Line #36 Film/FiveDeadlyVenoms


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5_Deadly_Venoms_3690.gif]]
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3	A dying master of the Poison Clan is training his final student, his [[SixthRanger sixth]]. Fearing the skills he taught to his previous students are being used to evil ends, he sends this student, Yan Tieh (played by Chiang Sheng), on a mission: Trace his former students, assess their moral standing (dispatching them if necessary), and protect the master's old partner. His partner became rich through the clan and he fears the old students will seek to steal the fortune.
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5	So begins this cult 1978 Creator/ShawBrothers [[HongKongDub Hong Kong classic]] [[MartialArtsMovie movie]]. ''Five Deadly Venoms'' aka ''The Five Venoms'', is one of the best of the Shaw Brothers collection.
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7	During the course of his journey, Yan Tieh meets all five students. Alternatively referred to by their number (the order in which they were trained) or by their [[AnimalThemeNaming animal style]], each student was taught only 1 of the 5 poison styles. Yan Tieh, number 6, [[JackOfAllStats was taught some of all 5 styles]], but he had only 3 years of training so his master tells him "You must join up with one of the five, or you will have no chance of defeating them."
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9	[[HotBlooded Number 1]] (played by Lu Feng) is the [[CreepyCentipedes Centipede]]. His style mimics the hundred arms and legs of the centipede. He's fast. Really fast. He wears [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience red]].
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11	[[TheLancer Number 2]] (played by Wei Pei) is the [[SnakesAreSinister Snake]]. He has a two pronged attack. He has the snake's mouth on one hand whereby using precise finger control he attacks the pressure points mimicking the poisonous effect of a snake bite. On his other hand is the stinging tail. He fights extremely well on his back. He and Number 1 trained at the same time. Nevertheless all students wore masks to hid their identities from each other. His color is [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience silver]].
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13	[[TheGhost Number 3]] (played by Sun Chien) is the [[ScaryScorpions Scorpion]]. This style is all about striking. Hard. His kicks are like the stinging tail and his fists are like the pincer. He trained alone with the master and never met Number 1 or Number 2. He remains in the shadows for most of the movie. His color is either [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience black or purple]].
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15	[[TheSmartGuy Number 4]] (played by Philip Kwok) is the [[LovableLizard Lizard]]. The oldest of the fighters, he studied at the same time as Number 5. Remember that they all wore masks so none of them know the identities of the others. The lizard is an agile and nimble style. He can climb walls and fight with extreme dexterity from them. His color is [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience gold]].
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17	[[TheBigGuy Number 5]] (played by Lo Meng) is the [[AmphibianAssault Toad]]. The movie's description of this style must be quoted verbatim and certain people may remember the line appearing a Music/WuTangClan song. "The toad style is immensely strong and immune to nearly any weapon. When it's properly used, it's almost invincible." He can bend metal. His color is [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience green]] as shown in the open sequence.
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19	This movie was provided star-making roles for all six of its leads. In the years to come they became known as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venom_Mob Venom Mob]], and [[ProductionPosse would do many more films together]] as actors, stunt performers, and choreographers. Most of these films would also be directed by Chang Cheh. One of Chang's last films, ''Slaughter in Xian'', can be considered a CreatorDrivenSuccessor with a SettingUpdate to 1920s China.
20	----
21	!! This film provides examples of:
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23	* AchillesHeel:
24	** Toad is superhumanly tough, but [[spoiler:once his ears get smashed, he loses his strength and is killed]].
25	** Toward the end of the movie, Yang comes up with stratagems [[spoiler: that he and Lizard can use against Centipede, Snake, and Scorpion, based on what he knows of their respective styles. Centipede is vulnerable to being attacked from different levels, so Yang attacks the legs while Lizard attacks the head. Snake, by contrast, is vulnerable if attacked from different sides, preventing him from using his hands in tandem. We never actually hear his tactic against Scorpion, but it's implied he has one.]]
26	* AnimalThemeNaming: All the main characters/former students, except for Number 6, are given an [[NomDeGuerre animal name based off their Kung Fu style that mimics the animal.]]
27	** CreepyCentipedes: Centipede is an arrogant and brutal villain.
28	** SnakesAreSinister: Downplayed. Snake is an elegant, cold-blooded villain, but he actually [[spoiler: comes to realize that BeingEvilSucks and wants out.]]
29	** ScaryScorpions: Scorpion is the most mysterious of the bunch, with his true identity a secret until the climax of the movie. [[spoiler:He is a cunning, elusive presence, playing the other four against each other]].
30	** LovableLizard: Lizard is [[spoiler: a charming and amiable policeman who tries to do the right thing]].
31	** AmphibianAssault: Toad is a NighInvulnerable BoisterousBruiser. [[spoiler:He and Lizard are the only good guys of the five]].
