My last feature at this year’s Fantastic Fest was director Fergal Costello, co-director/action choreographer Lee Huang, and writer Paddy McDonald’s kung fu horror comedy, Kung Fu Deadly (Ireland/Australia, 2026).

When Dublin is beset by a swarm of rats, well, one neighborhood in Dublin, exterminators Danny (actor/comedian Steven He O’Byrne) and Frank (Michael Tient) are on the job—because they desperately need the money. Unfortunately for them, the rats are fleeing a newly released jiangshi, a Chinese vampire, who has recently been uncrated and is under the control of a local gangster in a flashy sequin jacket, Marrs (Max Huang). They are out of their depth until Lian (Gemma Chua-Tran), a guardian sworn to fight jiangshi, teams up with Danny and Frank. But T’ang (Jason Tobin), the jiangshi, is seeking his to free his beloved Demon Queen (Finola Xie) so she can release her horror upon the world. Unfortunately for T’ang, it turns out that Danny has a destiny to protect Dublin from jiangshi.

Kung Fu Deadly tells a fairly standard kung fu movie story of a young man finding his destiny and discovering that he does have the ability to stand up to evil. I honestly don’t expect more, sometimes what you want in your kung fu horror comedy is the old reliable tropes. But where Kung Fu Deadly really shines is the chemistry between the actors. The friendship between Danny and Frank feels very real. All the actors clicked, in fact.

Read more at Monstrous Industry.