Five Deadly Venoms (1978) User Reviews

Highly enjoyable kung-fu flick

[Gambitt · 8/10 · 20 July 2003]

The Five Deadly Venoms is a great kung-fu action movie wrapped in a whodunnit mystery. There are all the usual telltale signs of a kung-fu flick: great choreography, awful dubbing, different "styles" of fighting, and a wide range of greatly exaggerated, often cheesey human emotions. However the plot certainly is better than average. It's interesting and holds your attention throughout the non-fight scenes. Occasionally it's even able to fire up the audience, such as when X character receives horrible injustice.

Another thing I love about the Five Deadly Venoms is the beautiful simplicity of the movie's morals and themes. Just about everyone gets what's coming to them. The cowardly, greedy, and corrupt lose out. The bad guys, consumed by selfish greed are ultimately destroyed by their own treachery and backstabbing. The good guys use teamwork, planning, and integrity to overcome the odds and come out on top.

Poison Clan rocks!

Hidden Treasure

[jldmp1 · 8/10 · 26 June 2006]

Most 70s (and 80s) Kong Kong martial arts films barely function as movies; usually there are a few well-planned fight sequences, but the plot is scraped pretty thin to fill in the gaps between those nodes -- like porno films, really.

But this one does several things well. Most overtly, there is the direction and choreography, which confines each combatant to a 'style' -- it's really based on Chinese circus acrobatics and comedic theater, but the effect works.

Second, there is the language of the camera, which uses some impressive techniques(even by today's measure), changing projection speeds from real time time to slow motion, and from unfiltered to filtered views to depict story direction toward the past or toward the future.

Least overt, but most powerful and unexpected, is the construction. The winner of this contest is determined by who 'unfolds' the story. The master (the writer) sets up a game where the lead character doesn't know who he's seeking, which is the same situation we viewers find ourselves in. One by one, he figures out who is who, at the same rate we find out who is who. It all follows a tragedy/noir arc. The ending tends toward irony, a la "The Sting". Much more clever stuff than what we usually get out of this genre.

The 'five venoms' idea is the template for Tarantino's 'deadly viper assassins' from the "Kill Bill" volumes.

Classic

[jonathangibbs-09923 · 8/10 · 5 November 2018]

I love movies just like everyone else, but if you don't watch kung fu flix your missing something special, 5 deadly venoms was one of the first kung fu movie i seen as a kid. The fight scene were so amazing plus the storylines are too good!! wink.wink. THIS IS A MUST WATCH FOR ALL MOVIE LOVERS!

Five Deadly Venoms is memorable

[rosscinema · 7/10 · 24 November 2003]

Of all the kung-fu films made through the 70's and 80's this is one that has developed a real cult following. With the exception of all the films Bruce Lee starred in this is a film that has stood the test of time and its due to the unique story. An aging kung-fu master tells his last pupil Yang Tieh (Sheng Chiang) about five pupils he has trained in the past. All five wore masks and nobody has seen the face of each other and they have all been trained differently. Their specialty in kung-fu is the name they have adopted like Lizard, Snake, Centipede, Toad and Scorpion. The master called them the Poison Clan and he does not know what has happened to them so he wants Tieh to find them and help the ones that are doing good to stop the others that are evil. An old man who was once a member of the Poison Clan has a map to where he has hidden a lot of money and he seems to be a target. Tieh does not know what they look like so he has to mingle in society and try and figure out who they are. Tieh has discovered that the Snake is Hung Wen Tung (Pai Wei) and along with Tang Sen Kue (Feng Lu) who is the Centipede they kill a family to find the map. A map is found by a mystery man who turns out to be the Scorpion but know one knows who he is. A local policeman named Ho Yung Sin (Philip Kwok) investigates the murders along with his partner Ma Chow (Chien Sun). Sin has a friend called Li Ho (Meng Lo) who is the Toad and they do know of each others identity. The Snake bribes the local officials to pin the murders on Li Ho and while he is in prison he is tortured and killed. When Sin finds out he teams up with Tieh and together they go to combat Tung and Kue.

