Kraithong (1980) User Reviews

Weregators!

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 6 December 2020]

There was once a magical underwater cave located deep where crocodiles were born under a floating magic ball that made the bottom of the ocean, or at least this cave, glow like it was day and not far under the ocean. Here, Chalawan ruled, turning every crocodile into human forms that needed no sustenance. Yet the leader was no Buddhist like his ancestors. He wanted to taste human flesh.

This is really the story of Krai Thong, who must kill Chalawan to win the heart - and some of the cash - of the millionaire Tapaokaew's daughter. That said, the villain is also killing all sorts of villagers, with his two wives - who can also turn into alligators - helping him in all the human eating fun. Our hero is going to have to make a spear from seven different metals if he wants to put away this weregator for good.

This same story has been told many times, starting with 1958's Krai Thong. There have been six versions, with the last one made in 2017.

This one was made by Sompote Sands. Way back in 1972, he made another version of this called Chalawan. Sompote is a man that knows monsters, as he pretty much took Japanese kaiju movies to Thailand, making The 6 Ultra Brothers vs. the Monster Army, Hanuman and the Five Riders (a bootleg Kamen Rider) and Jumborg Ace & Giant. He also must love reptiles because he also made Crocodile, a children's movie named Magic Lizard and this film and a sequel in 1985.

This movie has the cheapest - and yet most awesome - sets you've ever seen, as well as a bad guy so amazing that he doesn't just transform into a man-eating alligator, he also has a laser ring that mesmerizes women into marrying him.

Also known as Legend of the Crocodile, this is a movie filled with padding, stock footage of crocodiles, slow motion strip fights between reptile/human hybrid brides of an evil king, people being bit in half, so much blood in the water and - at least in my copy - hardcoded English subtitles and the worst VHS quality ever.

In short, I loved it.

Crazy croc nonsense!

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 16 February 2021]

Based on an old Thai folktale, Kraithong tells the story of crocodile king Shalawan (Sombat Metanee), who lives in his underwater cave in human form, but who changes into reptilian form to feed upon those stupid enough to take a dip in crocodile infested waters. One day, Shalawan sees a beautiful woman, Tapao-Thong (Supansa Nuengpirom) and decides to add her to his harem of wives. The girl's father declares that whoever rescues Tapao-Thong will be rewarded with marriage to his other daughter, Tapao-Kaew (Ampha Phoosit). Brave Krai-thong (Sorapong Chatree) accepts the challenge, using three magical items - a pike, a knife and a candle - given to him by the local Crocodile Wizard (Chamnong Bamphensab).

Using the magic candle to part the waters, Krai-thong pursues Shalawan to his cave, where he frees Tapao-Thong and defeats the crocodile king, allowing him to live if he promises not to kill anymore. Returning to the village on Shalawan's back, triumphant Krai-thong marries both sisters, after which the Wizard kills the crocodile king. Not one to waste an opportunity, Krai-thong returns to Shalawan's cave and seduces Vimila, one of the crocodile king's wives. He takes his new conquest to the village to be his third wife, but Tapao-Thong and Tapao-Kaew aren't happy, ordering local men to rape the woman. Vimila scares the men away by turning into a crocodile.

Any film that opens with a small child diving straight into the waiting jaws of a croc has got to be worth a watch in my book, and, sure enough, Kraithong is a lot of bonkers fun, delivering loads of dodgy special effects, gore, and general weirdness. There's a catfight in slow motion between two of Shalawan's crocodile wives; we get a rather nasty moment where a monkey has its paw chopped off and is used as bait; and I still don't know what to make of the scene in which a young boy sticks his head up an old guy's sarong to check out 'the bird laying on eggs in its nest'. Naturally, there's a lot of entertaining crocodile action too, with the Shalawan croc snapping off legs and chomping heads, and generally being a bit of a nuisance (directors Neramit and Sompote Sands using both real crocs and a large model to achieve these scenes), and let's not forget the hilarious sight of crocodiles carrying boulders in their jaws to block off the cave entrance.

With a running time of 105 minutes, the film does tend to drag during the final act, and ends rather abruptly in an unsatisfying manner, but, even so, I recommend Kraithong to those who avidly seek out unusual films from around the world.