subjected to various demises and the student and teacher have several "final confrontations") turn the whole film into a particularly insightful and compelling piece of psychological drama. This is quite inconsistent with the quality of other parts of the film. For instance, most of the actors' performances are weak bordering on pathetic, and there are strange inconsistencies in the plot devices regarding the attitudes to drugs (i.e. the girlfriend is suggested to have been a drug user at some point, but she remains one of the "in" crowd despite that the drug dealer is universally shunned socially on account of having black, slicked-back hair).
The adults of the film both male and female are shown as commandeering and competent. Only the kids have overt insecurities. However, there are strange irreconcilable behaviours at times. For instance, the martial arts teacher is said to be an illicit drug user because he has PTSD on account of being a war veteran, and when his secret is accidentally discovered he inexplicably steps up his deviant behaviour several notches by threatening to kill a schoolgirl, then violently killing his dealer, and then trying to kill his own best student. He chooses these actions instead of seeking out help, which seems odd within the film because he's shown to be a competent, assertive character who would probably be able to kick any drug habit.. It's all part of the strange 1980s fascination and moralising about drugs. Reefer madness..
All-in-all, this is a fascinating film and well worth seeing for a trip back into the 1980s, with the ninja preoccupation of that period, and its skillful depiction of adolescent angst. There's a cheesy moment for everyone to enjoy! However, it is not in the same class at classic 80s flicks such as Big Trouble in Little China or Death Machines, so having the wrong expectations it may disappoint. 6 out of 10.