The One Hundred (2022) Film Review - Creepy Crawlies Check In

People who fear centipedes or those with Scolopendrphobia or Chilopodophobia should better steer away from this latest Thai monster flick… unless they want to get nightmares for days. But for those looking for some harmless thrills, then this new creature feature is worth checking out.

Penned and directed by Chalit Krileadmongkon and Pakphum Wongjinda, this latest Thai monster flick is your basic beastly fare, opening with a young female backpacker who is attacked by something horrible in the woods. The film continues following a different group who have just returned to Thailand three months after the outbreak of COVID-19 and are forced to quarantine for 14 days in an old hotel. This group includes Fame (Chanya McClory), a Youtuber, and her brother Fiew (Ben Benjamin Varney), and a family of three, led by Leo (Mike Angelo), a moody athlete, and his younger sister (Kulteera Yordchang) and mute father (Plai Paramej Noiam). The entire hotel is managed by the dedicated Mr. Wit (David Asavanond) who’s trying to keep the place in one piece, despite their obvious lack of workforce brought on by the pandemic (obviously, no one would want to work in a hotel used as a quarantine facility). To top it all, his boss decides to also stay for the night with his female friend, adding to his pressure.

Little do they know that one of the nurses in the quarantine facility is actually the female backpacker from the opening scene, and inside her is the creature that is looking for a new host to transfer to. When Fame and Leo discover the first body, all mangled up, no one believes them, with Mr. Wit claiming that they’re just out to ruin the reputation of his beloved hotel. But then, centipedes start popping out from every corner of the building. And they realize that the monster has already jumped to a new host-which means that it could be any one of them.

Imagine John Carpenter’s The Thing, but with a giant centipede as its monster-this is probably the best way to describe The One Hundred. It starts out pretty strong, with enough moments of thrills and grisly kills as the creature, which is believed to be an ancient monster, jumps from one human body to another. Sadly, the whodunit aspect of who’s the new host of the monster was sidelined to give way to a third-act conflict where instead of the main monster, another character takes center stage. It was a weird decision, with the latter’s actions and motivations ending up weak and illogical. There are also some story arcs that didn’t really go anywhere, like Mr. Wit’s boss, who appeared in three scenes without any direct contribution to the final conflict. And how did the female backpacker from the opening scene get internet service in the middle of nowhere? These things may seem minor at the time, but as they build up they make for a slightly frustrating experience.

The film’s third act ultimately becomes cheesy and convoluted, with a final scene that’s totally unnecessary. Still, the film works as a standard monster flick, thanks to some solid performances from its cast led by Mike Angelo) and Chanya McClory, and some nifty visual effects as the hotel gets overrun by a swarm of centipedes that’ll give you the creeps. So while it doesn’t really offer anything new to the genre, this Thai horror fare is nevertheless easy to enjoy and appreciate, even if you’re not too squeamish with these creepy crawlies.