Film

The Five Venoms

Name: The Five Venoms
Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery, Fantasy
Released: 1978
Cast: Chiang Sheng, Phillip Kwok Chui, Sun Chien, Lu Feng, Lo Meng

Martial arts action

Five former students of a dying master are summoned to root out a traitor among them, each identified only by an animal fighting style — Centipede, Snake, Scorpion, Lizard, Toad. It's Shaw Brothers at its most stylised: minimal plot scaffolding, maximum choreography, a mystery-box structure that exists mostly to string together increasingly inventive fight sequences. Great for anyone who wants kung-fu cinema distilled to pure form.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love kung fu films where the fighting is a puzzle, each of five masters a distinct animal style, and the mystery of who is hunting whom keeps you guessing for a hundred minutes.

Skip it if you want fast, continuous action; the film lingers on talk, rivalry and suspicion between its fighters, so the bouts arrive in deliberate, sometimes slow-burning bursts.

What it asks of you: About a hundred minutes of close attention, with patience for conversation and scheming before the strikes land; it rewards watching the moves as much as following the plot.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin1978

Same year, same studio, same obsession with codified fighting styles — but here the focus turns inward to training itself, one of the most satisfying 'watch a skill get built' movies ever made.

But Slower pace than Venoms; the first act is almost entirely setup before the training montages begin.

Kill Bill: Vol. 12003

Tarantino's love letter to exactly this genre — a roll call of assassins each with a signature weapon and style, hunted down one by one, shot with the same operatic excess.

But Extremely violent and self-consciously referential; if you want the real thing rather than a remix, this can feel like homework with better lighting.

Enter the Dragon1973

Bruce Lee's only Hollywood-scale production and the film that made this whole genre legible to Western audiences — tournament structure, secret identities, and fights that still hold up.

But Dated in places, with a spy-plot subplot that hasn't aged as gracefully as the fight choreography.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Five Venoms

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Seven Samurai1954

Both structure their plot around a group of specialists assembled or investigated for a mission, each defined by a singular skill, tested by loyalty and moral character rather than just fighting ability — Venoms inherited this DNA from decades of samurai and wuxia cinema Kurosawa helped codify.

Kurosawa's team of specialists, each defined by a distinct skill and tested by loyalty, is the blueprint this whole genre inherited — watch the ur-text a quarter-century before Venoms borrowed its bones.

But Three hours long, in black and white, with a deliberate pace that's a world away from Venoms' lean, fight-forward momentum.

Once Upon a Time in China1991

Jet Li at his most iconic, playing real folk hero Wong Fei-hung with wire-assisted fights that turn kung-fu into pure spectacle without losing the discipline underneath.

But More historical and political than Venoms' pulpy mystery-box setup; some may miss the grindhouse simplicity.

Iron Monkey1993

Yuen Woo-ping directs a folk-hero romp with astonishing physical comedy baked into the fight choreography — fast, funny, and gorgeously staged.

But Leans comic rather than mythic; the tone is lighter than Venoms' grim traitor-hunt plot.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon2000

Takes the same wuxia DNA — secret techniques, hidden loyalties, honor-bound fighters — and elevates it into something painterly and emotionally devastating.

But Much more melancholic and romantic; if you came for Venoms' pulpy energy, this might feel like a different genre entirely.

Ip Man2008

Donnie Yen brings modern polish to old-school kung fu cinema's obsessions — mastery, honor, style versus style — with fights choreographed to be legible and brutal.

But More grounded and dramatic than Venoms' fantastical animal-style mysticism; less playful, more prestige.

Kung Fu Hustle2004

Stephen Chow's cartoonish tribute to the genre turns the tropes — secret masters, hidden identities, escalating fight reveals — into gleeful slapstick.

But Broad comedy throughout; if you want Venoms' straight-faced intensity, the constant gag-reel tone may grate.

Drunken Master1978

Same year as Venoms, wildly different energy — Jackie Chan's breakout showcases another distinct 'style as character' approach, comedic where Venoms is deadpan.

But Plot is thin even by genre standards; it exists almost entirely to showcase Chan's physical comedy and stunt work.

Reservoir Dogs1992

Both hinge on a group whose real identities are hidden behind code-names tied to their function, and both build their tension entirely around figuring out who among the group has betrayed the others — the mystery structure is identical, just dressed in a trenchcoat instead of a snake costume.

Swap animal-style kung fu for colour-coded crime aliases and you get the same engine — a crew of specialists, concealed identities, and a slow-burning hunt for the traitor in the room.

But No martial arts at all, and the violence is grimier, more intimate, and psychologically uncomfortable rather than choreographed spectacle.

Avatar: The Last Airbender2005

The show's four bending styles function exactly like Venoms' animal kung-fus — a coded system of distinct disciplines used to signal character and loyalty, complete with a concealed defector whose true identity drives the plot, just translated into a completely different register and medium.

An animated series built on exactly the same idea — distinct elemental fighting disciplines, hidden loyalties, a betrayer working undercover — but rendered for families instead of grindhouse audiences.

But Animated and aimed at younger viewers; the tone is warm and hopeful where Venoms is cold and mercenary.