This film was directed by Cheh Chang and he was a very special director when it came to these films. Chang was not your run of the mill kung-fu director and his films always had a special quality to them. While most martial arts films deal with revenge Chang did not use that as a central theme. Even though there is some revenge going on later in this story this film is more complex than that. Five men trained by the same master in different ways and wearing masks. Then they are all in the same area and not knowing who the other is. Very unique story makes this film different from all the others and most of Changs stories were in a class all by themselves. I wouldn't exactly put it in the same league as "Enter The Dragon" because Bruce Lee was a worldwide icon and the martial arts he exhibited were more authentic looking. This film still has some impossible feats like clinging to sides of walls and all the flipping through the air but this film isn't necessarily about fight scenes. Its more about the intrigue of the story and the characters that are involved. That alone makes this different from all the other kung-fu films. Very well made with a unique story.

Five Deadly Venoms - a brilliant time

[asandor · 7/10 · 20 May 2020]

Five Deadly Venoms is the first film in the unofficial Venoms series of martial arts films, starring a large group of martial artists and performers working mostly in Shaw Brothers pictures. This first film was hugely influential in Kung Fu film history, and is certainly an enjoyable ride. The film opens with an old man training by sitting in a pot full of boiling water. He tells his pupil, a man trained in the five venoms schools - centipede (Fast strikes), snake (powerful, targeted strikes), scorpion (hidden and sudden strikes), toad (immense physical immunity), and lizard (ability to climb walls), to track down the five experts - one in each of these styles. The teacher knows some have turned to evil, but his pupil must team up with the good ones to defeat the others. Also they wear masks that comically impede their ability to be understood. This is to hide each masters identity from the other. In the capital, the venoms are scheming against each other using secret codes, executions, and torture.

This film has some very fun and campy sequences, with excellent martial arts choreography. It's style is certainly a bit Wu Xia in nature - with the styles giving each master incredible powers. The Toad is a particularly interesting character for his ability to withstand great physical pain. This was a very memorable martial arts film, with the story, martial arts action, costumes and acting, setting and feeling fitting well together. This film certainly suffers from the Shaw Brothers "charm" - the same sets used again and again, similar styles to many of their hundreds of other films, and so on. Even so, this film stands above the pack for its quality, charm and enjoyability. Good watch and a classic of its genre, it is certainly worthy of a watch for fans of this genre of films, or those looking for a good martial arts flick to watch.

To the Point!!

[silverandblack72 · 10/10 · 18 March 2001]

After reviewing this intense martial arts movie for the first time in nearly 18 years, I must say it did not lose any of its mysticism, nor any of its eye-popping martial arts action as I had remembered from my youth. The story of a dying martial arts instructor sending his "unfinished" pupil out to find the 5 past members of his Poison Clan, so they do not seek out a fortune which the master's friend keeps hidden. Afraid that his last pupil did not have enough training, he instructs him to befriend one of the five "venoms" so as to defeat the other four.

I can't say enough about the choreography or the camera work. A fine film in its own right and quite possible one of the best martial arts movies ever made. A CLASSIC!!

A Real Man's Kung-Fu Movie

[ebiros2 · 7/10 · 23 June 2009]

There's no romance or other side plot to this movie, it's action and intrigue all the way, making it a real man's kung-fu movie.

An aging master dispatches his last disciple Yan Tieh to stop his five former pupils who's styles represents five venomous animals centipede,snake, scorpion, lizard and the toad. Despite the word "Venom" in the title, none of these pupil uses venoms to kill their opponents. Yan Tieh told by his teacher that he's no match for the five former pupil, must find one he can form an alliance with to defeat the other four. How Yan Tieh and the others find each other is the intrigue to the story, with good kung-fu action spread out throughout the story.

Recognized as a cult classic, this movie has already established itself in the annals of kung- fu action movies. It's known well enough that other movies make reference to the five styles depicted in this story.

It's no artistic masterpiece, with the usual bad dubbing, and corny acting, but the movie is one of the best of its kind, because its so focused on the all the ingredients of kung-fu action movie of its time, and gives an extra concentrated dose of them.

One movie you must watch if you are a kung-fu movie fan.

One of the best kung fu films ever made

[Golden_ninja · 10/10 · 15 October 2002]

This is definitely one of the best kung fu movies ever, and may be one of the best movies ever... It's got a great plot that functions like a puzzle, with lots of intrigue and suspense. This film is full of cat and mouse games and deceptions, with people hiding their identities and their natures. The characters in this film live and breath much more than your average kung fu movie characters. They are all interesting and compelling and the movie does a good job at giving them scenes to show their personality's and desires.

