I will be the first to admit that I should read more then I do. With the advent of portable DVD and IPOD TV shows my daily commute has been filled more with films then books. Which is a shame because I can clearly remember the long days spent in childhood in the company of a good novel that I couldn’t put down, one that would keep me up hours past bedtime and cause me to miss homework. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy reading a good story now and again, it’s just that I don’t have as much time now as I do then, so I have to try and fit my books into my film schedule.

I am a huge fan of martial arts films, I list “Enter The Dragon” and “Drunken Master 2” on my top films list right beside “Casablanca” and “The Shawshank Redemption”.  I am also a fan of Vampire films as well, especially “Fright Night” and “The Lost Boys”. So when Nick Lake’s novel “Blood Ninja” showed up on my doorstep, I have to admit that I was excited just by the title. And the prospect of a story that involved both Ninja’s and Vampires sounded like it would be right up my alley. I’m happy to point out that, while sidestepping the vampire angle a little, “Blood Ninja” is an entertaining, breezy read that will entertain fans of both genres.

In the pantheon of the slasher boom of the late 70’s early 80’s there are some better known titles that caught the public’s attention right away, but for every “Halloween” or “Friday The 13th” that came down the pipeline, there was a little “gem” that followed in its footsteps. Some of these underappreciated titles truly deserve that status, I’m sure that we all could count about a dozen horrible “classics” that came in the wake of Carpenter’s blueprint. But the great thing about these movies is that no matter how bad they are, if you have a soft spot in your heart for horror, you are at least assured a smirk laughing at the conventions of the genre on display for your sarcastic comments. There is no better party film then the low budget 80’s slasher film.

With each new slasher film came a different gimmick that was designed to distinguish each film from their counterparts, Jason had his hockey mask, Leatherface had his chainsaw, and Angela Baker, well she um he had his…you know. As silly and absurd as most of these gimmicks may seem, they all pale in comparison to the gimmick used by the killer in Robert Deubel’s “Girls Nite Out”. A big ole hot plate of mess that never the less has its heart firmly in the right place. Where the demented lunatic stalks the nubile coeds of a college campus donned in a…..giant bear costume?? Furries beware; this is your ultimate nightmare come to life!!