Originally shot in 1984 but not finished until 2021, New York Ninja chronicles the rise of John, a TV news sound technician turned vigilante. Crime is rising in New York City: with violence and kidnappings around every corner, criminals own the streets. As police struggle to suppress the carnage, John decides to take justice into his own hands. He dons a white ninja cowl, hell-bent on restoring order, one rollerblading smoke bomb attack at a time. He soon not only draws the admiration of the city but becomes the target of every criminal, including a mysterious villain known only as the Plutonium Killer.
Abandoned during production by director and star John Liu, only the unedited camera negative remained. Painstakingly reconstructed and re-voiced in 2021, New York Ninja finally screens in all of its bombastic insanity, giving audiences long-anticipated access to an almost-lost treasure.
Screens with Fruit short film [warning: contains graphic images and flashing lights]
E
John Liu
John Liu, Kurtis Spieler