Chong's father in the film returns as a ghost to ask his son to avenge his death at the hands of the town's leading citizen, Kam Tai-fu. In preparation for just such an emergency, the aging Kam has hired a sorcerer (Dai Sai-aan) to make his skin impervious to attack by coating it with the boiled down hearts of young couples caught in the act of copulation. This sorcerer also happens to be accomplished at kung fu. This combination of fists and magic forces Chong to rethink his strategy. He uses a magic manual to summon a number of sympathetic undead corpses to help him. In retaliation, the sorcerer summons Dracula himself out of thin air. When Chong's groovy ghoulies bolt, he's forced to retreat again. Next, he teams up with a government agent (Alan Chui) sent to investigate Kam and they plan a trap for the villain's sorcerer that nearly backfires literally until they extinguish his magic powers and settle into a fierce kung fu match. Finally, Chong storms Kam's residence with an angry mob of townsfolk to seek justice.

While the film begins with generic narration describing how the dead return on a certain time of the year, it leaves a lot of other elements unexplained. For instance, why does the sorcerer get sick and stop using magic after a bunch of scantily-clad women toss feminine napkins on him and while someone else douses him with what appears to be blood? Not having cultural references points, I can only cite a 1990 fantasy film entitled Kung Fu vs. Acrobatic where it was more clearly shown that dumping human waste on a sorcerer supposedly cancels out his powers. But viewers shouldn't get hung up the specifics of fanciful occult practices in China when a sorcerer is capable of conjuring Dracula at whim.

This is a low budget picture hindered by sloppy production standards as witnessed by the blatantly obvious wire sticking out from the neck of a pasty-faced gweilo dressed as Dracula who swoops around. But then it really doesn't matter when a film is this goofy. Pretty much everything is unconvincing, but there is still a certain idiotic charm. Billy Chong is the perfect lead for this film as he's cocky, sly, and able to bust out impressive moves whenever it's needed. His straight man approach to the absurdities he's faced with only makes it better. His legwork doesn't rank him among the top bootmasters like Hwang Jang-lee, but he consistently shows off good skills during long takes. Veteran kung fu actor Lo Lieh doesn't leave much of an impression here in what amounts to a fairly small role, but the droopy-eyed Dai Sai-aan sure does. He goes the extra mile in an excellent fight against Chong and Alan Chui. One minute he's shooting fire and the next vomiting repeatedly throughout a long and grueling battle that shows him to be capable of great screen fighting. As an evil sorcerer, he outshines Peter Chan's similar performance in Encounters of a Spooky Kind.

Kung Fu From Beyond the Grave ultimately lives up to its name by mixing lots of supernatural hijinks with kung fu action. Unfortunately, it never attempts to scare its audience. The cheesy visual and makeup effects do not help in this regard. But there is comedy value for anyone who enjoyed Encounters of a Spooky Kind or Mr. Vampire. Above average kung fu from choreographers Alan Chui and Sung Kam-shing is worth checking out, especially Billy Chong's energetic performance.

Chun Sing (Chong) is visited by his deceased father, as a zombie, one night and told that he was murdered. He reveals that the murderer was Kam Tai Fu (Lo Lieh) and that Chun Sing must avenge his death. Chun travels to the village where Kam lives and confronts him but discovers that Kam is protected by an evil sorcerer. Chun Sing must find a way to defeat the sorcerer and take his revenge.

Although billed as a kung fu horror there aren't any scares contained in the film. The closest any scene gets to being frightening is when Chun and his friends are attacked by a zombie at a burial site. Any horror possibilities are ruined somewhat by the fact that Chun spends most of the scene chatting to the bones of his dead father (who's talking back) and some slightly comical special effects. The low production values mean that the special effects used during the film aren't really that special. The effects include some dodgy wirework and some graphical effects that look like they could've been programmed on a Commodore 64.

Ok, so this movie isn't going to leave you a terrified, jibbering wreck that's curled up in the corner of the room calling for your mommy but could it be goofy enough to be some good, camp fun. Not really. It lacks the flair and inventiveness needed to make it a spectacle of insanity. So much so that a battle between Billy, the sorcerer, two ghouls with three foot long tongues, half a dozen zombie assassins and Dracula turns out to be rather boring. Sure, it looks good on paper but it just doesn't deliver in outrageousness.

One area of the movie that does deliver is in the frequent fights. Billy Chong is a good lead and can certainly 'bust a move'. He is ably supported in the action stakes by many of his fellow cast members, most notably Dai Sai Aan who, when he's not mugging wildly while casting spells, presents a serious test for the skills of our hero. The choreography is crisp, well paced and offers the only really consistently good parts of the film. The 3 on 1 fight towards the end is the action highlight and also contains the best line of dialogue in the whole film, which i wont spoil for you here. Although i will say that I'm a little baffled as to why the sorcerer's defeat is triggered by a barrage of flannels (lady flannels?). Maybe a little knowledge of Chinese mythology would've helped me out with that one.

In the end, 'Kung Fu From Beyond The Grave' is decent entertainment - mainly due to the fights - but lacks the campy charm needed to make it a strong recommendation.