The fight scenes play out like little stories and many of them are very original and exciting. It has cool training sequences and martial arts skills that are so awesome they enter the realm of fantasy. There are 5 members of the poison clan each one with his own style that mimics the special skill of a venomous animal. The styles of each of these characters are fun to watch and you can see the techniques they use in training applied during the film... When this happens, The director uses quick cutting back to the training scene to draw a parallel. These cuts are accompanied by music changes and sound effects and the whole thing really works nicely.

One thing about this movie that is very original is the way it treats death. The director Chang Cheh was obviously very concerned that the film not trivialize death. This makes some of the scenes in the movie much more effective. We actually care when people are killed in this film. This is because the camera lingers on the horror of death even when the bad guys are killed. Some of the sequences in this movie are truly gut wrenching. When characters go in search of vengeance you really feel their anger and pain.

At the same time, this is also a fun movie. It has all the typical things you expect from a traditional kung fu film. There is bad dubbing, The characters are willing to fight at the drop of a hat. Some of the sound effects are hilarious and at times the behavior of the characters is incredibly unrealistic... all this just adds to the greatness of the film.

And lets not forget that this director was a visual stylist much more gifted than most of his contemporaries. If you watch this movie closely you will notice that the technical prowess on display is virtuostic. Everything goes by so fast (because of the quick cutting style and the rapid camera movements of the genre) that it is easy to overlook how beautiful the movie really is. The lighting and composition are spectacular at times. The camera work and movement is extremely sophisticated along with very interesting fast paced editing... In the scenes that portray suspense and intrigue for example, imagine Hitchcock moving at about twice the speed. Chang Cheh was truly a master craftsman and artist who knew his genre and was able to produce important material while working within it's confines. He doesn't rattle the boat of the kung fu genre film, but in a subtle way his skills permeate every scene and every shot and they add greatly to the quality of the work. He is an important filmmaker who continues to influence many people.

This is the real package A kung fu movie that delivers on every level. It's art, it's trash, it's emotionally moving, and it's fun, it has a true sense of morality, but doesn't allow that morality to get in the way of delivering good action. I recommend it to everybody whether you are a fan of this genre or not.

The Five Venoms Review

[thescholar22 · 7/10 · 22 December 2015]

This was the first time I saw a Shaw Brothers kung fu movie. I first heard about them from the Cinema Snob when he did the Crippled Avengers. Also from the opening of Kill Bill Volume 1 which I recently saw on Netflix. This movie starts off with is old guy which I thought was taking a bath. Actually he's trying to cure himself from some kind of poison as he said.

The old guy mentions his old students and each style of kung fu they have. Centipede, Snake, Scorpion, Lizard, and Toad styles. Old guy then tells his apprentice to stop them when he can because some of the students use their styles for evil. Then the old guy mentions donating money to charity from a rich clan so the five can find and notice him.

The apprentice disguises himself as some dirty guy to try and scan out the five and where they meet up. Some of the five then keep these people prisoners for their money, also to lure out some old guy. This guy also tells the apprentice about the guys that attacked the place and that he saw one of them. The guy then tell the authorities about one of them later, saying he has a beard.

The authorities try to stop the bearded guy but this other guy stops him while the authorizes just stand there. They capture the bearded guy and show him to some nobleman. Then there's a trial where the bearded guy gets his legs hurt for some reason. Noble guy then tires to get a pardon for the bearded guy and the head of the authority to move the bearded guy.

The witness then gets beaten a little to change what he said he looked like. They then go to this restaurant where the other guy is and the other guy goes with them without fighting them. During the trial the other guy starts fighting because he knows he didn't do it. The authorities then lock up the other guy while the noble guy thinks about torturing him.

Other guy passes out and they use this Iron Maiden to torture him but he gets out of it. Noble guy is found out to be Snake, while the other guy is Toad. They fight again and then Toad is put in the Iron Maiden and it looks painful. They don't get a confession out of him and they put this hot metal on his back and he gets a big burn mark.

