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warriorlike arts moviescan often get quite strange , taking hazard with utterly idiotic stories that are n’t to be found in any other literary genre . Things can often get lost in translation between East and West as warlike arts picture make their means overseas , but there are some layer of strangeness that just ca n’t be explained via traditional culture cushion . Fromthe great Wuxia epicsto the most exciting topnotch pig account go under in the modern day , warriorlike artwork movies across history have toe the line between curious and downright unearthly .
Some martial artsmovieswill dreaming up some creative fancy elements for their plots , which can often clash with the typically lower budget of the average kung fu snap . The issue can often be quite bizarre , withhigh - concept phantasy elements meeting realistic means of portraying them . Other times , it ’s the little private choices in a given martial graphics film that add up to an avalanche of weirdness , from bad English dubs to strange eccentric decision and more .
10Gymkata (1985)
An Absurd Mashup Of Martial Arts And Gymnastics
Sometimes , martial art movies end up as a foreign form of wish fulfillment for the mass who make them . Gymkatais the inspiration of flick manufacturer Fred Weintraub , who felt an inexplicable urge to couch Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas in a soldierly humanistic discipline movie after image him in a television set commercial .
Thus , Gymkatawas born , casting Thomas as the lead of a terrible loose adaptation of the novelThe Terrible Game , in whichthe fate of a nuclear exchange between the United States and Russia is shape by a individual soldierly arts tourney . Somehow , the U.S. governing decides that a gymnast is their best bet to preventnuclear armageddon , and Kurt Thomas ' persona enters the fray with a bizarre mixture of kung fu and gymnastic exercise routines .
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Gymkata follows a athletic martial artist task by U.S. agents to secure a strategical missile - al-Qaida location in the remote and uncongenial area of Parmistan . Released in 1985 , the picture show commingle soldierly arts and gymnastics in its unique action chronological succession .
The action ofGymkatais utterly nonsensical , with exchanges of blows that try ( and fail ) to make gymnastic exercise look cool as a soldierlike graphics in its own right . The most bonkers setpiece is the moment in which Thomas has to fight his manner out of a Greenwich Village full of criminally mad residents , one of whom chops his own script off just scare the hero .
9The Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires (1974)
An Unruly Blend Of Martial Arts And Horror
The soldierlike arts genre is n’t above dip its toes into other genre , such as horror , and two mix together like oil and water inThe Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires . A coaction between the fabled Shaw Brothers andthe esteemed Hammer Film Productions , known far and broad for their horror hits likeDracula . The plot sees noted vampire hunterVan Helsing do struggle with a cult of Chinese vampiresalong with the help of a family of kung fu practician .
Set in rural China , The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires follows Professor Van Helsing as he confront Count Dracula ’s undead force . Joining him is a labor union of seven martial arts warriors , as they team up to combat the terror faced by local barbarian .
As interesting a concept asThe Legend of the 7 Golden Vampiresmakes for , in execution , it ’s a laughably weird celluloid . Van Helsing , toy by the grand Peter Cushing , a Hammer Film Productions unconstipated , mostly sort of stands around bet bewildered as the high up - vaporize kung fu action simply blossom around him . The picture show is simply an unmatched experience from its very conception , doing nothing to swimmingly blend its two very different influences together .
8The Battle Wizard (1977)
Mixes Magic And Muscles For Bizarre Results
Of of course , The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampiresis far from the only strange photographic film thatthe far-famed Shaw Brothers Studioever boil out over its lengthy sovereignty of ascendency in Hong Kong martial nontextual matter cinema . 1977’sThe Battle Wizardis far from a democratic plastic film in their catalog , but it ’s neverthelessa freaky feature that needs to be visualize to be believed .
Best of all , the main villain is an aged wizard with alloy rooster legs for invertebrate foot that can shoot fire out of his sassing .
The story centre on a young scholar and his swordswoman sister who embark on a protracted journeying to battle three villains , each more supernatural and strange than the last . Even callingThe Battle Wizarda martial humanistic discipline film at all is almost a hard pill to swallow .
The Battle Wizard , released in 1977 , watch over a leger - get laid brother and a sword - loving sis as they face up a yellow - robed warrior , the Red Python , a snake smoothie , and a silk - mask woman curse to down or we d the first Isle of Man to see her look , to restore peace to their kinfolk .
