10 Martial Arts Movies That Are Amazing Despite Being Completely Ridiculous

As a genre, martial arts movies have never been afraid to get ridiculous, resulting in some unforgettable films that thrive on the extremes of weirdness. Oftentimes, things can get lost in translation in the telephone game between cultures that is the Western reception to martial arts films made in Asia. Wuxia stories in particular aren’t afraid to go all-out on the downright supernatural elements, adding in some layers of absurdity in between the action. Combine that with some low-budgets, remarkably different approaches to acting compared to the West, and the resulting avalanche of downright bizarre martial arts movies becomes seemingly insurmountable.

That’s not to say that filmmakers in the East are incapable of recognizing the utter strangeness of some of the martial arts genre’s lesser-known films. More often than not, writers and directors are very much in on the joke of their incredibly weird films, celebrating the ridiculousness of their plots. Whether these movies are great in spite of their weirdness or because of it, basking in the glow of ironic enjoyment, it’s safe to say that they’ve left an unforgettable impression of the few cult fans who’ve managed to weather their runtime.

10 The Crippled Masters

1979

Long before the body positivity movement had gained any traction in Hollywood, Hong Kong unleashed Crippled Masters on audiences in 1979, directed by Chi Lo. Featuring a pair of martial arts masters betrayed and disfigured by their master, the buddy-action revenge flick features some incredibly unique action sequences. Despite one protagonist having no arms, and the other having no legs, the titular masters manage to carve a bloody path through China in search of their traitorous master. Amazingly, both men are played by real-life martial arts masters with corresponding disabilities, whose clear skill shines through the paper-thin plot.

9 The Battle Wizard

1977

Laying dormant deep beneath the iceberg of obscure Kung-Fu movies, The Battle Wizard welcomes its scant few viewers with jaw-dropping insanity. Far removed from the reality of true martial arts, The Battle Wizard‘s protagonist embarks on a journey to learn a deadly Kung-Fu art allowing him to fire lasers from his fingertips. Along the way, he battles a mysterious masked woman, a giant snake, a lecherous turtle-like monster with flying chain pincer arms, and a fire-breathing sorcerer with giant mechanical chicken legs (!). Every bit as gloriously weird as its description, The Battle Wizard might be the single strangest film to come out of the illustrious Shaw Brothers Studio.

8 Shaolin Youth Posse

1972

Taking place in the familiar territory of a desolate Shaolin Temple, Shaolin Youth Posse shakes up a relatively typical Kung-Fu formula by eschewing the use of adult actors, with the eponymous gang of pint-sized monks being tasked to defend their home from waves of enemies. Far from the cutesy, child-friendly flick its premise might bring to mind, Shaolin Youth Posse is shockingly brutal towards its juvenile heroes, not afraid to depict children dying vicious deaths with all the low-budget gore it can muster. For maximum weirdness, be sure to watch the dubbed version, with grown adults lending their best ear-grating imitation kid voices to the ADR.

7 Gym Kata

1985

Combining martial arts with Olympic gymnastics, Gym Kata‘s clumsy title betrays the delicious depths of strangeness the film takes its viewers to. Starring real life Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas, the film is, shockingly, an adaptation of a novel, bent on demonstrating the superiority of a calisthenics-based style in the face of genuine Kung-Fu. Beyond the creation of its eponymous “martial art”, Gym Kata also introduces viewers to the fictional country of Parmistan, a mountainous land of beautiful princesses, fierce warriors, and, of course, obstacle courses for Thomas to conquer.

6 Interzone

1987

Though more notably inspired by George Miller’s The Road Warrior, Interzone is a post-apocalyptic take on Kung-Fu action that follows the efforts of a spiritually-enhanced monk to protect the last fertile land in the country, the eponymous Interzone, from a roving gang of raiders. The order of monks, who have venerated names like “Panasonic” and “General Electric”, fight to preserve a vault of carefully-curated junk from the previous civilization from the likes of villainess and bodybuilder, Mantis, clad in a puberty-awakening dress. There’s so much to appreciate about this straight-to-video Italian Mad Max rip-off, not the least of which being its surprisingly well-choreographed fight scenes.

5 Shaolin Soccer

2001

An example of a comedic martial arts film very much in on its own joke, Shaolin Soccer crosses over genres, at once a Kung-Fu story and a classic sports drama. Directed by Stephen Chow of Kung-Fu Hustle fame, Shaolin Soccer plays with the idea of a soccer team comprised entirely of Shaolin Kung-Fu masters, used to promote the art to the masses. Featuring some jaw-dropping stuntwork, supernatural uses of Tai Chi, and an antagonistic rival team fueled by American drugs literally called “Team Evil”, Shaolin Soccer is an action comedy that is rightfully venerated as one of the best comedic martial arts films ever made.

4 Ninja III: The Domination

1984

The mere logline for Ninja III: The Domination is enough to sell any connoisseur of the bizarre on watching it. The film revolves around an aerobics enthusiast who is possessed by an evil Ninja by way of his haunted sword, turning her into a killing machine that harnesses the awesome power of both Ninjutsu and Dancercise. The film has too many absurd scenes to count, but the pièce de résistance is the final exorcism scene, followed by a laser-fueled Ninja duel for the fate of the hapless dancer. Ninja III: The Domination proves that the U.S. is just as capable of creating some truly strange martial arts movies.

3 Swordsman II

1992

The second installment of the Swordsman trilogy, the film has little to do with its predecessor, shifting the focus of the Wuxia period series to the villainous Dongfang Bubai, who crosses paths with the previous film’s protagonist by mere happenstance. Dongfang’s fluid gender identity, over-the-top performance, and breathtaking fight choreography were enough to supplant the series entirely, taking over the role of the protgaonist for the third film. This bizarre tale of cults, samurai, and powerful martial arts manuals is a crucial entry in the often-overlooked Swordsman trilogy.

2 Robo Vampire

1988

Not content to simply combine two genres, Robo Vampire is a martial arts science fiction horror-comedy action monstrosity that runs with five different conflicting ideas and tones, summed up at once by its two-word title. Starting out as a carbon copy of Robocop, complete with Peter Weller’s original suit being directly lifted onto the poster, Robo Vampire shakes up the familiar story with an injection of Chinese hopping Vampires, and of course, martial arts. Needing to be seen to be believed, the literal tinfoil robot costume, unabashed continuity errors, and gallons of fake blood culminate in a beautiful disaster that feels almost orchestrated.

1 The Story Of Ricky

1991

This film’s unassuming title betrays a viscerally gory exploitation film with some of the most unbelievable moments in all of the martial arts genre. True to its word, the film tells the story of Ricky, an inhumanly strong fighter imprisoned for taking revenge on the criminal that killed his girlfriend. The audience is taken on a reluctant journey over Ricky’s shoulder as he ruthlessly slaughters the vile inmates of his futuristic prison in the far-off year of 2001. It’s impossible to look away completely as Ricky dismembers his foes with some of the most brutal kills in any martial arts film, performing all manner of unbelievable feats of strength along the way.