Thanks for the recs. The only one I've seen is Supercop, which I personally like a lot. I have a pile of unwatched physical copies, in which Police Story and The Legend of Drunken Master sit ready to be watched. I'll check out those Shaw Brothers. I like the balletic/musical description you give, because I feel like it pertains to a lot of great action cinema.
RE: Horror that are comedies, I think you may have a point. And I even think about the production behind a lot of great horror gore-fests are not marred by depressing seriousness, but instead joy and fun. I like to imagine Raimi and Campbell and the rest of the crew goofing around while making The Evil Dead. For some reason, horror is the one genre that - depending on what you're making - goofing around on set can make your movie BETTER! Whoda thunk?
RE: Horror that are comedies, I think you may have a point. And I even think about the production behind a lot of great horror gore-fests are not marred by depressing seriousness, but instead joy and fun. I like to imagine Raimi and Campbell and the rest of the crew goofing around while making The Evil Dead. For some reason, horror is the one genre that - depending on what you're making - goofing around on set can make your movie BETTER! Whoda thunk?