Beard guy might also be Centipede then he and Snake go and kill the witness by putting some curved metal rod down this throat. Toad I think is water boarded and then dies in his cell and some guards try to make it look like he hanged himself. Then Snake and Centipede kill the head of the guard as well. Then they wonder where Lizard is too, and Scorpion is also on their side as well.

Lizard guy is found out to be one of the guards who tired to help Toad. Also apprentice guy tells Lizard about this master when fighting him. Apprentice and Lizard then do some training somewhere. Then there's a big fight where Lizard and Apprentice fight Snake Centipede. Also Snake finds out Lizard guy's friend is Scorpion. Snake and Scorpion get killed then Apprentice and Lizard finish off Centipede. Then they find some map where some treasure is and then the movie ends.

Five Deadly Venoms: The best that kung-fu films have to offer!

[clurge-2 · 10/10 · 30 July 2000]

Be careful with this one. Once you get yer mitts on it, it'll change the way you look at kung-fu flicks. You will be yearning a plot from all of the kung-fu films now, you will be wanting character depth and development, you will be craving mystery and unpredictability, you will demand dynamic camera work and incredible backdrops. Sadly, you won't find all of these aspects together in one kung-fu movie, EXCEPT for Five Deadly Venoms!

Easily the best kung-fu movie of all-time, Venoms blends a rich plot, full of twists and turns, with colourful (and developed) characters, along with some of the best camerawork to come out of the 70s. The success of someone liking the film depends on the viewers ability to decipher which character is which, and who specializes in what venom. One is the Centipede, two is the Snake, three is the Scorpion, four is the Lizard, and five is the Toad. Each character has different traits, characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. Therein lies the hook, we learn along with the student character, finding out who these different men turn out to be. We are in his shoes (so to speak), and we have to pick who we trust, and who we don't, just like he does. We learn along with him.

Not only is the plot, the characters, and the camerawork great, it's also fun to watch, which in my book makes it more valuable than almost any other movie of it's kind. It's worth quite a few watches to pick up on everything that's going on. Venoms is a lesson on what kung-fu can really do...just don't expect many other kung-fu films to live up to it's gauntlet.

Shaw Brothers Film Packs a Punch

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 22 June 2016]

A dying teacher instructs his final student to check on the activities of five former pupils, each of whom he taught a unique and special style of kung-fu to: The Centipede, Snake, Scorpion, Lizard, and Toad (hence the title). His final student, who knows a little of each style must team up with one of the other good students to destroy the evil ones if there are any.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of martial arts films or the Shaw Brothers. And it's not so much that I don't like them, but just that I don't really know enough to appreciate them. This, however, is one of the first I truly enjoyed and would put on the same level as some of Bruce Lee's work. There are not just plenty of good fight scenes, but a real plot that is a joy to follow.

Its influence has been strong, too. The film was referenced extensively in "Juuken Sentai Gekiranger", in which the Five Venom Fists are based directly upon the Five Deadly Venoms, each reflecting the fighting styles in the film. In turn, they were brought into "Power Rangers: Jungle Fury" as the Five Fingers of Poison. In "Kill Bill" the five assassins of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad are a reference to the Five Deadly Venoms. I need to watch more Shaw Brothers after seeing how good they can be.

as good as it was twenty years ago

[hartono · 18 February 2004]

I first saw this movie in early eighties and saw it again lately in a newly remastered DVD (thanks to Celestial and Shaw Brothers; the picture is very nice).

In this movie Chang Cheh (the director) relied on six relatively new actors: Kuo Chui (who choreographed Tomorrow Never Dies), Chiang Shen, Sun Chien, Lo Mang, Lu Fung, and Wei Pai (who left the club after Invincible Shaolin, the next movie, to join Golden Harvest). Chang Cheh then made many movies later on starring some of these actors (I saw most of them).

I think this movie is one of their best (other notable movies include Five Element Ninjas and House of Traps). I liked it twenty years ago and still like it today.

overrated cheese

[squelcho · 5/10 · 25 August 2005]

Stand it up against the early Jackie Chan, Gordon Liu and Bruce Lee movies and this one dies a painful death. It doesn't even have any humour to leaven the dullness. The fights look like half-time karate club demos, with so little actual contact that they make paper/scissors/stone look like a deadly martial art. Just because the sound effects are thwacking away nineteen to the dozen, doesn't mean that the fighters are.