The booster ’s primary proficiency that he discover is a soldierlike artistic creation move that allows him to displace a deadly optical maser from his finger , chopping up opponents . Some of his opposition include a lecherous monster with fly pincer come-on arms and a mask woman who vows to either murder or marry the first man to see her face . honest of all , the principal scoundrel is an aged whizz with metallic element rooster leg for animal foot that can shoot fire out of his oral fissure .
7The Thundering Mantis (1980)
Mostly Forgettable With A Jaw-Dropping Final Ten Minutes
On the surface , The Thundering Mantisis as forgettable of aDrunken Masterrip - off as they come . The stock - measure story centers on a young boy who learns an exotic new fighting manner , the titulary Thundering Mantis technique , to take on some criminal bully terrorize his neck of the woods .
In preparation for film that necessitate effortless and centre - catching scrap stage dancing , a handful of actors trained in various martial nontextual matter styles .
In truth , this plot is a paper - thin convenience signify to thread along a serial of mild to decent action at law aspect , butit ’s the concluding fight that truly enshrinesThe boom Mantisin the eldritch kung fu movie hall of fame . After the protagonist is beguile , his child sidekick is cruelly tortured to death by the gang , resulting in a full - on genial equipment failure that get him to to the full shed his saneness .
The Thundering Mantis sport Ka - Yan Leung as Ah Chi , an ardent martial artist whose antics lead to trouble with the Jade Brotherhood . Expelled by his master , Chi encounters a fresh mentor skilled in the Mantis style , as he combat the Brotherhood ’s attempt to dominate their Ithiel Town .
With the newfound strength of his tattered mind , the hero depart on a murderous rampage that mixes the Thundering Mantis style with his new savage rage . squeal with delight at the bother he ’s suffered and frothing at the oral cavity , he goes on to literally down his final opponent in a paroxysm of cannibalistic fierceness , an improbably out - of - left - field end to a comparatively round-eyed tale .
6Robo Vampire (1988)
A Creative Copy Cat That Can’t Decide On A Genre
Unlike in the West , Formosan warriorlike arts picture show , specially sometime 1 , take international copyright practice of law as more of a polite suggestion . As a solvent , some martial arts movies likeRobo Vampirehave blatantly copy pop blockbusters , adding in their own spices along the way for contribute outlandishness . Robo Vampireis , for the most part , an obvious written matter oftheRobocopmovies , featuring a poor boy that basically undergoes the exact same origin story as Alex Murphy in Paul Verhoeven ’s classic sci - fi natural process thriller .
Robo Vampire is a 1988 action mechanism moving picture center on narcotic agent Tom Wilde , who is resurrected as an android after being shoot down . He embarks on a precarious mission in the Golden Triangle to rescue undercover agent Sophie from the clutches of drug lord Mr. Young and his creation , the Vampire Beast .
Where things go unfeignedly off the track is with the introduction of Chinese hopping lamia as not - Robocop ’s primary villain . bright , Robo Vampiredoesn’t have anywhere near the budget necessary to impersonate such in high spirits - construct phantasy characters , with the supporter ’s main suit being literally made out of tinfoil . From hilariously bad redaction to jerry-built makeupto gallons of faux blood , Robo Vampireis an ambitious feverishness aspiration of a martial arts flick that make no pretenses of being grounded in realism .
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5Shaolin Youth Posse (1972)
Puts Some Kids Through The Ringer In A Brutal Martial Arts Extravaganza
The gaud ofShaolin Youth Posseis quite a clever premise on paper , being a martial arts movie dwell whole of nipper actors as its protagonists . The flick centers on an evil princess who mail an ground forces of evil thugs to break into a Shaolin Temple , hop to assassinate a young prince taking refuge there .
With all of the synagogue ’s adults away on some sort of of import mission , it ’s up to the kids left behind to resist off wave after waving of attack fighters . One would believe that a cast of nipper part would makeShaolin Youth Possea relatively family - well-disposed , lighthearted version of a kung fu movie , but this could n’t be further from the verity .
The Little Hero of Shaolin Temple , give up in 1972 , depict a grouping of youthful martial creative person training in the Shaolin Temple to control the artistry of snake , Hart Crane , Panthera tigris , and Panthera pardus . Their acquirement are challenged when the temple faces an unexpected intrusion , presenting a rare glimpse into classical soldierlike prowess cinema .
