This is a film for the fans of creature features and the heebie-jeebies now I separate the two as they are vastly different. A creature feature is purely a monster, not in the form of animals i.e., Alligator [1980] or Jaws [1975], one could think of The Tingler [1959], Leviathan [1989] which was a genetically altered beast, Bite [2015], Them! [1954] or simply Pumpkinhead [1988] while the others namely Bug [1975] or The Nest [1988] both had cockroaches or Squirm [1976] about worms, then there was Ants [1977] and Arachnophobia [1990]. In essence, these later films were all created to conjure that squeamish feeling in the viewers making them perceive that something was crawling in the dark – prowling on their skin. In addition, this is a foreign horror movie with English subtitles, which sadly is considered among some as a negative, that is highly incorrect, especially considering the level of blood, violence, action and centipedes in both the second and third acts, all taking place in Thailand; a country lately being attacked by giant monsters such as The Lake [2022].  Most horror fans may not know that this creature is not the center of attention in many horror films likely many will reflect to The Human Centipede series that stared in 2009 however, two films do proceed it first Centipede Horror [1982] from Hong Kong and Centipede [2004] which was about giant centipedes. Therefore, directors and writers Chalit Krileadmongkon with Pakphum Wongjinda (The Mirror [2015]) to generate a flick that is sure to panic the audience members who suffer from Scolopendrphobia or Chilopodophobia of this primitive but venomous arthropod in standard horror movie, from Well Go USA originally titled The One Hundred (good choice to change the title).
The film opens briefly with a vlogger named Kat who has a quick encounter with a centipede before coming face to face with a hideous humanoid monster, and then hard cut to three months later in Thailand one is informed of the measures surrounding quarantine protocols of Covid-19 as a bus pulls up to the Srichanphen Hotel as the guests required a 14-day stay.  A dedicated and yet unsavory manager Mr. Wit (David Asavanond Croc [2007])) works very hard with a highly limited staff, namely Pond as the hotel’s only housekeeper to function during the pandemic this obviously is a bit of foreshadowing. One is again informed of the reasoning, no one wants to work that close to the infection and in a quarantine facility. It is during the check-in process we are reminiscent of the step-by-step guides for distance in lines and serves to introduce the primary guests. First, is Fame (Chanya McClory), a YouTuber with an interesting secret, and her brother Fiew (Ben Benjamin Varney), then a family of three, a mute father (Paramej Noiam) his martial artist and resentful son Leo (Mike Angelo), and his daughter (Kulteera Yordchang.) Sadly, the film includes a stereotypical inclusion of a snobbish arrogant American, Steve. As Mr. Wit juggles a myriad of problems his boss Mr. Sompol and female guest spend a few nights at the hotel privately and questions the infection as it effects only certain folks, insisting his workers don’t wear masks around him. Soon the story moves along, as we see Kat the backpacker now as a nurse trainee who has a fetish for blood drinking, no not as a vampire think more along the lines of John Carpenter’s The Thing [1982] that takes over a new host to feed upon and search out more protein sources. Fame and Leo, who are both out of their individual rooms without permission, discover the first body but by the time the authorities arrive it’s gone, which was expected, at least the creature likes to keep things neat and tidy. Housekeeper Pond discovers the hideous intentions of the beast but does nothing to stop it. Wit continues a downward spiral of contempt as he scolds senior nurse May for leaving her post, a disregard for her concern about her mother and then demands obedience in a sexual manner, thankfully a staff personnel brings another problem. It’s later revealed that he orders the entire building locked down to prevent bad publicity, though not the whole story. The paranoia both from the numerous swarming centipede bug infestation and who is hosting the monster within their own flesh allows a series of strange events and devious actions. Hence, by the third act, the hotel is overrun with centipedes, and suddenly there’s a lot more guests running amok some falling to their death others attack and succumbing to venomous bites. Finally, we see the monster which honestly looks very good, and how it uses its pinchers is interesting, of course quite a bit of CGI is deployed all in the pursuit of Fame, never clearly understood the reasoning why that is; the epilogue is not required for the film, but leaves the door open for a sequel and lots of unanswered questions.

Let’s dive into the positives first, the film does its best to establish the ickiness of the centipede to ratchet up a creepiness for some viewers and presents a claustrophobic feel in certain scenes with a quality looking monster and solid performances from both Chanya McClory and Mike Angelo. As for the downside, there’s plenty first it starts well before slipping a tad through the first act, one witness a drama involving a moody Leo who struggles to forgive his father for his hand in his mother’s death which carries on to mid-way third act, wow. This subplot doesn’t offer much to the foreground of the storyline, and hence it effects a viewer reasoning to care about the characters, one needs to find someone in the story to strive, when occurs they seem to be eliminated and the audiences need to switch again and again. As for that storyline, the arc of it is troublesome, a series of minor plot holes begin adding up quickly, including why does it want the character ‘Fame’ never clearly explained, but thankfully doesn’t create a sinkhole until the epilogue which is definitely not needed.

There’s two interesting aspects I want to visit for a moment concerning the topic of centipedes, first a video during the film notes that “tabongplum” is the name of the ancient giant centipede in the Thai culture, sorry that is not correct, with very little research it is nonsensical word, but sounds very scientific of a species classification, although in less than 5 seconds the identification for said species is “kai maa” commonly “takhian maa”. I know this is such nitpicking but it’s something that gives creditability, in Jaws 2 (1978) they note the proper identification of the species and even b-movies can pull this tiny trinket maneuver, it gives some easy filler to the story and regard to Thai folklore, that the Buddhist have amulet for its strength while others see it as unpleasant though “Talaeo” to few refers to a mythical centipede creature in some folktales. The second issue a subtle note, which infuriated some was the lack of forth righteous of the character Pond in not being a doomsayer and taking a more submissive attitude when discovering a serious problem; in other words, they found fault and blame with the character traits and portrayal. However, that observation is slightly incorrect, remember the movie is set in Thailand, thereby the customs and culture are different. It concerned thoroughly disrespectful to accuse superiors or someone in authority of any wrongdoing, in this case Pond is a housekeeper the lowest rank at the hotel while Kat is a nurse in training. This base from the centuries old concept of hierarchical relationships equates with rank of power and knowledge, while the employee is to deter their thoughts by simply following orders and showing respect. Please understand, that throughout the movie before the creature takes over there’s harmony displayed in the workplace culture, any accusatory actions are deemed confrontational thereby damaging the reputation of the business. If one truly recalls many dramatic cinema movies from The Godfather (1972) to Scarface (1983) to Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) the rule is not personal just good business, same applies here.

First, the film is the require 90-monutes for a horror flick, however I feel it’s forced as the prologue and epilogue in the movie would do just as fine without their inclusion. Sadly, the creature mythology isn’t well explored or explained, rather have enjoyed that aspect in exchange for a deletion of the tacked-on beginning. The basic rule in the third act is not used well the monster should have center stage and become the focal point, rather than other characters, after all it’s clearly shown on the Blu-ray cover let it shine. Thankfully, the mystery gets pushed aside allowing for plenty of grisly digital effect kills and let the Giant Centipede creature attack relentlessly, with its 1000s of smaller versions consume the guest list. Therefore, if you like these types of buggy movies feel free to check in, enjoy your stay, sleep well, and be wary of what is sleep with you, a sheet or 100 legs crawling on you.

Footnote:

*Well Go USA sent me a Blu-ray to review, it didn’t influence my review.

**In addition, the cast was default to figure as the IMDb site did not have character names nor is the credits in the movie in English, my sincere apologies the actors for not listen names.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22479478/

IMDb Rating: 4.4/10

Baron’s Rating: 4.0/10