Lurid title aside, 1983 wuxia film Bastard Swordsman is just the goofiest of times. Rival martial arts schools challenge one another in feudal China, with individual fighters’ bespoke skills extending well beyond realism and into ridiculous super-heroics. It is not a film for complex narrative or multi-faceted characters. In all honesty it is not really a showcase for actual kung fu either. Instead it is heavy on stereotype, with a refreshing seam of absurdity, and that absurdity makes it a funnier experience than you might expect.

Norman Chui plays Yun Fei Yang, a social outcast eking out a living at a martial arts school doing odd jobs and janitorial duties. When his school is challenged to a once-in-a-decade fight, and is master is betrayed, Yun must train in the most mysterious of techniques to defeat his enemies and win back his school’s honour.

The film adapts a 1979 Hong Kong television series, with Chui replaying his original role. This remake is directed by Lu Chun-ku and produced by the famous Shaw Brothers movie studio – at the time in its dying days as a production company following growing competition in Hong Kong and abroad. That the original series lasted 60 whole episodes and its cinema remake 95 minutes goes a long way to explain why Bastard Swordsman is such a frenzied, nonsensical experience. It is heavy with unexplained back story and filled with a variety of characters.

At first it feels like a deeply mediocre work, but as the story goes on the fights grow more outlandish and the dialogue much sillier. Whether or not this is intentional is difficult to say, but there is little point denying that the sillier things get the more enjoyable the film becomes. By its visual effects-heavy climax, in which Yun is reimagined as a white-wigged super-human with cocoon-like laser powers, the appeal is hard to ignore.

1983 was obviously a decent time for visual effects in Hong Kong, as Bastard Swordsman‘s release coincided with that of Tsui Hark’s wuxia fantasy Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain. This film is no match for that deservedly feted mini-masterpiece, but they are clearly both part of a trend to update martial arts cinema with a Hollywood-style sheen.

The cast are not challenged by the material, but they each deliver a game, somewhat exaggerated performance. Tony Liu brings a great screen presence as the manipulate villain of the piece Alex Man brings gravitas as Chief Dugu Wu Di. As school fighter Lun Wan Er, Leanne Liu offers a female character a bit more involved than a mere victim or love interest.

While the title character of Bastard Swordsman is indeed of unacknowledged descent, he really is not a swordsman. It’s mostly kung fu from end to end. Swords are present, but really the title is an obvious misnomer. It is all part of the strange, strangely loveable stupidity. An epic without depth. A sword-fighting drama without swords. A martial arts contest where the most powerful moves are not kung fu at all, but rather the sort of outlandish visuals expected from a giant monster movie. It’s odd, and it is difficult to justify with a straight face, but at the same time Bastard Swordsman is perversely easy to love.