Shaw Brothers made some decent movies in the late 70s, but this isn't one of them. It might represent the pinnacle of cornball dubbing and playground kung fu hokum, but in the real world it's dull as ditchwater. There's dozens of more accomplished kung fu movies out there for anyone capable of forming their own opinions, rather than swallowing Wu Tang Clan's sample catalogue wholesale.

When is evil too much evil?

[cauwboy · 6/10 · 11 September 2020]

I think you need to reset your mind when going in for a Shaw Brothers film, because they're just different in style compared to other Hong Kong productions. There's a different kind of fight style that's very stylised and theatrical, there's the music and not least, the famous Shaw Brothers Blood.

For me, having grown up with Golden Harvest films with the likes of Jackie, Sammo and Yuen, the Shaw Brothers films can seem a bit old and cheesy in comparison - but what they do have instead is very much personality, both in the film itself and definitely in all the characters - this film have six different fighters and even without knowing their names you could tell them apart, even if you only see their fighting style, which is really cool - the actual development of unique fighting styles for all of them.

What I didn't like however was the treatment of the good and the bad guys. To me the film had most of its focus on how the bad guys planned on taking out the good guys, while I would rather have wanted the opposite, where the good guys find a way to take out the bad ones. Sure, it becomes a problem when the creators come up with a character having superhuman abilities where no sword or punch can hurt him, but the amount of torture then spent on this, followed by the aftermath of other people around this person meeting their fate just became too much for me. If this film was a puzzle, all the pieces are already there, it's just how they're placed out that didn't work for me.

It would've made more sense if one of the bad guys possessed the superhuman strength and for the good guys to find a way to defeat him, sure, we get a pretty cool montage over how the goodies plans out how to take out their enemies, but to this point I had lost most interest, because the bad guys had caused too much damage that no matter what happened to them, it wouldn't be enough punishment for what they had done. It's also a missed opportunity to not have all the Five Venoms meet up at the end for a final showdown.

I can recommend watching it, but it's not a film I plan on watching again or getting in my film collection.

Good martial arts film, may not quite live up to its reputation but its still worth a look.

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 21 June 2009]

A dying Kung Fu master sends out his last student in order to track down what happened to the previous five students who were members of the banned Poison Clan.He is to see if they are acting for good and if not he his to stop them The master also wants the student to find another member of the clan who ran off with the clans money which the master wants used for good. The earlier students were all taught in a different style snake, centipede, scorpion, lizard, toad, while the last student was taught a little in each style. All of the students end up in one town looking for the old man with all of the money,and soon everyone is battling to get the money.

Classic martial arts film has title that even many non-fans know. I've spoken with a couple of casual fans and this seems to be the one film that sticks in their head. Its a very good movie, though I'm not really sure why this film stays with people when for my money there are other films that are better from the Shaw studio (One armed Swordmen or the Brave Archer series for example). This isn't to sell the film short, its not, since the film is structured like a mystery, our hero has no clue who anyone is and the Venoms themselves only know at best who two of the others is. We're given the identity of four but we still have to work out who the fifth really is. The film is also odd in that for a martial arts film, other than a training sequence at the start and the killing of the old man and his family for the money, there is really no action for about 40 or 45 minutes. Its a bold move to do it but it pays off since the plot and the performances hold your attention. (The film is also odd in that its the first martial arts film I think I've ever seen where there are no women. I don't think one has a speaking role and I'm pretty sure that none appear in the background. Its indicative of nothing, its just something that struck me.) This is a good solid little film that may not live up to the reputation it has in some circles, but is still a really good film to curl up with on your couch.

Around 7 out of 10.

A gem from the past

[da_hal · 8 November 2001]

I originally watched this film as an 8 year-old staying up late on a local TV series, "Black Belt Theater." Back then I was impressed by the fighting. Today, as a much older fight-fan who has seen the likes of Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and others, I am no longer impressed by the fighting. However, it's the story that is impressive now.

By my reckoning, there are two real fights in the film, Centipede vs. Toad, and the final fight among 5 of the main characters, and neither are impressive by Jet Li/Jackie Chan standards.

However, the story is incredible. Unlike many other movies that tried to keep a secret, this one pulls it off right. The key is to have enough characters so that the audience cannot guess right away who is who, like "The Usual Suspects." The second key is to reveal them naturally as the story demands it, rather than hold back clues until the very end for a contrived feel, unlike the "The Usual Suspects."

