Movies like Zu Warriors (2001)
The best movies like Zu Warriors (2001) are A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) and Green Snake (1993). If Zu Warriors hooked you with its fantasy and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box (1995)7.5/10 from 325 votes
- NewestCreation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023)Released 2023
A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
A naïve young tax collector for the imperial government winds up spending the night in a haunted temple. There he falls in love with a beautiful woman who, unfortunately, is dead. With the aid of a powerful Daoist Swordsman, he must defeat undead hordes, overcome a sinister Tree Demoness, and descend to the pits of hell, to fight for the spirit he loves.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both fantasy & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself travelling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreen Snake (1993)
Two snake spirits become human and learn about love and suffering. A monk discovers his own weaknesses and finds that morality is not as simple as he had thought.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPainted Skin (2008)
Painted Skin is based on one of Pu Songling's classic short stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Zhou Xun stars as Xiao Wei, a fox spirit that feasts on human hearts in order to maintain her lovely, youthful appearance. When General Wang Sheng (Chen Kun) 'rescues' her from a band of bandits and brings her home, trouble brews as the demon falls in love with the general.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both fantasy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011)
The Sorcerer and the White Snake is an ancient Chinese fable about a woman demon who falls in love with a mortal is brought to life through the latest advances in CGI and action techniques.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box (1995)
When the Goddess of Happiness tosses the Longevity Monk and his disciples out of heaven (because the Monkey King tried to attain immortality), the Monkey King is reincarnated as the Joker. He now spends his time chasing two jealous women. When one of them is dying, the Joker goes back in time in an attempt to save her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJourney to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013)
In a world plagued by demons who cause great human suffering, young demon hunter Tang Sanzang must fight against monstrous demons, as well as contend with a beautiful demon hunting woman on his path to enlightenment.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZhongkui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal (2015)
The story of Chinese legendary anti-hero Zhong Kui, a young man endowed with mysterious powers who is forced into a battle among the realms of Heaven, Earth and Hell in the course of his attempt to save his countrymen and the woman he loves.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Maidens of Heavenly Mountains (1994)
Legend has it that in a faraway place beyond the edge of the earth, there exists a broken-hearted man with infinite power. Abandoned by his loved ones, the inheritance of the old man's chi power becomes a battleground for evil outsiders.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity (2020)
Every few hundred years, the most powerful demon on earth—a snake demon—awakens, and the Yin-Yang Masters are summoned to the capital. Meanwhile, the Princess of the realm has her own plans, as she conspires to claim the demon’s power.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDetective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010)
When the future empress Wu Zetian's two courtiers die in a mysterious fire, she gets Di Renjie, a former detective and rebel, released from prison to solve the mystery of the fire.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Restless (2006)
After Yi-gwak, a demon hunter, loses his beloved Yon-hwa, he enters a realm that has only spirits. He meets her there, but she has no memory of him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both fantasy & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Thousand Faces of Dunjia (2017)
The world is on the brink of catastrophe in a chaotic age where evil demons roam. In order to keep evil at bay, a mysterious organisation from the pugilist world emerges. A new constable and a young girl with a mysterious past are also drawn into this group, and the group embarks on an incredible adventure.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of the Swordsman (1992)
Ling Wu Chung decides to hide from the chaotic world. Before leaving, he visits his friends, a tribe of snake-wielding women warriors. However, he finds that the tribe have been attacked, and their leader Yam Ying Ying has been abducted.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Curse of Turandot (2021)
The plot follows Princess Turandot who is cursed by a mysterious power emanating from three Mazovian bracelets that were given to her as birthday gifts. These bracelets’ life-draining effects cause the princess to becomes cruel, and gradually she loses her humanity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (2018)
Dee, the detective serving Chinese empress Wu Zetian, is called upon to investigate a series of strange events in Loyang, including the appearance of mysterious warriors wearing Chiyou ghost masks, foxes that speak human language and the pillar sculptures in the palace coming alive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Chinese Ghost Story (2011)
