Five Deadly Venoms (1978)

Five Deadly Venoms is a cult 1978 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Chang Cheh and produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio. The story revolves around five kung-fu fighters with unique animal styles: the Centipede, the Snake, the Scorpion, the Lizard, and the Toad (the Five Poisonous Creatures of Chinese folklore, from which the film takes its title). The film is considered one of the most popular martial arts films of its era and was listed at number 11 on Entertainment Weekly’s Top 50 Cult Films list. For their roles, leading actors Chiang Shieng, Lu Feng, Sun Chien, Philip Kwok, Wai Pak, and Lo Mang would become collectively dubbed by international audiences as the Venom Mob.

Plot

The dying master of the powerful Poison Clan dispatches his last pupil, Yang Tieh (Chiang Sheng), on a crucial mission. Worried the skills he taught are being used for evil, he orders Yang to locate an old compatriot, Yun (Ku Feng), and warn him that the fortune he amassed from the clan’s activities is under threat from five of his former pupils, each an expert in his own lethal combat style. Yang must discover their whereabouts and true identities, and decide which, if any, he can trust to join him in his mission.

The five pupils are the Centipede, Snake, Scorpion, Lizard, and Toad. Centipede and Snake were the master’s first and second pupils and knew one another. Lizard and Toad were the fourth and fifth pupils respectively and also knew each other, but Scorpion, the third pupil, was unknown to the other four members. Before he dies, the master teaches Yang all the weaknesses of the five styles in order to give him a fighting chance.

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Home media

The film received a DVD release by the Weinstein Company’s Asian label, Dragon Dynasty, on 18 August 2009. In 2016, it was made available on streaming platforms iTunes, Hulu, Google Play, Microsoft Movies, Amazon, YouTube, and Netflix by Celestial Pictures.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 5 reviews. The film was praised by one critic for its unique sense of mystery surrounding the identity of each Venom which detracted from contemporary Shaw Brothers productions. Technical elements of dubbed versions have been negatively received with another critic writing, “since the movie has dubbed-in English, there may have been tampering with other Foley sounds as well, like the fake thunk of the punches that obviously miss, but we’re supposed to believe are landing.” Both reviews also criticized elements of the plot.