Allow me to get nine years old on you for a moment. I like ninjas. I like a little Sho Kosuji ninja. I like a little Tenchu ninja. God help me, I'll even take a little Michael Dudikoff ninja. Ninjas are always good in my book... Well, except for Godfrey Ho ninjas... And, Chris Farley ninjas... And, Lee Van Cleef ninjas.

A direct to video action series based on a series of novels, there are a whole lot of Kunoichi films. Six? Seven? Ten? I'm not quite sure how many they've gotten to at this point. I've only seen one other than Deadly Mirage (don't ask me which one it was), but I can safely say the series selling point is action, boobs, sorcery, and generally some girl ninja bloodletting business.

Set in Tokugawa era Japan, the series follows a group of nuns turned ninja, finding its main lead in the deadly serious and beautiful Kagerou. This time out they are assigned to infiltrate a clan that has a secret letter detailing a plot to overthrow the emperor. However, they sneak into the compound and find the letter has already been stolen by a rogue member of the clan, Senshiru. The clan and Kagerou and her crew both race into the forest and try to be the first to track Senshiru down.

Senshiru gets beheaded. But, a sorcerer monk who was trailing him makes off with the letter, Senshiru's girl, and Senshiru's head. Yep, his head. Bring Me the Head of Senshiro Ayo. Just to make things more interesting, the monk tries to revive Senshiro's spirit, but a demon comes through the portal to the afterlife and begins wreaking havoc, animating bodies and having gooey sex with Senshiro's girl, bewitching her. So, it goes without saying, getting the letter gets a bit more difficult.

This kind of v-cinema fare is the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy, a little bit goes a long way and too much will dye your poop and cause a stomach ache. The choreography and fx is decidedly low rent. I liken it to a van painting, none of them are good but so god-awful you cannot help but appreciate the lack of taste. In a charming merger of the old and new, you get cheap prosthetics next to cheap CGI all in one film. Corners were cut in the direction too, with many long single camera takes and lack of coverage. For instance, scenes where only one angle of a two-sided conversation were filmed, leaving one actor in the void.

Ehhh, but it is all still good fun. I mean, they weren't making a classic. Sure it drags in spots and has bargain-basement production values, but it has some boobs and monsters and breezes by under 90 minutes. You could do worse, but you could also do much better.

The DVD: Media Blasters

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. Quite frankly, if you are expecting a whole lot out of your direct to video Japanese action picture, you are not very realistic. That said, the picture isn't great, but a bit better than I expected. You will have no doubt whatsoever that this is a low budget picture. The details all show the marks of strained production values. So, you'll have to be a little forgiving of some lack of sharpness and muddy contrast.

Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo, Japanese language with optional English subtitles. Again, like the image, not exactly top notch. Still, it is okay, delivering all you need, some clear vocals, some bad scoring, and some delightfully corny action fx. Subtitles are pretty good.

Extras: Trailers for other MB releases— Image Gallery— Promo Featurette (2:28), really just a glorified mini-commercial.

Conclusion: It gives me a good chuckle when I look over at my DVD rack and see Luis Bunuel and Ingmar Bergman movies next to the likes of low budget exploitation fantasy flicks and cannibal movies. I'm a firm believer that one needs balance and a good trashy flick every now and then can wake up the kid you. So, I'll give Kunoichi: Deadly Mirage a rental for those times when you want something silly and cheap.