The Snake, Centipede, Lizard and Toad are revealed very early in the film, but the Scorpion is not revealed until the end. What makes his unmasking all the more dramatic is that his true goals and agenda are hidden until the very end.

Another strong point in this film is that each character has real and believable goals, rare by today's standards, and almost unheard of in today's kung-fu films. What is even more astonishing is that these goals change, as well as change the characters in the process. Some characters are two dimensional and flat, while others have incredible depth, most notably the Snake, Scorpion, and Lizard.

It is wrong to believe that this is a kung-fu film with a story added. This is a story-driven film that happens to have kung-fu.

I would not recommend this film for fight fans, but for students of filmmaking and writing, this is a classic that will teach you a lot about the art.

Other reviewers here have noticed a few weaknesses. I agree that the cinematography is nothing special. Those who said it is "incredible" need to look at art films like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," or from the same time period, "Apokalypse, Now." Those who thought the fighting was awesome need to look at Jackie Chan's "Gorgeous" or the pachinko hall fight scene from "Thunderbolt" or just about any non-American film featuring Jet Li.

Overall, I agree that this film lost a lot over time, but nothing can detract from a good story.

Hal

Poison Clan

[view_and_review · 6/10 · 15 June 2019]

Besides The Five Deadly Venoms (or simply The Five Venoms) having a line in a Wu-Tang Clan song it is a decent movie. That line you ask?

"The Toad style is a mentally strong and immune to nearly any weapon. When it's properly used it's almost invincible."

That line came at the beginning when the teacher was setting the stage for a fight that would have to occur with or between the five venoms: Snake, centipede, scorpion, lizard, and toad.

This was a good kung-fu flick even if it didn't particularly stand out. It's not something I'd watch several times but I liked it.

Flawless Chinese Storytelling at Work

[kev.au · 10/10 · 24 July 2002]

Seldom do I ever encounter a film so completely fulfilling that I must speak about it immediately. This movie is definitely some of the finest entertainment available and it is highly authentic. I happened to see the dubbed version but I'm on my way right now to grab the DVD remaster with original Chinese dialogue. Still, the dubbing didn't get in the way and sometimes provided some seriously funny humour: "Poison Clan rocks the world!!!"

The story-telling stays true to Chinese methods of intrigue, suspense, and inter-personal relationships. You can expect twists and turns as the identities of the 5 venoms are revealed and an expert pace.

The martial arts fight choreography is in a class of its own and must be seen to be believed. It's like watching real animals fight each other, but construed from their own arcane martial arts forms. Such level of skill amongst the cast is unsurpassed in modern day cinema.

The combination provides for a serious dose of old Chinese culture and I recommend it solely on the basis of the film's genuine intent to tell a martial arts story and the mastery of its execution. ...Of course, if you just want to see people pummel each other, along with crude forms of ancient Chinese torture, be my guest!

Possibly best EVER KF script

[A_Different_Drummer · 7/10 · 13 February 2021]

... but caught up in Generation-1 Shaw Bros choreography. Unique film blends a sort of Agatha Christie mystery with Kung Fu, but the speed and precision of the action is like watching a fly crawl up a drape. Would make a great remake!

Brilliantly plotted Kung Fu film which is highly acclaimed but could've been better.

[macnjnc · 9/10 · 4 August 1999]

For all the hoopla, respect and recognition this film gets from Kung Fu historians, it still lacks glaringly in a couple critical areas: action and fight scenes. But I must say that the plot is probably the best and most original I've ever seen in a martial arts film. Five Deadly Venoms without a doubt is a must see, not only that, a movie you can watch again and again; but I also must say that after watching it you feel it could have been even better. It somehow leaves you wanting something, you want more. The producer Chang Cheh sets up the storyline beautifully for a potential masterpeice but doesn't follow through with giving us more of the action we want. The fighting styles in the movie really captures the viewer (Centipede,Snake,Scorpion,Lizard,Toad) and they are shown, but battles are noticeably short. The Toad and Snake styles are particularly intriguing and should have been showcased much, much more, in fact the Toad is killed off by the middle of the movie. Interestingly enough with this movie, the absence of constant action or fighting leads to development of a great plot, this is one of the few kung fu films where you are really interested in the storyline and care about the outcome. This movie has a dark and vicious tone to it and you are drawn into the vibe. Sinister weapons and torture tactics are used throughout the movie and adds to the movies feel. To start off the movie and to introduce the Poison Clan producer Chang Cheh takes us to a grimy dungeon. The ending fight scenes are certainly good but seem muffled and somehow you expected more. Still though this movie is one of Shaw Brothers best and is quite enjoyable. My overall impression of the movie would conclude with this: The styles the fighters used are merely shown to us and not showcased in detail, sad thing is , the director had the goods for something extraordinary right at his fingertips and didn't expand on it. I am left wondering what could have been with this movie, still one of the best though. 8 out of 10 on the scale.

