The Centipede Horror (1982)

[DrNgor]

Centipedes are a species of arthropod that don't get a whole lot of love in Western genre cinema. I don't know why. They're fast; they have lots of legs moving at the same time; they're voracious predators capable of eating anything in their path, including small vertebrates; and they're venomous to boot. But the West has ignored them in favor of spiders (giant and normal-sized), Scorpions, cockroaches, crabs, ants, and wasps. I think we got a glimpse of an oversized centipede in Peter Jackson's King Kong (when Naomi Watts is hiding inside a log), but that's about it.

The Chinese, however, have a greater appreciation for the animal. Perhaps it's because the creature has a greater role in its people's reality. There are at least two movies (Jet Li's Last Hero in China and Legendary Superkicker Hwang Jang Lee's Kid from Kwangtung) that featuer a centipede dance, much like the more traditional Lion Dance and Dragon Dance. And let's not forget A Chinese Ghost Story II, which features a giant flying centipede at its climax.

And then there's this film. I came into this film with high hopes. After all, Chinese cinema has famously been known for venturing so deep into the bizarre that almost anything else seems tame in comparison. They also refuse to "play by the rules" in terms of what to depict and who to kill. Chinese movies often benefit from a breakneck pace, which foregoes tension-building in favor of throwing as much at you as the filmmakers can imagine.

A rich young woman goes to SE Asia (presumably Thailand) with some friends against the wishes of her mother. Apparently the woman's grandfather had warned the family to never visit that region. The woman is attacked in the sticks by a legion of centípedes and is hospitalized. The woman experience extreme necrosis from her wounds and eventually succumbs to them (although the fact that centípedes pour out of the oozing wounds upon her death let us know that SOMETHING IS UP). Her brother, who had flown to Thailand just in time to see his sister die, starts investigating his family's background to find out why his grandfather wanted his kin to stay the heck away from SE Asia. And *that* will ultimately the brother in harm's way.

First things first: I like how Western movies portray the backwoods of Thailand as a hot spot for old muay thai másters, while the Chinese think of the place as crawling with black magic sorcerers.

So, is this film weird, bizarre and transgressive? Yes and no. It feels pretty standard until the last act, which gives us a White magic exorcism and a duel between black and White magic sorcerers that includes reanimated chicken skeletons, plus a few nasty images to close out the film. The way the villain meets his maker is especially strange, although it sort of makes sense with the film's internal logic. Beware of magic talismans bathed in snake venom.

The most transgressive moment come during a flashback sequence which explains why the grandpa had made the cryptic warning to his family. I find it hard to see Hollywood doing the same thing in a movie.

The finale is basically the Chinese version of the "They're Creeping Up On You" segment from Creepshow, but with centípedes. People who get the heevy-jeevies just by looking at creepy crawlers should love this part.

What about the pace? The film starts out good, but bogs down a lot in the second act when the main character starts his investigation. The only weirdness we see is a sorcerer curing a woman of a scorpion spell, with the help of his two pet ghosts (unlike the rest of the magic, the movie actually explains how that Works). It picks up again at the end, but a lot of the tension has dissipated by then. So what should be frightening and disturbing is mainly just weird and gross.

Part of the reason the second act bogs down is because of the sketchy way the magic is portrayed. The film is extremely ambiguous in just how much of the film's events are related to magic spells directed at the victim, and how much of it is an actual curse. If it were more explicitly the latter, than the film might have held a little more tension during the second act, since we would know that the hero is racing against time to solve the mystery and save himself. The nature of the spells and how they function is left to our imagination, and that's okay. But how the hero had encounters with centipedes and visions of kids in red before he went back to Thailand is never explained and eventually forgotten. Were they bad omens? Were they part of a curse? Is it karma? We never find out and it ends up hurting the film.

In his Asian Cult Cinema, author Thomas Weisser described this movie, especially the end, as being a cinematic endurance test. I never felt that, although people with low tolerance for many-legged creatures may feel differently. To me, it was a pedestrian horror film with a few weird, memorable, and even gross moments.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

... In his Asian Cult Cinema, author Thomas Weisser described this movie, especially the end, as being a cinematic endurance test. I never felt that, although people with low tolerance for many-legged creatures may feel differently. To me, it was a pedestrian horror film with a few weird, memorable, and even gross moments.

