Pray For Death (1985)

Rating: **
Cast: Sho Kosugi, Kane Kosugi, Shane Kosugi

The Kosugi clan is together again in this semi-remake of "Revenge Of The Ninja" (1983). This time, mild mannered Sho Kosugi and his family move to America to make their fortunes. They open a restaurant in a bad part of town (sound familiar?) and get messed up in a jewelry smuggling operation gone awry. The main bad guy is a dork named Limestone Willy, and he starts terrorizing and killing anyone he thinks may be connected to the missing jewels. He is so over-the-top mean and nasty that you just have to laugh at him. Dude is messed up. Anyway, after Sho's youngest son (Shane Kosugi) gets kidnapped and his wife is murdered, he dons a sacred mask and exacts his revenge ninja style! Sho once again proves that it's okay to make bad movies as long as you're dead serious about them. And he is one bad-ass in the film. The fighting is only average, but fun to watch. Unfortunately the film is marred by the cheesy pop theme song, "Back From The Shadows", which is played THREE TIMES in the film, and worst of all in a very dramatic moment where Sho is crafting the sword he will use to kill his enemy. Ugh. It's so very 1985 in its thoughtless mainstream "made for TV" execution.