...centipede...snake...scorpion...lizard...toad...and not fully trained 6th and last disciple who knows a little of everything.......fight!!!!!!

[bcheng93 · 7/10 · 20 March 2014]

i'm giving this an 8 because it was one of my favorite childhood movies and i never get bored re-watching it over the years. this was one of the few movies where the plot was decently developed and boy were the characters interesting. my favorite would be the scorpion because i am more a fan of good kicking kung-fu and the guy that played the scorpion was one of the best.

the plot goes like this...the master of the 5 poison clan is dying and regretful of the evil done by him and the 5 members of the clan. he has one last disciple who just knows a little of each of the 5 styles...and will lose to any of the 5 heads-up, but if he teams up with any one of the five against any of the remaining four, they will win. ...oh, by the way, there is hidden treasure, lots of very well choreographed fights, the cinematography was beautiful, the music score was good...and i am saying all this because i happened to watch a blu- ray of this movie and it was sooooooo awesome and it was in Chinese so i did not have to cry about the awful dubbing like everybody else.

i put this in my top 10 kungfu movies all time...after having watched the blu-ray of course and i just want to say that the last 10 mins. or so of the movie was awesome! pure movie magic for kung fu movie fans!

The Best kung Fu Movie Ever

[chanfan5 · 10/10 · 10 January 1999]

When I was very young,on a local tv station,they would show kung fu movies of all kinds on Saturdays.I saw lots of Kung Fu movies on weekends.I remember lots of them.I saw great flicks like Crippled Masters,Blind Fist of Bruce,Kung Fu Zombie,Shaolin Drunken Monk,Rage of the Master,Tattoe Dragon,and...Five Deadly Venoms.I remember the day clearly.Me and my dad had just gotten lunch at Burger King.We were racing home to see what movie it would be this saturday.We ran in the house and jumped onto the couch,turned on the set and flicked it onto 56.The usual intro of many kung fu movie clips in the background with the words Kung Fu Saturday over it.Then under that was the Title of the film.It said Five Deadly Venoms.Then the movie began.I bit into my burger amused with the pre-credit sequence.I loved this movie the minute it came on.My favorite character was the Toad Venom.The plot was hard to follow at that age but that wasn't what lured me...it was the fighting.The fights were so...amazing.I moaned every time a commercial came on and soon the 2 hours of the best movie i have ever seen ended.

Five - Count 'Em, Five - Deadly Venoms!

[dee.reid · 7/10 · 8 January 2022]

In the 1978 Chang Cheh-directed "The Five Deadly Venoms," Tang Tieh (Chiang Sheng), the young, untested sixth and final student of his dying master - the head of the dreaded Poison Clan - is given a daunting task: track down his master's remaining five disciples and bring them together one last time, or kill them if they are using their extraordinary animal-based gong-fu fighting styles (centipede, snake, scorpion, lizard, and toad) for evil purposes.

Of course, for Tang Tieh, this will be no easy assignment: each of his master's other five disciples wore unique and colorful masks (based on his chosen gong-fu fighting style) and the master never knew their real names (and each man ALSO never knew his fellow student's real name), and each man is now living under an assumed identity. Further complicating matters, is the fact that because Tang Tieh's fighting style is a hybrid of the other five styles, his training is essentially incomplete; he will have to team up with one or more of the other disciples to defeat the rest. But how will he find them? And furthermore, which one of the other disciples can he trust to be his ally?