32	* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Each of the titular Five Venoms qualifies as this. Numbers 1, 2 and 3 qualify as Type 2 - being {{Badass Normal}}s who's fighting styles are vaguely based off of their animal namesakes - while 4 and 5 are Type 1 since they're styles are [[SupernaturalMartialArts much less realistic]], Lizard-style allowing Number 4 to cling to walls by his feet and Toad-style making Number 5 invincible.
33	* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Most of them. Centipede is probably the most conventional case of this.
34	* BeardOfEvil: Number 1, aka Centipede, has this. It's even lampshaded by the witness.
35	* BigBadDuumvirate: At first it seems like Number 1 is set up to be the main BigBad, but throughout the film, the balance of power among the antagonists' alliance sways.
36	* BoisterousBruiser: Number 5, Brother Toad. He's a fun-loving, hard-drinking guy who is specifically described as "well-built".
37	* ByTheBookCop: Constable Ma, partner of Constable Ho. Ma obeys the formalities of the law and encourages the falsely-arrested Toad to have faith that, if he's innocent, the courts will acquit him. [[spoiler: Ultimately a subversion however, as he's revealed to be a DirtyCop and is, in fact, the Scorpion.]]
38	* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: As listed above, each of the Venoms is associated with a specific colour.
39	* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Kao Chin, who was the Scorpion, is the one who orchestrated all the wrongdoings done, including multiple murders which includes the assassination of Liang Shen]].
40	* TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch: After [[spoiler: murdering Toad in his jail cell by effectively waterboarding him to death]], the {{Dirty Cop}}s hang up his body and announce that he committed suicide. Likewise, when Centipede and Snake are cleaning up loose ends by murdering the witness and policeman they bribed, they commit the murders with a long metal hook down the throat or up the nose, leaving no visible wound - although in this case, the coroner ''does'' confide to Lizard that he has found the internal wounds and knows exactly how the two men died, but he's afraid to say it publicly or he'll be killed too.
41	* CowboyCop: Constable Ho is introduced as a downplayed example of this, gratefully accepting the offer of some fresh fruit from a vendor even though, as a policeman, he's not allowed to accept gifts. When reminded of this by his ByTheBookCop partner, Constable Ma, he insistently gives the vendor some money. In his dual identity of the Lizard, he also works outside the law to protect justice.
42	* DecoyProtagonist: It sways back and forth between Toad and the Sixth Student for a bit, but arguably the true hero is Lizard.
43	* DevilInPlainSight: [[spoiler:The Scorpion and Lizard are local constables, and the Snake is a rich nobleman. In the Lizard's case, he's actually a good guy]].
44	* DirtyCop: Basically all of them except Constable Ho Yuan-Hsin, [[spoiler: who's actually Meng Tien-Hsia, the Lizard]].
45	* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler: Brother Snake turns on Brother Scorpion in the final fight after the latter attempted to kill Snake when he was fleeing; [[TakingYouWithMe big mistake on the Scorpion's part...]]]]
46	* FinalBattleInducedShirtLoss: Everyone wears open-fronted shirts, but Lizard is fully shirtless during the final battle.
47	* HangingJudge: The local Judge.
48	* HeelRealization: At the start of the third act, Snake takes a brief moment to lament to Scorpion that while he doesn't actually want the treasure since he's already rich, he keeps killing to keep himself out of trouble and mentions he only joined the clan for the skills only, and asks when will it end. Scorpion laughs it off, saying that once started, it will never end.
49	* HeKnowsTooMuch: The informant and the witness are both killed.
50	* HongKongDub
51	* INeedAFreakingDrink: After Lizard returns from his trip to find that Centipede has been set free and Toad has been framed for the crime and killed, he immediately makes his way to a local inn and practically crawls inside one of their massive jars of wine.
52	* IronMaiden: The film features an iron maiden variant with the victim's head exposed. [[spoiler:Snake uses this to defeat Toad's "iron skin" power, but it only takes after Scorpion and Snake smash his ears and disable his ability]].
53	* KangarooCourt: In the murder trial, the judge is desperate to get a conviction quickly, not solve the case. Listening to the poisonous whisperings of Snake, the trial devolves into this rather quickly, ending in the conviction of Toad and the acquittal of Centipede. This was after Centipede was initially identified as the murderer, and he was apprehended thanks in no small part to Toad.
54	* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: The judge does not get any punishment]] but Yan Tieh does suggest it, only for Brother Lizard to say that his replacement could be worse.
55	* LonelyRichKid: [[spoiler:Brother Snake, born into a rich family but entered the Poison clan just to master style of kung fu and is only started after the treasure because of loyalty to Centipede]].
