Devil’s Dynamite, to say the least, is a strangely weird, weirdly strange effort from 1987 that features ninjas, vampires, some sort of super-hero, gamblers, gangsters and more. It is a hodge-podge of a production that Godfrey Ho would cobble together, and it surprisingly would end up being exceptionally compelling.

Off-beat is probably the most accurate term one could apply to this film. The merging of so many different genres and characters makes for a stewpot that most would be afraid to put to celluloid. There is no way that anyone could make it work or at the very least, make it work well. That ends up being the magic of this production. It is a mess and yet, one that takes its audience on a journey to an unknown destination because there is no way that anybody could possibly guess what Ho has in store. That is probably one of the worst aspects of the entire thing, is the lack of structure, like the pieces of a puzzle that do not quite fit together as they should. One does have to wonder what Ho was thinking when he made this picture, though one would also have to question what Ho was thinking when he made a lot of his movies. Obviously, he was trying to save a bit of cash while also trying to make a little money on them. It is apparent he was not aiming to make a masterpiece with this film and it shows in nearly every frame.

That being said, there is a lot to like about the production as well. The hopping vampires are a sight to see, both fun and menacing at the same time. There is quite a bit of action that keeps the picture moving along at a good pace thanks to the interactions of the vampires and the tinfoil robo-man. While the superhero’s suit is not the worst to have ever graced the screen, it is definitely one of the worst. At the very least, Alex, the man who transforms into the silver warrior, shows up when there happens to be trouble, which is a good thing. The man has his hands full, though, as there are not only vampires to face and other assorted baddies, but he has the Queen of the Underworld set against him, some American guy and more. Factor in a little girl who may or may not be a ghost, a little boy who likes to tease her, and more cheese than one can shake a stick at and it is easy to see why there are few who actively talk about this movie when the subject of film comes up.

All in all, this menagerie of themes and plots and characters makes little sense, but it does keep one watching and ends up being fairly entertaining in a strange sort of way. There is little horror even with the vampires, but it makes little difference to the overall sense of enjoyment one gets from Devil’s Dynamite. Terrible and wonderful all at the same time.

2 out of 5