Kung Fu and zombies: two of my favourite things in one film. Surely worth a watch.
Well, only if you're a horror/comedy/kung fu completist.
Just one of countless supernatural martial arts movies to follow in the wake of Sammo Hung's Encounters of the Spooky Kind, Kung Fu Zombie delivers the usual slapstick comedy, spooky silliness and frantic chop socky one expects from the genre, but does little to distinguish itself from the competition.
The film opens as a criminal and his henchmen lay a trap for martial artist Pang (Billy Chong), who foiled the gang's attempt to rob a bank, sending them to prison for five years. With the help of a priest's powerful magic, the bandits plan to kill Pang by luring him into a trap lined with knives. Instead, the leader finds himself falling into the pit, where he is impaled on the blades. A supernatural lightning bolt strikes the dead criminal's body, freeing his spirit to seek out a new body with help from the priest. Meanwhile, a killer from an outlaw clan also seeks to do Pang and his family harm.
After an hour of unexceptional ghoulish comedy and a few reasonable fights, the film does admittedly end on a high with an entertaining showdown between Pang and the killer, now a vampire. With super-fast moves and flaming fists and feet, the bloodsucker makes for a very cool adversary. It's just a shame that the rest of the film wasn't as much fun.
Well, only if you're a horror/comedy/kung fu completist.
Just one of countless supernatural martial arts movies to follow in the wake of Sammo Hung's Encounters of the Spooky Kind, Kung Fu Zombie delivers the usual slapstick comedy, spooky silliness and frantic chop socky one expects from the genre, but does little to distinguish itself from the competition.
The film opens as a criminal and his henchmen lay a trap for martial artist Pang (Billy Chong), who foiled the gang's attempt to rob a bank, sending them to prison for five years. With the help of a priest's powerful magic, the bandits plan to kill Pang by luring him into a trap lined with knives. Instead, the leader finds himself falling into the pit, where he is impaled on the blades. A supernatural lightning bolt strikes the dead criminal's body, freeing his spirit to seek out a new body with help from the priest. Meanwhile, a killer from an outlaw clan also seeks to do Pang and his family harm.
After an hour of unexceptional ghoulish comedy and a few reasonable fights, the film does admittedly end on a high with an entertaining showdown between Pang and the killer, now a vampire. With super-fast moves and flaming fists and feet, the bloodsucker makes for a very cool adversary. It's just a shame that the rest of the film wasn't as much fun.