Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.

Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. is a 1991 American superhero comedy film from Troma Entertainment, directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz. The story centers on Sergeant Detective Harry Griswold, a bumbling New York cop who stumbles into a murder spree targeting kabuki actors and their families. While watching an amateur kabuki play, he sees the entire cast gunned down by thugs. In the ensuing struggle, a dying actor forcibly kisses Griswold, passing on the spirit of Kabukiman. This grants Griswold the ability to transform into a flamboyant, slapstick superhero with powers like flight, heat-seeking chopsticks, soba noodle restraints, and a flame-throwing fan. The killings are driven by a prophecy about a destructive entity called the Evil One, who returns every thousand years to conquer Earth. Its nemesis is Kabukiman, whose spirit is passed down until it finds a host at the right cosmic moment. The Evil One’s latest incarnation is billionaire Reginald Stuart, who orchestrates the murders to stop Kabukiman’s return. Stuart uses his influence to shut down the police investigation, and Griswold’s superior, Captain Bender, takes him off the case. Confused, Griswold meets Lotus, the granddaughter of the actor who passed him the spirit; she resents him because she expected to inherit it herself. After transforming to save his colleague Connie LaRosa from Stuart’s thugs, Griswold faces further trouble when Stuart has LaRosa killed in the hospital. When Bender refuses to let him investigate, Griswold confronts a corrupt reverend named Snipes, who alerts Stuart’s goons. Griswold tries to transform but turns into a clown instead, forcing a retreat. A chaotic street chase leads to public humiliation, and Griswold is forced to resign. He seeks out Lotus, who helps him control his powers, and he begins cleaning up New York’s streets, gaining fame as a superhero. He arrests Snipes and secures a taped confession, and he and Lotus fall in love. As the conjunction night approaches, Stuart kidnaps Lotus for a sacrifice. Stuart’s thug Rembrandt attacks Griswold at home, stripping him of his powers, but is shot dead. With help from Lotus’s pet monkey Toyota and an apologetic Bender, Griswold attacks the summoning site and frees Lotus, but the conjunction occurs anyway, and Stuart transforms into the Evil One.