The last several decades have witnessed a slew of entertaining, genre-bending martial arts movies. While there may be hundreds of old-school kung fu flicks about revenge out there, there are films that have taken some surprising risks with the usual formulas. Over the years, there has been a slew of genre-binding martial arts films – some bad, some good.

Filmmakers have experimented with all sorts of different twists on the concepts. For instance, there are movies like Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Timecop, that combine science fiction with martial arts. Similar things have been done with the fantasy, mystery, and even the Western genre.

Even horror, which can feel far-removed from the world of martial arts, has been an occasional influence on the genre. Unsurprisingly, this has yielded some laughably bad kung fu films, but quite a few have been worthwhile, fun films.

The Spiritual Boxer Part II

One of the pioneers of this martial arts subgenre was The Spiritual Boxer Part II, which used the interpretation of ghosts and zombies in Chinese folklore as the basis of its martial arts story. The film was a sequel to The Spiritual Boxer, a movie that told the story of a man who could supposedly draw upon the power of gods to enhance his martial arts abilities.

The second film saw its hero (played by Wong Yue) deal with a plot that involved “ghosts,” which were essentially zombies who had literally hopped out of their graves.

While it may sound like an unorthodox martial arts movie, it certainly wasn’t lacking in terms of the quality of the action; after all, it was directed by Lau Kar-leung – one of the greatest martial arts directors of all time, not to mention the fact that it came from Shaw Brothers, Hong Kong’s biggest and most well-respected kung fu movie studio.

Encounters Of The Spooky Kind

The popularity of The Spiritual Boxer Part II inspired further efforts to incorporate this aspect of Chinese folklore – specifically, the hopping “ghosts” – into kung fu period pieces. One of the most successful attempts to capitalize on that was Encounters of the Spooky Kind.

Sammo Hung, made famous partially by his many partnerships with Jackie Chan and comedic style, starred in Encounters of the Spooky Kind as a fighter who has to take on an army of zombies. As its тιтle implies, the 1980 movie is full of comedy and horror, and with Sammo Hung in the lead role, it’s no surprise that its martial arts choreography is top-notch.

Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain

Two years later, Sammo Hung continued his focus on supernatural martial arts movies with Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain. Featuring one of the martial arts genre’s greatest pairings in Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, the 1983 film focused on a conflict between two heroes and a vampire menace.

Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain is a fun, fantasy epic full of Chinese lore and great worldbuilding, and its made even more entertaining by the duo of Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao.

The Legend of The 7 Golden Vampires

A highly unconventional studio collaboration was born when Shaw Brothers teamed up with Hammer Film Productions, the studio best known for its 1970s horror movies, including Christopher Lee’s Dracula films. The product of their joint venture was 1979’s The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires.

As a true Hammer-Shaw Brothers crossover, the boasted stars ᴀssociated with each studio. Representing Shaw Brothers was David Chiang, an actor who appeared in a mulтιтude of 1970s kung fu movies. Leading Hammer’s side of the cast was their go-to Van Helsing actor, Peter Cushing, once again reprising his vampire-hunter role.

Watching Peter Cushing’s hero join forces with a Chinese martial artist to battle Count Dracula (played John Forbes-Robinson) is certainly a bizarre experience, and perhaps one that has to be seen to be believed.

Brotherhood Of The Wolf

Brotherhood of the Wolf stands almost on its own in terms of the genres it mixes together. The 2001 film, is a horror action movie about two men who investigate werewolves in 18th-century France. Much of the action stems from the many martial arts sequences it offers the main character’s sidekick, who is played by Mark Dacascos, a martial arts star later recognized for his role in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

A horror period piece with martial arts and werewolves is obviously a unique combination, and that on its own makes Brotherhood of the Wolf an intriguing watch.

The Bride With White Hair

Not unlike A Chinese Love Story, 1993’s The Bride With Hair brilliantly blends martial arts with horror and romance, telling a story about a man who falls in love with a mysterious woman who turns out to be a member of the supernatural organization of killers known as the Demon Cult.

The wuxia adventure movie, which leans heavily on spectacular martial arts sequences and a deep love story, is regarded as one of the best martial arts fantasy movies of the 1980s.

Mr. Vampire

Set in early 20th-century China, Mr. Vampire is a 1985 martial arts comedy that starred Lam Ching-ying as Master Kau, an exorcist who accidentally unleashes a vampire. Mixing horror into the setting of an old-school kung fu movie worked great for Mr. Vampire, especially since it featured Sammo Hung’s popular brand of comedy.

Sammo Hung doesn’t do any acting in the film, but he does produce the movie, and his signature style is all over it. It helped Mr. Vampire become a huge hit in Hong Kong, justifying three sequels in the process, which Hung also produced.

Exorcist Master

A spinoff of Mr. Vampire, Exorcist Master once again spins a vampire-filled tale around the exploits of a priest played by Lam Ching-ying. This time, Lam Ching-ying’s character has to go up against a newly awakened vampire on a mission to create an entire community of vampires.

The story is rather cliché for this subgenre, but its humor and martial arts-themed action help the 1993 wuxia classic entertain from start to finish.

A Chinese Ghost Story

Despite their inclusion of vampires and zombies, most supernatural martial arts films are light on actual scares. That’s not the case when it comes to A Chinese Ghost Story, a 1987 kung fu horror film about a traveling scholar who has a run-in with ghosts at a haunted temple.

It offers some quality martial arts sequences, but the real highlight here is the genuinely creepy scenes that follow the main character’s arrival at the temple, including his first encounter with the ghostly woman at the heart of the film’s “love story.”

Kung Fu Cult Master

Jet Li got his turn at the subgenre when he starred in Kung Fu Cult Master. Kung Fu Cult Master is a 1993 wuxia movie where Jet Li plays a kung fu expert thrust into a conflict between a cult and several different martial arts clans. In a unique twist, Li’s character winds up on the side of the cult.

Thanks to this, Kung Fu Cult Master is a refreshing take on the good vs. evil story in martial arts movies, and it gets a special boost from how the supernatural powers are implemented into the film’s action sequences.