Ninja III: The Domination

A slain ninja's spirit enters a young American woman, turning an aerobics instructor into a host for his vendetta. Christie begins carrying out killings, and the policeman she is involved with finds himself facing someone he cares about. Only another ninja, Yamada, is equipped to confront what has taken hold of her. The film blends martial arts action with supernatural horror.

Sam Firstenberg directed, working from a screenplay by James R. Silke. It followed Firstenberg's Revenge of the Ninja and preceded American Ninja in a run of martial arts productions. Sho Kosugi, also seen in the earlier entry, plays Yamada, with Lucinda Dickey as Christie, Jordan Bennett as Billy Secord, David Chung as the Black Ninja, Dale Ishimoto and James Hong. Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus produced for Cannon Group, and 35 cast members are credited.

Made for about 2 million dollars and released in September 1984, it returned roughly 8 million worldwide, a strong multiple on its budget for a Cannon release. Audiences rate it modestly: on IMDb it sits at 5.4 from about 5,800 votes, while on TMDB it holds 6.2 from a much smaller group of 157. The gap suggests devoted viewers of 1980s martial arts cinema rate it more warmly than the wider public does.