The use of folklore and native legends as a source for content in the horror genre stretches back decades, whether it be for minuscule scenes within the larger narrative or wholesale films based on such stories. Ranging from the likes of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and other cryptids to simpler stuff like “When a Stranger Calls” or “Urban Legends,” it's all fairly commonly used as a building block that serves up some intriguing content. Directors Chalit Krileadmongkon and Pakphun Wongjinda, hot on the heels of their successful creature feature “Leio: The Terrible Giant” (or the rebranded US title “The Beast Beneath”), team up again with inspiration from a Thai legend of a human-possessing centipede to deliver another stellar creature feature in “Creepy Crawly” on Digital and Blu-Ray from WellGo USA on October 3.
In the early stages of the pandemic, vloggers Fame (Chanya McClory) and her brother Phil (Benjamin Joseph Varney) are joined alongside Leo (Pirat Nitipaisakul), his sister Lena (Kulteera Yordchang), and others at the Srichanphen Hotel for a state-mandated fourteen-day quarantine. While staying under the supervision of hotel manager Mr. Wit (David Asavanond), they begin their procedural stay, only to quickly be unnerved by strange disappearances around the hotel that no one else seems to believe as there's nothing left behind. As time goes on and the group slowly realizes the danger they're in, it dawns on them that one of the guests was possessed by a mystical centipede-like beast that needs human hosts to inhabit and thrive, forcing them to find a way of stopping the creature before it can overtake them all and spread throughout the world.
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For the most part, “Creepy Crawly” was rather fun and had a lot to like about it. A lot of this starts with the central story from writer-directors Krileadmongkon and Wongjinda which puts the film in an interesting cross-section of time yet still tells an intriguing story. The initial setup at the beginning where everyone is placed inside the hotel to quarantine and being forced to follow their guidelines despite the hotel being ill-prepared for that kind of service starts this off rather nicely. This is given a nice touch with the threat coming from the mystical centipede creature that shows up as the body-hopping abilities come into play rather nicely. With the folklore of the creature's history establishing it as the type of being that works well in this type of environment where no one can be trusted already because of the pandemic protocols, this setup provides quite a lot of fun and suspense from the main setup.
In addition to this, “Creepy Crawly” has a lot of fun with the creature feature qualities. The use of the legend allows some fun. The first attacks are nicely over-the-top, with the possessed figure wandering around, snatching victims in the dark corridors or remote sections of the hotel. This lets it use the sneak attack advantage and the extra-long grasp it has, with the massive tentacles providing the killing blow. Since there are no witnesses and no evidence left behind upon investigating everything until much later on, there are some decent attempts at suspense, with the patrons not knowing who or what is responsible even after more of them start to go missing. The ability of the creature to possess others and take them over to do its killing makes for a great touch since not knowing who it is but still having to deal with the thousands of creatures crawling over every surface possible lets the final act flow heavily with some impressive visual effects for the creatures.
That said, “Creepy Crawly” does have some big issues. The main drawback centers around the film's focus on the hotel's guests and staff trying not to catch the disease rather than dealing with the creature on the loose. Far too much of this one is spent on the cleaning protocols and safety precautions being utilized at the hotel, so it never really makes the creature any kind of priority. It just shows up unannounced and begins its rampage, seemingly randomly, as a series of innocuous scenes show the crew trying to deal with the influx of guests they have. It has more time for Mr. Wit trying to get the staff in line or the guests going through their own issues while staying inside. This all ends up leaving the film without much in the way of a detailed story or investment in what's happening until the final act.
The other issue with “Creepy Crawly” is that there's a huge discrepancy in the final half that goes off in a bizarre direction. Rather than provide a continuation of the idea that the creature has been going through the staff and guests to find a suitable host, instead we get a wholly confusing story about Fame featuring a blood type that will enable the centipede to become immortal with her as a host. Several flashbacks try to help this connection make sense, involving how that comes into being and what caused the creature to try this but it only serves to be illogical attempting to bring everything together so the film comes off rather weakly during this ending section. Lastly, the need to include several unnecessary subplots to try to extend the running time, most notably the hotel owner's extramarital affair that goes nowhere, is somewhat infuriating. These are all enough to bring the film down overall.
Featuring a lot of good creature feature qualities while being let down by some storyline factors, “Creepy Crawly” is a generally solid feature that gets brought down by these other issues. Viewers who appreciate this kind of genre effort or are curious about it will have a lot to like.
