Not
Rated (Disturbing Sadistic Horror Violence, Nudity and Language)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 32 Minutes
Cast:
Dieter
Laser-Dr. Josef Heiter
Ashley
C. Williams-Lindsay
Ashlynn
Yennie-Jenny
Akihiro
Kitamura-Katsuro
Andreas
Leupold-Detective Kranz
Peter
Blankenstein-Detective Voller
Directed
by Tom Six
 |
| "Now you can bite me. Bite my boots! Bite my boots!" |
Not
all films are created equal but they always inspire a wide range of emotions.
Directors pushing the limits of extreme cinema in order to explore the depths
of human depravity are nothing new but when Tom Six’s “The Human Centipede
[First Sequence]” began to make the rounds at various film festivals in 2009,
the reactions to the body horror flick ranged from glowing praise to outright revulsion.
The perverse premise gives new meaning to 'ass to mouth' and involves a mad
doctor kidnapping three victims so he can realize his vision of a Siamese
triplet…by surgically connecting their mouths and anuses together! Six was
inspired to write the film when he saw a child molester on the news and joked, 'they should stitch this guy with his mouth to the ass of a very fat truck
driver. It would be a really good punishment for him.' A sequel titled "The
Human Centipede 2 [Full Sequence]" has already been completed with a
limited release set for October 7, 2011 and from the reviews I’ve read, it
looks like it ups the ante even more
in depravity. Plus, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has banned
the film and the official trailer wears it like a badge of honor. "The
Human Centipede [First Sequence]" may suffer from lapses in logic and an
overreliance on tired horror clichés but the film succeeds due to the fact that
Six has crafted something that’s never been done before, even if all the
premise does is make you want to vomit.
Lindsey (Ashley C. Williams) and Jenny
(Ashlynn Yennie) are two American tourists on a road trip though Europe but
while searching for a nightclub in Germany, their car unexpectedly breaks down
with a flat tire in the middle of a forest. Unable to get any cell reception,
the two friends attempt to find help and come upon the house of a Dr. Josef
Heiter (Dieter Laser). Heiter ends up drugging and holding the two women
captive in his basement cellar. He also kidnaps a Japanese tourist named Katsuro
(Akihiro Kitamura). Heiter reveals to his three victims that he was once a
world-renowned surgeon, an expert at separating conjoined twins but now envisions
of creating a creature that share one digestive system. In order to accomplish
his perverse goals, he plans to surgically sever the ligaments in their knees
and connect the three by sewing their mouths and anuses together to form the
world’s first 'human centipede.'
People who are hoping for an all-out gore fest
will be disappointed as "The Human Centipede [First Sequence]" is
relatively restrained compared to films like "Saw" or "Hostel,"
with the only gruesome scenes being a teeth removal and flesh on the buttocks
being surgically cut as Dr. Heiter creates his own version of Frankenstein’s
monster. No, much of the shock and revulsion comes from its premise, which
is rather ironic considering that humor involving excrement is considered funny
but with Six's film, it's immoral and offensive. What a hypocritical society we
live in! As for its '100% Medically Accurate' tagline, that's nothing but a
misnomer to drum up hype. I do not doubt that Six consulted with a Dutch
surgeon but no one can survive being
fed fecal matter due to all the bacteria, even if that person was receiving nutrients through an intravenous drip.
It's just not possible. As for the
film itself, the first half isn't particularly imaginative and even feels
somewhat dull as it follows the usual horror clichés beat for beat with our two
female leads being stranded due to a flat tire and looking for help…in the middle of a forest at night! Such
illogical occurrences are peppered throughout the film, including a prolonged
escape attempt that left me scratching my head at the total lack of common
sense on display. Once Heiter creates his human centipede, the film improves as
Six crafts a tense atmosphere of hopelessness and despair in order to make our
skin crawl. There's this one scene that will make those with weak stomachs
spill their lunch as Katsuro empties his bowels and Lindsey is forced to swallow
it. Hell, it's almost played up for comedic effect when Heiter screams with
glee, 'FEED HER!'
Strange as it may be, the film does contain elements of black
comedy, largely stemming from Dieter Laser's over-the-top performance. When he
explains to his victims what he's about to do, he uses a cheap projector
straight out of high school and almost child-like diagrams! A common question
that will crop up is what point Six is trying to make. From a critic's point of
view, there is no moral subtext because everything that happens in the film
simply…happens. Six's goal is to humiliate and dehumanize his characters in
a similar way like Pier Paolo Pasolini's infamous 1975 film "Salò, or the
120 Days of Sodom," which was loosely based on The
120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade. This is an endurance test
where Six wants to push the audience's boundaries and although "The Human
Centipede [First Sequence]" is never actually about anything, the film remains oddly compelling throughout and you're
unable to turn away. On that alone, it is a runaway success. Due to the low
budget nature of the film, the cast are all unknowns but Dieter Laser (what a
cool last name) has had a long, successful career in Germany. Laser's
performance is nothing short of brilliant as just the mere look from his
bulging eyes and vulture-like grin will inspire chills. This is a man who's
smart enough and mad enough to create a human centipede and you can compare him
to the director following through with his idea to its dark conclusion. Akihiro
Kitamura shines as well but Ashley C. Williams and Ashlynn Yennie's 'talents'
leave much to be desired as it feels like they're reading off cue cards but I do give them props for
participating in a film like this!
Released on Blu-Ray back in October, 2010, "The
Human Centipede [First Sequence]" looks and sounds decidedly…average. Shot
on high definition cameras and apparently up-scaled from 720p, the picture
quality is passable with some fine detail during close-ups but colors are often
dulled to add to its bleak atmosphere. A subtle blue filter is used, giving the
film a sterile appearance. Audio quality fails to impress as dialogue is too
low at times and the effects sound cheap but this is more a fault of the film's low
budget. These issues aren't huge deal-breakers but it's not a significant
upgrade from the DVD. Supplements are also on the weak side with the only
worthy extra being an audio commentary with Tom Six. The rest of the extras
(presented in standard definition) are fluff pieces but you can marvel at the
actresses 'skills' as their audition tapes are included.
After premiering at
several film festivals, "The Human Centipede [First Sequence]" had a
limited release on April 30, 2010, playing in one theater in New York City (the
IFC Center) and grossing a rather miniscule $181,467 with an additional $70,740
internationally for a total of $252,207. If IMDB is correct, its production
budget was an estimated $2 million, which would make it a financial failure but
it has already earned something of a cult following. Reception was mixed with a
50% on Rotten Tomatoes as critics concluded that while it was 'grotesque,
visceral and hard to swallow, this surgical horror doesn't quite earn its
stripes because the gross-outs overwhelm and devalue everything else.'
Ultimately, it's hard to quantify "The Human Centipede [First Sequence]"
as a film you 'like' or 'dislike' as it is more of a boundary-pushing
experience. I do not regret seeing it
but I won't be popping the disc in anytime soon as once is enough for me. Roger
Ebert encapsulates my thoughts best, 'The star rating system is unsuited to
this film. Is the movie good? Is it bad? Does it matter? It is what it is and
occupies a world where the stars don't shine.' One thing's for sure, we'll
never look at our rear ends the same way ever again!
Final
Rating: N/A (Does not mean 0 out of 5)
"Ingestion
by A, passing through B, to the excretion of C. The human centipede…first sequence!"
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