Donna Kei Benz, James Booth, Kane Kosugi

A man finds himself and his family caught between an organized crime ring and corrupt city officials, and receives help from an unexpected source.

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59% liked it

389 ratings

R

Directed by: Gordon Hessler

Release Date: November 1, 1985

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Flixster Reviews (46)


  • October 22, 2009
    An OK movie but if you like this 1 go see Ghost Warrior cauz its way better
  • September 23, 2009
    This film is full of the wonderful martial arts that once were so famous. It takes a bit of patience, but I think you can enjoy it.
  • July 5, 2009
    This was one of my favorite films when I was a kid; I hadn't seen this in, like, forever, but fortunately, it's on a lot of websites like IMDB for free, so I decided to revisit an old classic. Wow. I used to think this was one of the darkest, most gloriously violent movies ever, ...( read more)but watching it recently I realized this is all kinds of silly. Definitely an 80s action film, but in a good way that makes you yearn for the good ol' days of steroids, big guns, and throwing stars before guys like Matt Damon and Keanu Reeves could be action stars.

    Despite its cheesiness, 'Pray for Death' is still incredibly tight, and I always enjoy watching Sho Kosugi do what he does best... Ninjitsu style. In this one he plays a dude named Akira, who's some kind of Japanese businessman but also- you guessed it- a closet ninja, Anyway, Sho's wife thinks it's a good idea to move the family to America. And they do, only they move to a really ratty part of town and get mixed up in some trouble involving crooked cops, organized crime, and a necklace. James Booth, who you boys and girls will remember from Michael Dudikoff's 'Avenging Force' (anyone? Anyone?), places the main baddie, Limehouse Willie. Incurring Willie's wrath is hard on Sho, as his wife gets killed and son run down by a car. This gets Kosugi a hundred kinds of pissed off, and he sets about making the baddies "pray for death." And do they ever.

    Like I said, this was so silly at times. I think the filmmakers were trying to see what would happen if they put the ninja figure into a straightforward Charles Bronson/Death Wish forumula; the results are entertaining, if a little mixed.I learned two things: (1) Sho Kosugi can jump over speeding cars a la Dolph in Showdown in Little Tokyo, as well as effortlessly slaughter dozens of mob henchmen at a time, and yet (2) James Booth is tough enough to be the only guy to be in prolonged fights with a ninja who kills most opponents in one sword stroke and jumps over speeding vehicles. I gotta admit that kinda bothered me; here is 60+ year old James Booth handing a ninja his ass on a plate, and they dragged the fight on for 15 minutes! Sho's son Kane (from Japanese Power Rangers fame) gets in some good shots too. The old FBI agent guy from Bloodsport is here as well, as a police chief who does a pretty shitty job of protecting Kosugi's family, considering they get slaughtered on his watch,

    Who doesn't love Sho Kosugi? Back before Dudikoff made it cool for us gaijin to dream of being ninjas, Kosugi was it; and he doesn't disappoint here. He's doing it all: jumping over speeding cars, doing ninja magic, and sporting a tight haircut. I think it's about time for a Kosugi marathon around here.

    In summary, if you yearn for the good old days of 80s action, mixed in with a million kinds of ninja silliness, watch 'Pray for Death.' The only downside I can think of is the 80s synthesizer power ballad that serves as the theme song, kind of inappropriate for something that needed more of the Stan Bush tough guy belting out songs about never surrendering and killing people if they blink. Enjoy.
  • June 21, 2009
    My Momma and Aunt were extras in this movie. They were in the street scene.My Mom actually broke her hip while filming this movie. She stepped back and tripped over a sandbag on the set.
    it is a violent, but good kung fu movie..
  • June 20, 2009
    was an excellent movie, sho kosugi is a very good martial artist, just did more japanese movies than for the american audience, our loss.
  • May 29, 2009
    It's a poorly made movie but it hold nostalgia for me
  • January 18, 2008
    The buzzsaw was great.
  • December 29, 2007
    I simply loved this flick...in the 80's it was all about the Ninja.

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Pray for Death Trivia


  • "All you can do is pray for a quick death, which you ain't gonna get." This line comes from which Tarantino movie?   Answer »
  • From which movie is the quote "All you can pray for is a quick death, which you ain't gonna get"?  Answer »
  • "I don't really give a good fuck what you know or don't know, but I'm gonna torture you anyway, regardless. Not to get information. It's so amusing to me to torture a cop. All you can do is pray for a quick death, which you ain't gonna get." is from?  Answer »

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