What I just described makes "The Five Deadly Venoms" sound like a rather plot-heavy Shaw Brothers kick-'em-up, and would be enough to fill a 90-minute martial arts feature. Yes, there is a lot of story and plot here - perhaps more than is necessary for this sort of film - but therein also lies the greatest fault with "The Five Deadly Venoms": it causes the film to drag for a good portion of its middle section, which combines elements of a police procedural with a courtroom drama.

This should add a degree of variety to what has typically been a genre of little variety or consistency. The plot-heavy elements would work better if they were more balanced with the elaborately-staged fighting sequences - by Liang Ting, Tai Chi-Hsien, and Chu Lu-Feng - which don't really come into play until the film's third act. What's more, Chiang Sheng is off-screen for a large chunk of the film's middle section - he's almost like a peripheral character here (even though he's the star and the film's chief protagonist) - and it instead focuses on the other five disciples and their conflicts.

"The Five Deadly Venoms" ends the way that it's supposed to, with a bloody five-way gong-fu battle between the remaining members of the Poison Clan. "The Five Deadly Venoms" has become a beloved martial arts movie cult classic, and has proved heavily influential in the years since its debut - particularly in the hip-hop community; the rap group Wu-Tang Clan sampled dialogue from the movie in their song "Da Mystery Of Chessboxin'," off their landmark 1993 debut album "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)."

7/10.

Not very good at all - don't believe the hype!

[Drealmer · 5/10 · 28 September 2018]

I felt the need to write a review in light of all these glowing reviews that claim it is excellent or the best and all that nonsense. I have no idea what these people watched but this movie is mediocre and boring. It's not even a kung-fu movie! Like I understand the 1 guy who'd only seen 90's Jackie Chan action crap, but, that doesn't account for all the other 7-10 star ratings.

If this hadn't been a Cheng Cheh movie, I would have turned it off halfway through.

It tries to be a movie of compelling intrigue - with a little kung-fu thrown in. It fails horribly. It's as if they had a story outline that was solid for a kung-fu movie and then the writer wrote a first draft from that and they filmed the first draft without considering revision. It kind of can't get out of its own way trying to set up all the super-weak angles to the plot to make them align so there can be the final conflict. It felt like the movie was pacing back and forth twiddling its thumbs waiting to get on with it.

I caught myself looking at the timestamp at 1hr 5mins in and was like "omg I still have 35 minutes?!" It got slightly better in the last 35 but at that point I was just like "get to it" and when they got to it it was a let down.

I don't need face-paced or full of action, I don't need a good story. What I do need for a kung-fu movie like this is for it to be well-directed which means 1.) good kung-fu and 2.) keep me interested - it failed on both fronts.

It wasn't BAD, but there was barely anything good to it. Boring and mediocre and not worth the time. If you're a Cheh completionist, it's not going to hurt you, but don't seek this movie out thinking it's even close to a good kung-fu movie, much less a great one.

Well-made Shaw Brothers martial arts mystery drama

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 7 September 2014]

I admit, I'm a huge fan of the Shaw Brothers studio; alongside Hammer, it's my favourite film production house. Most of their films seem to be bright, action-packed and thoroughly entertaining, and THE FIVE VENOMS (aka FIVE DEADLY VENOMS) is one of their most influential outings. Here's the good news: the director is Chang Cheh, one of Shaw's most prolific and best, so you can rest assured that the film is a visual treat. The cast is decent, featuring the five famous Venom kung fu actors in their most memorable roles (Lo Meng is particularly good as the tough Toad, forced to undergo a number of strenuous trials). Production values are exemplary, as you'd expect.

What about the martial arts? Well, it's relatively plentiful, as you'd expect, but not quite up there with the best of the Shaw Brothers. Oh, it's good, you can be assured of that, but it's not on a level with the frenetic action of, say, FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS or CRIPPLED AVENGERS. The complex, angst-filled mystery-cum-kung-fu story is actually better than the action and doesn't simply serve to support the action sequences as in some of the (many) Venoms sequels. Each of the stars looks great and develops their own character even at this early stage: Sun Chien as stern and serious; Phillip Kwok as do-gooding and heroic; Lu Feng as psychotic and villainous; Chiang Sheng as the trickster; Lo Meng as dumb but strong. It's all good, unique in fact, and THE FIVE VENOMS is a classic for a reason; there's little to dislike here.