Gymkata follows a gymnastic martial artist tasked by U.S. agents to secure a strategic missile-base location in the remote and hostile country of Parmistan. Released in 1985, the film combines martial arts and gymnastics in its unique action sequences.
The film is n’t afraid to show kids getting violently gore by their grownup foesin broad daylight , making for a laughably sullen experience . Even stranger are the retinue of villains the malevolent princess sends off , including ninjas , fussy - dressing bandits , vampires , ghosts , and most disturbingly , a ferine jungle - dwelling adult female that attempts to seduce one of the young Thelonious Sphere Monk .
4Ninja III: The Domination (1984)
The Most Aggressively 80s Martial Arts Flick Ever Conceptualized
Some martial graphics films are so outlandish that even key out them proves to be an almost Herculean task . ThoughNinja III : The Dominationis technically the third entry in theNinjaanthology trilogy , no amount of context could ever justify the dizzyingly unusual tale . The movie keep an eye on Lucinda Dickey ’s Christie , an aerobics expert who is possessed by the ghost of a break down ninjawhen he hands her his sword . As a result , handle Chris ' nubile body , the ninja goes on to get revenge on his killer … a group of normal constabulary officers .
Ninja III : The Domination follows a distaff aerobics teacher who becomes possessed by the spirit of a vengeful ninja . utilize her body to exact retaliation on those responsible for his demise , the spirit ’s liberation look on the intercession of another ninja . Released in 1984 , this film blends martial arts with supernatural constituent .
Despite being killed by received cops , the film later claim that only a ninja can beat another ninja , calling for a high - flying dispossession consummate with a deathly laser light show . Along the manner , the possessed Christie goes on a slaughtering fling that weaponizes both the ninjitsu of her overlook spirit and the dancercise skills latent in her body . The film also receive time to rip offThe Exorcistfilms , utter with rotating read/write head and the spewing of magical disgorgement .
3Matching Escort (1983)
A Goofy, Campy Good Time With An Endearingly Weird Set Up
A great way to make any martial arts film put up out is to give its hero some sort of unique skill , condition , or disadvantage , a laDrunken Master . Matching Escortpresents a alone solution to this , accompany the exploits ofa soldierlike artist woman who has absurdly powerful legsafter spending her entire life wearing heavily weighted iron shoes .
The film ’s artistry direction is like a Halloween parade of spooky cobweb and charming frame , but it ’s the odd fight scenes that further accentuate the weirdness ofMatching Escort .
When her massive family of 73 mass is killed in a mass drubbing , the girl trains with a cave - dwelling hermit literally named " Uncle Strange " so as to maximize her natural skill and take her retaliation . Pearl Cheung ’s imagination as both the writer , managing director , and star ofMatching Escortis secondly - to - none .
Set in rural China, The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires follows Professor Van Helsing as he confronts Count Dracula’s undead forces. Joining him is a brotherhood of seven martial arts warriors, as they team up to combat the terror faced by local peasants.
Matching Escort , released in 1982 , follows a immature woman whose parents are slay , leading her to be trained in kung - fu by the Silver Fox . She try revenge against the warlord responsible for for their Death , while also protect a prince forbidden from marrying her due to their differing social status .
During her character ’s training arc , she exercise profane techniques such as contemplate in a pool of toxic gunk to become resistant to poison or eating an early version ofBlack Panther ’s kernel - shaped herb to further increase her instinctive abilities . The motion picture ’s prowess direction is like a Halloween paradeof flighty cobwebs and charming skeletons , but it ’s the odd fight scenes that further accentuate the weirdness ofMatching Escort . villain include ninjas , cyborgs , and bad .
2The True Game Of Death (1979)
A Disheartening Exploitation Of A Beloved Martial Arts Icon
It ’s rarefied for martial prowess movies to get peculiarly meta , butThe True Game of Deathisa distillate of the fabled Bruce Leein the same wayScary Moviehomages the best horror moving-picture show . Imitating the similarly - namedBruce Lee classic , Game of Death , The True Game of Deathstarts off making no reservation about how low it ’s willing to condescend to tap Lee ’s existent life , beginning with footage of his literal funeral .
From there , an unobserved teller explains how a lookalike actor will be carry out Lee ’s bequest . The True Game of Deathfeatures one of the most tasteless Brucesploitation moments ever during a sex scene in which a toxicant implant on the new Bruce takes effect mid - lovemaking , resulting in an dismaying beat that parodies Lee ’s real decease .
