Well Go USA
Release Date: Oct 3, 2023
Anyone with a fear of centipedes is best advised to look away than watch this latest Thai film brought to America. Creepy Crawly (original title is The One Hundred) is an effective story about how to survive an infestation. And as for whether anyone will develop a phobia afterwards, thankfully it’s all CGI! However, the next time I see a giant sized multi-legged terror coming at me, I’m still going to run away!
After Kat encounters a multi-legged fright in the jungles of Cambodia, the setup isn’t too hard to figure out. While searching for a forgotten camp site for her video blog, meets an old lady looking very worse for wear, and presumedly is lost. Later at night, she’s found an area to make camp and after getting frightened by a single caterpillar falling into her tent, the Evil Dead vibe got my imagination going. When that person she met before shows her true colours that’s an image that’ll haunt my dreams for a few days!
After the opening credits, the narrative jumps ahead in time. There are tourists and locals returning from abroad being quarantined. Until they prove themselves clear of COVID-19, they aren’t allowed to roam the city. Pretty soon chilopods are found crawling about, and I was wondering how edible they are instead of being scared.
These bugs apparently have a hive mind, and rather than be the random creepy crawlies just looking for a new home, their plan is something worse. Mind you, after watching this film, I’m thinking twice about going camping during the wet season! I’d rather have some peace of mind in a hotel at a national park.
Here, we meet Mr. Wit (David Asavanond) who is the building manager and Pond who is the only housekeeper. There’s other staff going around too to cook the meals and do other things, but they aren’t fully credited. As for the guests, there is Fame (Chanya McClory), who is also a vlogger, and her brother Fiew (Ben Benjamin Varney). Also, Kat apparently survived her ordeal, and I see that she’s a student nurse who has to hole up at the Srichanphen Hotel too.
Other residents include a family of three, a mute father (Paramej Noiam) with his son (Mike Angelo) and daughter (Kulteera Yordchang). And there’s Steve, a rather snobbish American who got killed sooner than later! The large cast needed to be whittled down as fast as possible during this movie’s running time, and there was a bit of joy laying bets on who would go first. As for whether I’m creeped out because of a fictional legend known to possess humans…. Unless it’s based on some actual piece of Thai folklore, the terror just doesn’t feel real. I had to check if a tabongplum exists, and couldn’t find any information.
3½ Stars out of 5
Creepy Crawly U.S. Movie Trailer
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