56	* ManipulativeBastard: Snake, who masterminds a way to turn the police against Toad, and get Constable Ho (whom he doesn't realize is Lizard, but does know is a friend of Toad) out of the way during the process.
57	* MartialArtsMovie: Obviously.
58	* NeverOneMurder: After the Yun massacre, Snake and Centipede have to frame Toad for their crimes and then commit two more murders to cover their tracks. See RewardedAsATraitorDeserves below. [[spoiler: Snake grows increasingly uncomfortable with all this, even wondering aloud where it will end. Scorpion simply tells him that it won't.]]
59	* NighInvulnerable: The Toad can shrug off iron spikes and bend sheet metal with his bare fists. [[spoiler: Just don't hit his ears.]]
60	* NumberOfObjectsTitle: The five people the protagonist has to find.
61	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Yan Tieh spends the bulk of the film pretending to be just a beggar to go under cover.
62	* OldMaster: It is implied that the head of Five Venoms House is this, but downplayed due to the fact that he is dying at the beginning of the movie.
63	* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: The Poison Clan Teacher fears this to be the case for all his students except Number 6. Ultimately, it's only the first three who are evil.
64	* PermaStubble: Lizard sports a very fake-looking five o'clock shadow at all hours of the day. It never progresses to a full beard.
65	* RapidFireFisticuffs: Centipede style's specialty.
66	* RedHerring: The Scorpion [[spoiler: is not the judge.]]
67	* RedOniBlueOni: Number 1 (red) and Number 2 (blue) along with a similar relationship between Number 4 (blue) and Number 5 (red). Number 1 even wears red as his signature colour.
68	* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: After Centipede is freed, he and Snake [[spoiler: murder the witness they threatened into lying, and the DirtyCop they bribed, since they know they can't trust these guys to keep the secret.]]
69	* SecretIdentity: Downplayed; most of the students used the name of their style to cloak their identity back when they were part of the Poison Clan. After they left, most of them either kept their name separate from their past or assumed a new identity after leaving the clan.
70	** The Centipede is [[spoiler:Chang Hsiao-Tien; he doesn't really have much of a secret identity]].
71	** The Snake is [[spoiler:Chi Tung; he is back to being a rich nobleman like he originally was]].
72	** The Scorpion, the most enigmatic of the three, is [[spoiler:Kao Chin; he goes by the new identity of Chief Constable Ma Chou, and has been keeping Brother Lizard at bay the entire time to make sure everything went smoothly for himself and regarding the assassination of Liang Shen]].
73	** The Lizard, is [[spoiler:Meng Tien-Hsia; he goes by the new identity of Constable Ho Yuan-Hsin and is the one of the few good constables amongst them]].
74	** The Toad, is [[spoiler:Liang Shen; he is just a drinker at the tavern who acts an ally to Tien-Hsia]].
75	* ShoutOut: In the scene where [[spoiler: Yan and Lizard]] are practicing their strategies for how to defeat the bad guys' techniques, the background music is taken from ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', of all things.
76	* TheRedMage: Yan Tieh, the last/sixth disciple, is essentially the kung fu version of this, knowing traces of all the techniques but not being an expert in any to stand against the others alone.
77	* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: Number 5]].
78	* TheStoolPigeon: Wong Fa, who witnessed the murders at the Yun residence and identifies Centipede as the killer, is later intimidated into changing his story to implicate the innocent Toad.
79	* SixthRanger: TheHero, Yan Tieh, is this.
80	* TokenGoodTeammate: [[spoiler:Meng Tien-Hsia, the practitioner of the Lizard Style, is the only one with a sense of justice and who used his skills afterwards for good despite his past. Toad could be called a downplayed example - while basically an okay guy, he doesn't have the heroic drive that Lizard has]].
81	* TooAwesomeToUse: Non-item example but Brother Toad is especially frustrated that he has to pretend to just be a random strong man and keep his true skills in secret. It's due to being one of the Venoms that a signature move set is such a revealing calling card.
82	* TortureAlwaysWorks: To both Centipede and Toad during the murder trial. Neither of the tough guys actually break under torture--but they're both ''really'' anxious not to undergo it again.
83	* TotallyRadical: According to at least one version of the English subtitles, Snake's full title is "Snake Spirit Dude". This is only referred to once, then never mentioned again.
84	* WallCrawl: A Lizard style specialty. He can even casually stroll up walls and hang out there as long as he wants.
85	* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: The Venoms associated with the cuter animals - Lizard and Toad - are good guys, while those associated with scarier animals - Centipede, Snake, and Scorpion - are evil.
86	* YouAreNumberSix: The Deadly Venoms are often referred to by the order in which they were trained, though the movie's use of the trope lacks the dehumanizing implications it often has. Yan Tieh is, indeed, Number Six.

Context Film / FiveDeadlyVenoms