Over-the-top ninja movies

The possession premise lets an ordinary aerobics instructor become the centre of a martial-arts supernatural crisis. Few introductions to this shelf change genres quite so enthusiastically.

For your group: Violent and very eighties. Enjoy the collision rather than expecting consistent supernatural rules.

Roller skates and a white costume make the street-level avenger unusually easy to spot. The restored footage and later-created voices give the film a distinctive mixture of sincerity and camp.

For your group: Completed decades after shooting; the finished tone reflects reconstruction as well as the original performances.

Colour-coded ninja business runs beside a plot whose joins are conspicuously visible. Put this on for friends who enjoy trying to work out which scenes belong together.

For your group: Patchwork storytelling and strange comic props can frustrate anyone expecting a clean action narrative.

Michael Dudikoff's quiet hero and Steve James's energy give the film a workable buddy dynamic. It is a useful conventional-action starting point before the ninja science gets stranger.

For your group: Straight-faced military action with an outsider-hero fantasy; the dramatic range is intentionally limited.

The tropical conspiracy introduces manufactured ninjas, expanding the first film's military adventure into wonderfully suspect laboratory territory. A good second step for viewers already enjoying the central partnership.

For your group: Thin plotting between fights, but a clearer mission than the cut-and-paste ninja films.

Franco Nero treats the white suit and the land dispute with impressive seriousness. The gap between everyday property trouble and the resulting assassination campaign gives the melodrama its appeal.

For your group: Violent exploitation action with broad characters and dated attitudes.

Use this to remind the room that the movement itself can be the night's main attraction. The family and criminal melodrama mostly exist to get accomplished fighters into increasingly elaborate confrontations.

For your group: The fighting deserves attention; talking continuously over it would miss much of the reason to choose it.

Element-themed specialists make each new ambush an inventive problem rather than another interchangeable duel. A strong choice for viewers who enjoy comparing techniques and outrageous weapons.

For your group: Exceptionally bloody combat. The elaborate choreography does not make the injuries mild.

The central sword rivalry gives the extravagant ninja interventions a firm dramatic frame. Pick this when the room wants impressive physical invention as well as impossible tactics.

For your group: Violent sword combat and slower dramatic passages. The action craft deserves to be taken seriously.