5 Deadly Venoms [DVD] [1978] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Five Venoms aka five deadly venoms is a film that truly lives up to its name. From the outset, the fight scenes are never less than brutal and the more blood thirsty watcher won't be disapointed. The film takes the usual master/student against all odds tack with the final revenge etc..However this is not to say there is no plot, for once I did not find myself waiting for the next fight scene, but actually wondering where the plot would take the film and how much more harsh it could get! The fight scenes are good old fashioned, mystical climbing up walls stuff with lots of specialised styles so I can't recommend this film enough.

This one's a true original.

Forget all the chop socky tired foolery about vengeful students seeking bloody justice over murdered masters or bright eyed, bald Shaolin monks teaching the uninitiated and unwashed a thing or two about fighting and philosophy. This one's about money. It's also about treasure, about deception, backstabbing and backbiting, oh and did I also mention masks?

Five Deadly Venoms rocks and socks with some of the most memorable fight scenes ever filmed for a period Kung-Fu flick. And that's why we rent em and buy em, right? The action!

Watch this one before you pop in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. This one has to be one of QT's favorites and it may just become a favorite of yours too

I am quite a late comer to the Venoms films, although I have seen a few other Shaw bros. efforts such as the 36th Chamber of Shaolin which I highly recommend. So when I finally got my greasy mitts on a rationally priced copy of this on Ebay - for some reason it is preposterously priced in most places for a 30 odd year old film - I had big expectations, not just because of the shear amount of love people have for it, but also because I'd waited so long to ogle it. Now, after my first viewing of The Five Deadly Venoms, I have fashion this sparkly review, in the form of a handy pros and cons list, for you to take on board, and either act upon or ignore. I Hope it's useful whatever you decide to do with it!

THE HIGH KICKS:
- The venoms themselves are great characters with cool, instantly recognisable, styles. I'm sure you will instantly like one above the depending on your preferences - I personally like the toad, he was nails (excuse the pun - you'll see what I mean).
- Although the blood is bright red and fake looking the violence is nasty as heck at times, and I know it's not big and it's not clever but I don't watch martial arts films to see people throw wet biscuits at each other...in fact I don't know what I would watch to see that. Anyway be aware that some of the stuff in here is a bit icky: metal hook down the throat anyone?
- Awesome traditional kung fu mixed with a touch of crazy wall walking and what not. This isn't wire fu by any means but there is a touch of the fantastic where one of the venoms is concerned.
- A very deep and twisty story, and not just for a kung fu film, which, for me, was most enjoyable but may put others off who are looking for something more straight up.
- The sound effects are great, some don't but I love those old school snap board sounds

BELOW THE BELT:
- The DVD release I watched was fully uncut, and cleaned up, but unfortunately it had no subs and language options so all I got was a shoddy dub - try and find one with all the bells and whistles or you'll be giggling more than I think was intended. Although from what I've been told the script (unlike the story) is merely adequate anyway.
- As I mentioned the story is far deeper than most people watching a bit of old chop socky have come to expect, and this may put some of those people off, but again, as I said above, I loved it.
- There also isn't as much Kung-Fu in here as some may be used too - there is plenty of nastiness but the fights are a little sparser than things from around the same time. That's not to say they're non existent, there's still plenty of action to keep you entertained.

THE FINAL STRIKE:
A classic of the genre, I can see the ripple of influence this film has created right up to today. Top characters with great styles, one of which I'm sure will stick amongst your faves, combine this with a brilliant yarn and all in all this is as good as it gets. This may be a little different than what you're used to but I'd grab it as fast as you can as I can't wait to see more awesomeness from the venoms.