Yin ji

I first heard of this one while watching the fight scene highlights videotape THIS IS KUNG FU back in 1989. The tape featured a delirious trailer for this film which has tag lines that mangle the English language to an alarming degree (example:"Ghost seeking revenge evils are deadly scared!" and "Human heart annoying both spirits and human!), and my friends and I watched the trailer over and over in disbelief.

I finally found the movie about two years later in a cheesy hole-in-the-wall video store that was going out of business, a victim of the Disneyfication of Times Square. The wait was worth it, because the martial arts were pretty good and the script is a ludicrous dialogue fan's wet dream! The prize goes to the scene wherein the villainous sorcerer realizes he's about to get his ass kicked, so he throws some spells into the air and screams "Count Dracula! Come to my aid!" The second he says this, the sky turns to night, the full moon pops up, a wolf howls and then from out of nowhere Count Dracula himself (the only white guy in the entire film) swoops from out of the sky screaming "I'M COMING!!! HAHAHAHAHAH!!!" And don't ask how the heroes finally defeat the sorcerer (hint:it involves the aid of a bunch of prostitutes who are experiencing "monthly women's concerns")! A unique cinematic experience!

During a supernatural encounter, a young kung fu fighter learns that his deceased father was murdered by an evil tyrant, and expects to see his death avenged. Enlisting the aid of The Undead, said youth sets forth on his dangerous mission, armed with an ancient book which is allegedly a source of awesome magical power.

A truly bizarre and thoroughly disorienting treat for lovers of all things weird, Yin ji presents ghost, zombies, and vampires in thrilling kung fu action. You could ask for more? 'course not.

A worthwhile oddity, and technically more professional than it really ought to be.

5.5/10

So according to the movie's narrator, the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar is the Yin month. During this month ghosts are free to roam the earth (for 30 days). Mid-month occurs the Ghost Festival in which paper money is burned and tributes are left to appease the dead.

It is during this month that Billy Chong's ghost father (who apparently had six fingers on his right hand) comes back to tell him that he was murdered by Kam Tai Fu in the Yellow Dragon town and to avenge his death. The martial arts aspects of this movie are typical of the low budget movie. There are aspects of this movie that make it stand out from the rest. It is both comical, serious and most definitely entertaining. Other aspects would include the magic, ghosts and the inclusion of full frontal nudity during the sex scenes.

The movie has ghosts, bumbling drunk grave robbers, magicians, obscure magic rituals, a deadly powerful ghost of a bum, the scalping of dead people, an assault with face cloths, flying fireballs and a villain who threatens to sue our hero for slander.

Even though Kam Tai Fu is the villain, it is his lazy-eyed wizard that gets most of the screen time. We first meet him during his duel with a monk (the first of many crazy scenes). They charge each other with only their index and middle fingers drawn. They are floating towards each other and once they collide a giant explosion occurs. The wizard performs a ritual on Kam Tai Fu that will make him invulnerable. The ritual involves the wizard getting two hearts (the hearts must be from a young man and woman whom are both in orgasm), melting them down and them spitting the liquefied hearts at Kam Tai Fu. The wizard's greatest moment is when he pulls out a wad of paper money, burns it and invokes the aid of Count Dracula. You heard that right. Count Dracula makes an appearance and fights our hero (and the dead ghosts that Billy Chong recruits). There is also an equally impressive ritual in which the wizard scraps his chest with burning incense (ouch).

I highly recommend this movie for fans of the martial arts genre.

Shame that almost nobody seems to have seen this. This is worth going well out of your way for. If you like kung fu and you like the bizarre this is the movie for you. Billy Chong must enlist a gaggle of hopping dead assassins to get revenge for the death of his father. The boss of the villains is not particularly impressive, but his main henchman, an evil wizard, is one of the coolest villains I've ever seen, in or out of kung fu. This guy is smart as a whip, cunning as could be, powerful in magic, and a better kung fu fighter than even the hero. His magic is great, especially when he actually, out of the blue, summons the western Dracula to fight for him. Watch this movie, you'll be amazed that anything this wacko ever got made, and made well.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Kung-Fu From Beyond The Grave; before launching into my critique, here's a breakdown of my ratings:

Story - 1.25 Direction - 1.00 Pace - 1.25 Acting - 1.00 Enjoyment - 1.25

TOTAL - 5.75 out of 10

This film is a case of hit and miss, which is an immense shame as it could have been a massive hit. The story is superb, and the introductory narration fully sets the scene. We are in China during their season when the dead can walk the Earth. Our hero learns his father's death was murder and sets out for vengeance. Being the dead's season, there are ghosts and spirits aplenty, which weave in beautifully with the black magic elements. There is very little to fault in this tale, so I won't. Still, there are places where it could have been stronger, hence the lower score.

It's the direction that lets the film down the most. At the start, everything runs smoothly. The fight scene in the alleyway is wonderfully choreographed and filmed. So much so that it has become a quick favourite. Unfortunately, everything after this becomes less pleasing. Most of the fight scenes hereafter are at nighttime, and it's too dark to see them clearly. The darkness is a dreadful thing for two reasons. As a martial arts fan, I need to see the action. The second tragic reason is that I know the time and skill these actors put into these scenes - the wasted time and effort. Even though the director tries to make them exciting in the same manner as the well-lit segments, it's messy and confusing. Another disappointment is the special effects, especially the magical ones. These are created by painting on the negative. They could have been done using a double exposure as with the ghosts, which worked superbly. It may have been better than what we received, which appears poor.

The actors and actresses appear on par with similar movies and being dubbed it's hard to rate their performances. Though I will say that I enjoyed the film, and the cast didn't spoil it in any way.

Kung Fu From Beyond The Grave is not the best ghostly martial arts film, but it isn't the worst. And even though most of the fights are hard to see, the film is entertaining and enjoyable. Therefore, I recommend it to horror fans who like martial arts and mythology. Who knows, it might be a film I find myself returning to in the future.

Please feel free to visit my Absolute Horror and Holding Out For A Hero lists to see where I ranked Kung Fu From Beyond The Grave.

Take Care & Stay Well.