The True Game of Death , released in 1978 , is a martial prowess film that keep abreast Hsao Lung , a Bruce Lee lookalike actor , who fakes his death to protect his girl from gangster . Disguised as a chef , he engage in a series of encounter , culminating in a encounter at a shipyard .
The Battle Wizard, released in 1977, follows a book-loving brother and a sword-loving sister as they confront a yellow-robed warrior, the Red Python, a snake charmer, and a silk-masked woman cursed to kill or wed the first man to see her face, to restore peace to their family.
For what it ’s worth , the film actually does feature some decent action once the Bruce Lee tolerate - in put option on the iconic yellow jumpsuit , fight a comme il faut miscellany of opposer like sumo matman , a boxer , and an intact biker gang . The True Game of Deathisa spectacularly strange method of cash in on Bruce Lee ’s posthumous fame .
1Lady Iron Monkey (1979)
A Kung Fu-Powered Genderswap Of Tarzan
Lady Iron Monkeyproved that kung fu filmmakers of the former seventy had dateless leap of creativity , if nothing else . Directed by former Jackie Chan collaborator Chen Chi Hwa , Lady Iron Monkeytells the story of Ming Ling Shur , a savage child raised by apeswho somehow grew up to resemble a half - human half - monkey loan-blend herself .
The martial arts genre has a lot to provide , including its reasonable plowshare of trippy kung fu movies with awing visuals and great activity .
Unsurprisingly , her unique puerility give her a innate gift for rascal - trend kung fu , which is taken vantage of by an evil prince when the simian maiden falls in love with him . Lady Iron Monkeyhas a unequalled horse sense of absurdist body fluid that ’s severe to find in other soldierly liberal arts movies .
The Thundering Mantis features Ka-Yan Leung as Ah Chi, an ardent martial artist whose antics lead to trouble with the Jade Brotherhood. Expelled by his master, Chi encounters a new mentor skilled in the Mantis style, as he combats the Brotherhood’s attempt to dominate their town.
In Lady Iron Monkey , Ming Ling Shur , a girl raise by imitator , is discovered by a kung fu passkey who pick out her inborn talent for monkey - style kung fu . As she matures , her adventurous spirit leads her to become a guard for a prince , with whom she fall in love . unbeknown to her , the prince secretly exploit her warriorlike liberal arts skills for his personal gain .
Ming Ling Shur leans to expend her tail like a propellor to fly through the atmosphere , her male aim of affection constantly miss his shirt as a running gag , and at one gunpoint , the action at law is intercut with gunstock footage of Pan troglodytes throw around . Othermartial arts moviesmay be uncanny , but they are n’t " genderswappedTarzanugly duckling forbidden romance interlard with kung fu action " weird .
Robo Vampire is a 1988 action film centered on narcotics agent Tom Wilde, who is resurrected as an android after being killed. He embarks on a perilous mission in the Golden Triangle to rescue undercover agent Sophie from the clutches of drug lord Mr. Young and his creation, the Vampire Beast.
The Little Hero of Shaolin Temple, released in 1972, depicts a group of young martial artists training in the Shaolin Temple to master the arts of snake, crane, tiger, and leopard. Their skills are challenged when the temple faces an unexpected invasion, presenting a rare glimpse into classic martial arts cinema.
Ninja III: The Domination follows a female aerobics instructor who becomes possessed by the spirit of a vengeful ninja. Utilizing her body to exact revenge on those responsible for his demise, the spirit’s release depends on the intervention of another ninja. Released in 1984, this film blends martial arts with supernatural elements.
Matching Escort, released in 1982, follows a young woman whose parents are murdered, leading her to be trained in kung-fu by the Silver Fox. She seeks revenge against the warlord responsible for their deaths, while also protecting a prince forbidden from marrying her due to their differing social status.
The True Game of Death, released in 1978, is a martial arts film that follows Hsao Lung, a Bruce Lee lookalike actor, who fakes his death to protect his girlfriend from gangsters. Disguised as a chef, he engages in a series of confrontations, culminating in a showdown at a shipyard.
In Lady Iron Monkey, Ming Ling Shur, a girl raised by apes, is discovered by a kung fu master who recognizes her innate talent for monkey-style kung fu. As she matures, her adventurous spirit leads her to become a guard for a prince, with whom she falls in love. Unbeknownst to her, the prince secretly exploits her martial arts skills for his personal gain.
