Rival gangs in Los Angeles are always at odds with each other. Tony(Phillip Rhee) is in love with nemesis Chan's(James Lew) sister, Lily(Rosanna King). Tony's pal, Young(Jun Chong), came from China along with his mother who married a white man. Young is skilled at martial arts and equips himself quite well against street punks and gangs who wish to cause him harm. Young gets his boys mixed up with rich drug dealers as well(hired as "security" to make sure no problems interrupt a drug deal involving cocaine). Drug dealers aren't exactly happy campers when their coke money is stolen(which is what Young unwisely does in the heat of the moment)so two separate hit men, Yoshida Kim(Ken Nagayama;an assassin with a kitana sword from Osaka, Japan)and intense brute Kruger(Bill Wallace) from New York are hired to teach these kids a lesson. There's a sequence which reminded me of GAME OF DEATH where Young must go up floors in a building, combating hired thugs(including Kim and Kruger)on each loft, trying to find and save his friends, captured and beaten by Kruger who wants to know the location of the drug money. And after enduring this, poor Young still has to worry with Chan and his army! While Young doesn't fare so well against Chan(mommy is in the line of fire), Tony gets a chance to dual with his enemy to the death. The minor plot, what little there is, plays second fiddle to kung fu between numerous LA gangs, mostly against Young, Tony, and their group. The fight choreography can be a bit clumsy and rough-around-the-edges mainly due to the fact that Tony and Young are often in battles against inferior foes who mostly take a beating. No matter where Tony and Young go, it seems trouble follows them. And that's the point, isn't it? Put these two in as many combat situations as possible to provide the movie with excuses to have them duking it out with street scum to beat the crap out of. There are melodramatic moments a die hard action fan might cringe through(in particular, Tony's problems with his alcoholic mom), but the final twenty minutes delivers plenty of fisticuffs and bludgeoning with weapons. Brinke Stevens shows up in a cameo(unclothed, of course) as a drug-lord's plaything.

And to think I kinda saw this movie on accident... This movie was included in one of those crappy 4 movie DVD packs called "Kung Fu Wars." I bought it because it had "The Crippled Masters," a heartwarming film that shows that one should not be chained down by disabilities. Anyway, on the first side of the disc was this Ninja Turf, which I figured would be funny because 80s Martial Arts + the word "Turf" = an always unforgettable experience. My God, this movie is amazing! How can you not love rival high school gangs who are all in their 40s, talking about teen life and how their mommy doesn't understand them, and beating the crap out of each other! Also, the 80s action movie homo-eroticism is in full swing in this baby! In one scene, one of the guys from the good gang is naked, taking a shower, and Young (played by the bad ass Jun Chong!!!) approaches the naked guy, hands him a banana, and in crappy dubbing says, "Hey Tony! Bring you something to eat!!" If that's not gay, I don't know what is. In another scene, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace is fighting Jun Chong, and after a few minutes of grab-assy martial arts fighting, they break apart, and the camera zooms to Wallace's face, who looks down towards Chong's groin region, smiles real big, and proceeds to fight some more. By the way, I'm in no way against the GLBT community, I just know that 80s movies are notorious for such scenes, and I love to point them out. Anyway, another great thing about this flick is the memorable characters. Young (Chong), even though he was like 45 when he made this film, somehow manages to play the part of a swaggering, yet troubled teen very well. It's kinda funny to note that his mother in this film looks younger than him!! Another character worth mentioning is Belly Shirt Guy, leader of the Spikes Gang. This man has to be seen to be believed... And let's not forget the leader of the Blade Gang (who looks a lot like Panama Jack)! I could go on and on about this movie, because there is so much about this movie that is wonderful. The only bad thing about this film is the lack of lighting, and it doesn't help any that most of the scenes take place at night. In the Wallace Vs. Chong scene, apparently Wallace is using a whip at one point, but if it weren't for the sound effects, you'd have no idea that he was using a whip. This film is truly amazing, a brilliant yet mostly unheard of film. I encourage everyone out there to check this movie out. It will change your life!!

Am i glad i was recommended this film by a pal...i found it in the neglected bottom corner shelf at my local video rental store gathering dust...it cost me £1 to rent out and now that £1 investment is worth a million dollars in laughs.Ever since watching it ..it has stayed wedged in my brain as a inspirational movie experience on par with the likes of Braveheart and Gladiator - but for different reasons.I have to admit it may be one of the most talked about movies amongst my friends. When we talk about it we reminisce about it like a long lost funny fat friend ..with hilarious memories! The film is good for the same reasons why Barry White or Abba are now considered greats. Naff, untrendy and old skool but now has a cult following amongst fans.It is so bad that it comes round in a full circle to become absolutely brilliant. Awful acting, mediocre effects, awful acting, simplistic plot, funny fight scenes, poor production value and oh, awful acting!I could swear, in a scene, rather than do slow motion action playback the fighters fight really s...l...o...w! Cannnot recommend it enough ...the ultimate classic in Z grade movie experiences!

DANIEL MANIA! COMMENTI thought that Ninja Turf could have been done alot better. Personally I would have worked on the cinematics because you could barely see the fight scenes and I also would have done the entire ending to this film differently. For one thing I would have had the rival gangs join forces with the drug dealers and have the main characters fight them all in the same building floor by floor. I also would have made it a lot more bloodier and made the choreography a lot more furious,complicated,wild and sophisticated. I gave this film a 7/10 because it could have been so much better and it was poorly written.