This book from Thomas Weisser is known to have many issues and errors (my friend Brian at HKMDB years ago put together a large list of errata for this book) which have led some to speculate that he might not have seen and/or finished many of the films he wrote about.

Now you got me thinking about the West's use, or lack of, of the centipede. Don't forget about James and the Giant Peach (1996) and its use of part of the plot of Naked Lunch (I can think of two things wrong with that title.) But I agree they are not used as much as much as the insects you mentioned.

On a side-note I used to play the arcade game (which was ported over to other systems including Atari later on) Centipede. So it wasn't absent from the West .

Not sure when I'll get to this film though you have me curious. You have an interesting point on how different places think of Thailand differently. Of course Muay Thai is a factor in several HK films (I'm thinking of The Tournament (1974) right now.)

[Secret Executioner]

Sounds like one weird movie - and a really gross one too.

On a sidenote (speaking of multi-legged creatures in Western culture), I think a centipede is seen during the infamous tunnel scene from Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, or maybe it's a millipede (non-venomous mostly detritivore and/or herbivore cousins of the centipede).

[DrNgor]

This book from Thomas Weisser is known to have many issues and errors (my friend Brian at HKMDB years ago put together a large list of errata for this book) which have led some to speculate that he might not have seen and/or finished many of the films he wrote about.

Yeah, my favorite error is the one where he reviews both Yes Madam '92: A Serious Shock and Death Triangle, despite the fact that they're the same film. I also found his intense loathing of Stephen Chow to be amusing. What I didn't find amusing is how he gave several films bad ratings for a lack of a plot (or at a thin plot), like Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon, and then gave other films with similar problems good ratings, like Avenging Quartet and License to Steal.

Apparently there are actually five traditional poisons in Chinese supertition, of which the centípede is a part.

Oh, and this film is available on YouTube.

[Jack J]

I remember mentioning Thomas Weisser's ATC/ACC book on the old Cinehound forum and Linn Haynes replied that his copy was literally full of his own handwritten corrections!

[M.H. Boroson]

Apparently there are actually five traditional poisons in Chinese supertition, of which the centípede is a part.

Gu (蛊) is a venomous magical brew made from the traditional poisonous creatures. To prepare gu, you'd take the five creatures and leave them together, poisoning each other. Eventually, they all die and in their place there's a squirmy little thing called a golden silkworm (jincan/金蚕). The golden silkworm can transform into many different spirit animals. It produces a deadly toxin.

In some versions of the folklore, wives prepare the poison and feed it to their husbands. But the women feed a temporary antidote to their husbands with every meal. This is a kind of curse: men are afraid to leave their wives, because they will no longer receive the antidote.

The Gu

[DrNgor]

Okay, gave this old review a new home at my site: 

https://abeautifulfilm.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-centipede-horror-1982.html

[legendarycurry]

This one had my attention from the get go with the ominous music and slithering centipedes. The opening narration that focuses on the centipede is both informative and helps set the scene. From here on out the pacing is solid for the most part as a woman travels to South East Asia and is killed in a gruesome centipede related way. Her brother tries to find out what's going on and uncovers more than he bargained for.

The atmosphere in this one is quite well put together I must say, and everything is played straight, something that works surprisingly well. Solid direction, atmospheric music, creative scenes of black magic and effectively gross use of the titular creepy crawler helps make Centipede Horror live up to its name.

Far from the scariest movie from HK but  it does have all the elements that a good horror flick should have and it  executes said elements well in my humble opinion. My main gripe with the film, which is my only real complaint is that a bit after the brother arrives in SE Asia the proceedings lag slightly until we are introduced to priests and their attempts at lifting curses and/or casting spells and the events surrounding these things.

Special shoutouts to the female cast members for doing stuntwork involving centipede regurgitation that not even the entire JC stunts group combined would dare to attempt.

"You can throw me off a clock tower but there is no way I am putting that in my mouth- Jackie Chan, 1982- upon seeing Centipede Horror ( It is my head-cannon he said this)

I kind of bought the limited edition bluray set from Error 4444 on an impulse  (Rest In Centipedes sweet wallet, if only you would regurgitate money) because I was fascinated by the film and because it looked like they had given it lots of love and care. I do not regret it at this point as I am anticipating seeing this film gloriously remastered and to see how that undoubtedly adds to the films beauty and grossness.

8/10