Government official Ling Choi Sin journeys to the parched Black Mountain Village, to help its inhabitants find water. As he leads a group of volunteers up the haunted mountain, he encounters a bevy of sexy demons as well as a lovely girl named Siu Sin. After wooing her with some candy, he falls for her... and then realises that he is caught in a deadly triangle; another guy, a demon-hunter named Yan Chek Ha is also in love with Siu Sin. However, before the two men can settle their differences, they have to contend with the evil Tree Demon as well as a one-armed demon hunter who is determined to kill all the supernatural beings.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both fantasy & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom (2014)
In the twilight of the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial court is plagued by corruption as tyrants rule the land. With the Manchurians preying on a weakened empire, war is imminent. To save the victims from suffering, sorceress Jade Raksha fights the soldiers that oppress people for their own gain. As payback, local officials pin the murder of Governor Zhuo Zhonglian on Jade, turning her and the members of her cult into wanted fugitives for a crime they didn't commit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of Flying Daggers (2004)
In 9th century China, a corrupt government wages war against a rebel army called the Flying Daggers. A romantic warrior breaks a beautiful rebel out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJourney to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017)
Tang Monk brings three disciples on a journey to the West. On the outside, everything seems harmonious. However, tension is present beneath the surface, and their hearts and minds are not in agreement. After a series of demon-capturing events, the monk and his disciples gain mutual understanding of each others' hardships and unease. Finally, they resolve their inner conflict and work together to become an all-conquering, demon-exorcising team.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both fantasy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous, physically-skilled, teenage nobleman's daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Chinese Ghost Story II (1990)
After escaping false imprisonment, Ling Choi-San crosses paths with a pair of rebellious women. Though mourning the loss of his ghostly love, his broken heart must heal in a hurry in order to face a new series of paranormal encounters and adventures.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both fantasy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Legend (2010)
Su Qi-Er, a wealthy man living during the Qing Dynasty who loses his fortune and reputation as a result of a conspiracy against him. After being forced out onto the streets, Su dedicates his life to martial arts and reemerges as a patriotic hero known as the "King of Beggars."
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLeague of Gods (2016)
During the reign of King Zhou, an official enters his bedchamber, and is devoured by the monstrous tails of Daji, his concubine. Outside their city, several warriors within a metal wagon discuss their strategies to free the Invisible People and their Chief, when Jiang Ziya appears to them. He tells them that when King Zhou was younger, he let himself become possessed by the Black Dragon for his quest for power.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisCreation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023)
Based on the most well-known classical fantasy novel of China, Fengshenyanyi, the trilogy is a magnificent eastern high fantasy epic that recreates the prolonged mythical wars between humans, immortals and monsters, which happened more than three thousand years ago.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Twins Effect II (2004)
Set in Flower Capital, a land ruled by an Evil Queen. All men in the kingdom are slaves to women. However, a prophecy foretells that one day, the Star of Rex will find and wield a mythical sword, rise to power, overthrow the queen, and restore the balance of the two sexes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Monkey King: The Legend Begins (2022)
The Monkey King: The Legend Begins is the re-imagined version by Hollywood of the film The Monkey King: Havoc in Heavens Palace, the origin and birthplace of The Monkey King Story.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both fantasy
Knights of the Zodiac (2023)
When a headstrong street orphan, Seiya, in search of his abducted sister unwittingly taps into hidden powers, he discovers he might be the only person alive who can protect a reincarnated goddess, sent to watch over humanity. Can he let his past go and embrace his destiny to become a Knight of the Zodiac?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJack the Giant Slayer (2013)
The story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend–and gets the chance to become a legend himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisDragonheart: Vengeance (2021)
Lukas, a young farmer whose family is killed by savage raiders in the countryside, sets out on an epic quest for revenge, forming an unlikely trio with a majestic dragon and a swashbuckling, sword-fighting mercenary, Darius.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Zu Warriors and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Zu Warriors?
The closest matches to Zu Warriors are A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) and Green Snake (1993). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Zu Warriors?
People who watched Zu Warriors most often go on to A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) and Green Snake (1993).
What is the highest-rated movie like Zu Warriors?
A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box (1995), rated 7.5/10 by 325 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Zu Warriors?
Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Zu Warriors chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Zu Warriors, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.