Customer Reviews

Pray for Death [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This collection of four movies are horror movies they DO NOT CONTAIN SHO KOSUGI'S wonderful ninja movie of the same name
Pray for death (which was a superb ninja movie)
Amazon should correct this wrong listing

This movie is NOT Sho Kosugis 'Pray For Death' Martial Arts action movie. This is a collection of 4 horror flicks and I was disappointed when I recieved this DVD. DO NOT order this item if you are a fan of Sho Kosugi's Ninja movies.

When you buy one of those DVD sets which include several films for a cheap price, you often get what you pay for; PRAY FOR DEATH is an outstanding case in point. THE UGLY: One reason why I got this one is NIGHT OF THE DEATH CULT, which is the fourth of the Blind Dead series, and I'm sorry to report that the picture quality is atrocious. It clearly came from a substandard videotape source, and is full of the sort of hideous artifacts that plagued budget VHS tapes. Let's hope for a better copy of this title someday soon. THE BAD: The prerelease info indicated that the notorious MARK OF THE DEVIL PART 2 was part of this package, but if you ordered it for that reason, you're going to be bumming, as DEATH CULT is the only announced title which is actually included...come on, guys! THE GOOD: As to the movies which ended up being included, THE WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN is a campy Paul Naschy vehicle which is entertaining in its goofy fashion. SISTERS OF DEATH features an odd performance by 1950s Sci-Fi hero Arthur Franz as he menaces, among others, the ill-fated Playboy model Claudia Jennings...this one offers better acting than usually seen in such low-budget fare. And, lastly, we have the ubiquitous SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA in a pretty decent letterbox print. I guess that Hammer (or whoever owns rights) must really not care about this title, judging from the number of cheap DVDs on which it can be found. All three of this group are watchable, if not exactly DVD demo material. VERDICT: All in all, it's OK for the price, but I'll be more wary in the future.

I will star by saying that this is the BEST Sho Kosugi movie ever because all the ninja fights and stunts were entirelly made by him!! From a COOL traditional ninja fight intro to a ONE MAN ARMY ninja in shining armor conclusion!!!

The reason that this movie is better than Revenge of the Ninja is because Sho Kosugi is always masked in black on his best fights, Kosugi also don't recieved to much strikes from bad morons, Kosugi also use a FREAKING COOL ninja armor at the final fights, the fights were MUCH BETTER choreographied and the action is faster and more explosive.

The only stuff that I didn't liked is that there is no main black ninja enemy like in Revenge of the Ninja, but the one to one fights were fast and cool!! Besides, who needs another black ninja when we have Sho Kosugi. :)

This dvd is maybe a copy of the Pray for Death VHS version, so the picture quality is not THAT good and the movie have the standar view (not widescreen). This is what I recieved.

P.S: Sho Kosugi and his son Kane Kosugi are together again after Revenge of the Ninja, both father and son fought well in this movie.

I liked this movie back in the day, so I got this DVD. The quality of the DVD is questionable at best. Because it is "Uncut" the extra footage is in a different aspect ratio (4.3?) and changes while watching it. Other than that if you like Kosugi's movies you'll get this one as well...

This is a good action movie, but not recommened for young viewers. I have always enjoyed Sho Kosugi movies and this one is just as good as some of his other ones as well.
Buy it and enjoy this one and some of his other ones to. You will not be disappointed.At least I am not.

First off, this is NOT the collection of horrors movies, it is the martial arts movie. Anyone looking for Sho Kosughi's Pray for Death will not be disappointed.
I did not find any problem with the quality of the movie, picture, sound, or otherwise. I have been told, though I can't confirm this as it is the first time I've seen the movie, that it has more scenes then some other cuts, mostly small shots that make the action a bit less jumpy and confusing, but some bigger ones as well.
As for the movie itself, it is much better then I thought it would be, very entertaining

Wow, I fondly remember this flick as a kid as I loved alot of the martial art movies that were well at our disposal in the 1980's. I bought this one on Amazon & watched it last night & man is it bad, lol. Granted the films quite dated as it came out in 1985 but if plot holes were all the rage "Pray for Death" would be an Emmy winner. While the hilarious James Booth plays one mean SOB, the rest of the gangsters are just as amusing & campy. In fact, the entire acting in this film is so one dimensional its absolutely perfect viewing ala "Mystery Science Theater 3000". As for Sho Kosugi's lukewarm choreographed fight scenes followed by the bad Pat Benatar theme song, this really is as bad as it gets. When I got this it looked like a bootleg dvd but the transfer is quite good & it also states that it's the "full uncut version". Oh no, more surprises!

PRAY FOR DEATH is a fairly typical small collection of primarily older Euro-fright films. These middling movies still hold some shocks here and there, however. A nice set for horror film completists.

SYNOPSES:

"Night Of The Death Cult" - This fourth installment of the "Blind Dead" series has the Knights Templar haunting a fishing village.

"Satanic Rites Of Dracula" - The last entry in the Lee/Cushing Dracula series has modern-day Scotland Yard investigating a case of vampirism.

"Sisters Of Death" - A rather depressing class reunion of sorts is central to this film.

"The Werewolf And The Vampire Woman" - Lesbian vampires- what more could a boy ask for?

A similar BRENTWOOD DVD set is their CIRCUS OF DEATH 4 MOVIE PACK.

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Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(5.5) Night Of the Death Cult (Spain-1975) - Victor Petit/Maria Kosta

(5.2) Satanic Rites Of Dracula (UK-1974) - Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing/Joanna Lumley

(4.1) Sisters of Death (1977) - Arthur Franz/Claudia Jennings/Cheri Howell

(4.8) The Werewolf vs. the Vampire Women (Spain/W Ger-1971) - Paul Naschy/Gaby Fuchs

This was my very 1st time watching this Sho Kosugi classic - I've seen the huge VHS box back in the day at the video rental stores but never got around to renting it. Anyway, the movie was a little low compared to Sho Kosugi's standard of "Revenge of the Ninja". It actually cut to a lower resolution during the "deleted" scene where his wife was murdered in the hospital, and that seemed really weird.

Overall, it's a must if you're a Sho Kosugi fan. The actual fighting is pretty pathetic compared to today's standards, though. Oh well... It was the 80's, right?