Pray for Death

Springing forth sprightly from the unlikeliest of Kung Fu scriveners, James Booth, 'Pray For Death' is arguably the second best VHS-era beatdown from Cult Japanese pugilist, Shô Kosugi! The honourable Kosugi clan moves to the US in order to construct a shiny, prosperous new American Ninja Dream, only to inadvertently find themselves dangerously embroiled in the increasingly malign machinations of ruthless gangsters, due to the presence of illicit booty stashed under the floorboards of their only recently purchased business premises, their innocent lives are very soon inhospitably besieged by all manner of sinister scum and villainy!

Booth's prosaic plot is very soon overwhelmed by a fearsome flurry of mystical martial arts mayhem, as the enraged Patriarch, Kosugi unleashes his (bruised) balls-to-the-wall Master Ninja justice! Pray For Death's scintillating series of acrobatic Ninjutsu sequences are executed with brutal efficiency by nitro-Ninja, Shô Kosugi! There are still some who refute the uproarious entertainment value of a mid-eighties, Kosugi classic; but one must never be swayed by the ill-considered protestations of the sober majority! In the halcyon days of Betamax & VHS, rising video star, Shô Kosugi reigned supreme, and it would seem that in this increasingly banal era when any lumpen Hollywood popinjay can appropriate the spurious crown of action hero, one could do a whole lot worse than root down, adjust one's beer goggles, and marvel at the Ninja-tastic, 'Pray For Death', wherein the ferociously fleet-fisted, wickedly weapon-savvy, gravity defying, sword-slashing, Shô Kosugi slices n' dices a gang of bovine thugs into strips of wet sushi!!!

Pray for Death is awesome! It's certainly the best Sho movie we've seen to date.

Herein, the Sho-master plays Akira Saito, a man who has a nice, calm life in Japan working as an executive for Yokohama foods. He has a pretty wife, Aiko (Benz) and two cute kids, Takeshi and Tomoya (Shane and Kane, regulars in their dad's movies). Yep, the dude has a pretty sweet setup. Apparently bored by all the serenity, Aiko, whose father was American, convinces Akira to move to the U.S. Once there, they begin refurbishing an old, run-down eatery called the Sabine Street Restaurant. They later rename it Aiko's. They get the property from a kindly elderly man, Sam Green (Parley Baer). Even though the newly-transplanted Japanese family in the U.S. throws themselves into turning the restaurant around, a dark secret lurks...

It seems the local gangsters have been using an all-but-abandoned back room at the Sabine Street Restaurant as a drop off and pick up for various illegal goods. When the highly valuable Van Atta necklace goes missing, naturally these dumb-dumb gangsters think it is the new immigrant in town, Akira. So they start making his life a living hell, tormenting him in many ways. It eventually escalates to the point when half the family is in the hospital. The ringleader of all this awfulness happening to the Saito family is one Limehouse Willie (Booth). While his name seems more suited to hobo boxing matches in the railyards, the diabolical man uses every possible underhanded tactic at his disposal to try to eliminate Saito. He just didn't reckon with one thing - Saito is a secret Ninja! So when Aiko takes a turn for the worse, the mild-mannered man during the day goes on a no-holds-barred Ninja revenge mission against the evil bastards that have ruined his life! Radical! Sporting a fast pace, a high-quality look, top-notch action sequences (the boat scene is a standout), and great music, including the Pat Benatar-like theme song "Back to the Shadows" by Peggy Abernathy, Pray for Death doesn't disappoint. Director Gordon Hessler, a well-known drive-in guy, pulls all the correct elements together in just the right mix. He downplays the minor negatives, such as the fact that Sho's accent is so strong it's basically impossible to tell what he's saying, and accentuates the strengths, such as the Ninja-based action sequences and revenge plot. It truly is a recipe for success more directors would be wise to follow.

Of course, a great action movie needs a super-evil bad guy, and James Booth as Limehouse Willie fills the bill in spades. Yes, his name is silly, but that's just a distraction, as you will cheer for the moment when Sho exacts his revenge on one of the ultimate jerks in 80's filmdom. Add to that the elements of corrupt (and not-so-corrupt) cops involved in this gangster/ninja war, and the subplots of the temple setting where we learn why Akira knows what he knows. In the good guy department, Parley Baer does a good job as the kindly, sympathetic Sam Green, while Kane and Shane do some pint-sized karate moves of their own (and they have the best bike since Pee Wee Herman). They also like to watch something called "The Black Ninja" on TV.

This is an actual NINJA MOVIE, unlike the trowel-jobs of Godfrey Ho. This is a coherent, good production. Featuring yet another excellent opening credit sequence featuring Sho, and produced by TransWorld entertainment (the big-box VHS was released on USA video, how appropriate to the storyline), please don't hesitate to check out this "Sho"-stopper.

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Sho Kosugi stars as Akira a closet ninja who goes back to his shadows when a mobster Limehouse(James Boothe) kills Akira's wife and almost kills Akira's son. Pray For Death is a cut above most "Ninja movies" the action is crisp and the movie is fast paced. Pray For Death may make more noise then sense, but for action fans PFD delivers the goods.

Pray for Death (1985)

** (out of 4)

A Japanese man (Shô Kosugi) moves his wife and two sons to America to start a new life but it's soon turned into chaos when a gangster starts terrorizing them believing that they have a priceless jewel. What we've got here is basically a DEATH WISH movie but instead of Charles Bronson we're given a ninja. This here certainly doesn't come close to the same level as one of the DEATH WISH films and I'd say it's no where near the level of REVENGE OF THE NINJA but fans of the genre will probably still have a good time with it. I think the biggest problem working against the film is that we've simply seen this type of story way too many times and outside the ninja stuff, there's really nothing new done with it here. We basically have a good-hearted man coming to America do to everything right but then he runs up against a ruthless gangster who just wants to kill and torture. It's pretty strange to see how much of the violence is towards the two young kids and when you see this you know you're watching something from the 1980s. The film certainly picks up some steam as it moves along and reaches the revenge aspect. The finale has Kosugi putting on the ninja suit, grabbing his sword and stars and going out for revenge. These scenes have a certain campy feel to them but there's no question that they're good enough to please fans of the genre. Kosugi certainly doesn't fit the profile of a "great actor" but I do think he did well enough for the part and there's no question that you're able to connect with him and feel for his situation. The rest of the performances are rather forgettable but they're good enough for this type of film. The violence in the film is all rather tame, although there's an uncut version out there that features a little bit more. Still, PRAY FOR DEATH is far from what one would consider a good movie but it has its own charm that makes it viewable entertainment.

A man wants to leave his country behind and start a new life in America.

Unfortunately, he runs into gangsters that thought he stole a necklace from them. His family is in danger, and he reverts to his true calling - a ninja - to get justice.

Shô Kosugi gives us a great martial arts/revenge flick. His acting isn't the greatest, but his fists speak loudly.

He warned them, and now, they will pray for death.

Gangsters, crooked cops, and the most dangerous man in California are no match. Even the kid (Kane Kosugi) is dangerous with nun-chucks and darts.

They had to really stretch credulity at the end as he fought James Booth. He sliced thought a dozen men, but they stretched this battle out.