The Five Deadly Venoms (1978)

[FWN Adm]

One of the early films from the Shaw Brothers that became a classic and a favorite among martial arts film fans. Directed by Chang Cheh, starring the "Venom Mob", with martial arts choreography by Leung Ting, is about 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). 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.

The story:
The dying master of the powerful Poison Clan dispatches his last pupil, Yang Tieh, on a crucial mission. Worried the skills he taught are being used for evil, he orders Yang to trace a retired colleague, Yun, 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 the whereabouts and true identities of these masked warriors, 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.

The Centipede and the Snake come to the Yun family house to steal money before proceeding to butcher Yun's entire family when he refuses to divulge the location of his fortune. A witness sees the Centipede at the house. Later, the Scorpion investigates the scene and retrieves a hidden map. The Lizard, working as a policeman, recruits the Toad to help arrest the Centipede. After the Centipede is arrested and charged with murder, the Scorpion tells the Snake to frame the Toad for the murders.

The corrupt judge sends the Lizard away on government business while Snake pays off an officer to make the witness commit perjury, telling the judge he actually saw the Toad at the scene of the crime. The Toad refuses to confess, his kung-fu initially rendering him invulnerable to their attempts at torture, even when the Snake tries using a special torture device in order to counteract it. However, when that fails, the unseen Scorpion cripples the Toad by throwing a pair of darts at his weak points located behind his ears. Now vulnerable, the court subjects the Toad to further torture, leading to him passing out, after which his signature is forged on a confession.

With the Centipede acquitted for the murder charges, he goes free whilst an officer suffocates the Toad and hangs him in the cell to make it look as if he'd committed suicide. Afterwards, the Centipede and the Snake kill the witness and the corrupt officer in order to tie up any loose ends, but are both seen by two of the other policemen who go to a restaurant and tell the Lizard what happened whilst he was gone. The Lizard's supervisor, Chief Constable Ma, tries to encourage him to forget the issue, but the Lizard refuses. After identifying the Lizard and seeing his righteousness, Yang finally introduces himself and offers to work together with him to stop the other pupils; though hesitant at first, the Lizard eventually agrees and the pair work on techniques to defeat the others. As Yang and the Lizard prepare to confront the Centipede and the Snake, the Chief Constable arrives seeking to join them.

However, during the fight, he reveals himself to actually be the Scorpion and admits that he intends to kill everyone and claim the Yun fortune all for himself before jumping into the battle. The Scorpion manages to fatally injure the Snake and bribes the Centipede into helping him, however, Yang and the Lizard manage to defeat the Centipede while the Snake helps kill the Scorpion before he too dies. Once the fighting ends and the dust settles, Yang and the Lizard retrieve the Scorpion's map from his corpse and vow to use the fortune for good and restore the reputation of the Poison Clan.

View the Official Trailer from the film