Aliens vs Ninja, or AVN as future generations of film buffs will surely know it, is the latest kung fu sci-fi gore-fest from Revolver Entertainment. Our heroes are a motley crew of emo-like ninjas who enjoy nothing more than going on missions, slapping each other on the back and throwing ninja stars at each other for fun. That is until a meteor full of half dolphin, half human aliens lands near their village and kills everyone.

The economy of script is clearly inspired by haiku, and the music and plot by Sega Megadrive. Fight scenes are punctuated by a wealth of thought provoking dialogue such as: “What is the first rule of being a ninja?” “To sneak about?” or “What does it want?” “It’s a monster alright? It just wants to kill us all!”

AVN takes you on a journey of loss, revenge and gory glory. I was on the edge on my seat when an alien tried to rape the lady ninja, and was sure all was lost when the dapper ninja awoke to find himself hanging upside down, bound with his friend’s intestines and impregnated with a baby alien. I cowered in fear when a squad of impregnated zombie ninjas started chanting “fuck you” in English – although luckily there is a stupid ninja whose goofy ways of falling over lighten the mood considerably. Once everybody is dead, and the protagonists seem to be out of the woods, the cool ninja says to the dapper one, “I hate reaching into your throat.” and they all laugh. Clearly something is lost in translation, though perhaps they are making a joke about kissing? I don’t know.

With Oscar-losing performances from Mika Hijii and Ben Hiura and some unspecial effects that frankly just miff, AVN is bound to cement its place in cinema history. The film delivers everything you would expect it to, especially a twist ending that doesn’t quite add up. Thankfully it is only an hour long, another good reason to watch it.