Jun 07 2010
Unreal Movie Review: The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
If this was just the first sequence, I’m honestly not sure I want to see what comes next. It’s not going to be easy to top this. I’m really not even sure how to write a review for The Human Centipede (First Sequence), because it’s clear that this movie wasn’t made for any purpose other than to shock and disgust audiences. Whereas the bizarre Antichrist at least attempted to convey some sort of message via graphic symbolism, The Human Centipede is essentially an hour and a half of snuff. That isn’t to say, however, that it’s not effective snuff. In fact, as I type this just an hour or so after watching the movie, my fiance is still sick to her stomach. I definitely owe her one for seeing this with me. Keep reading for the full review and there will be spoilers ahead – though it’s not like you can’t get the gist of the film from its title.
The Human Centipede isn’t the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen. Thanks to the Internet, almost everyone’s seen 2 Girls 1 Cup (not putting a hyperlink in there) or some sort of excrement feast or self-mutilation or whatever. I will say, though, that it may be the most horrible thing I’ve seen in an actual move since Divine eating dog shit in Pink Flamingos, and that’s really saying a lot. It’s torture porn of the worst and admittedly most creative kind; I guess you could say that The Human Centipede is basically Hostel on steroids.
The movie starts like so many horror movies do, with two not-so-bright American girls named Lindsay and Jenny touring a foreign country – in this case, it’s Germany – and looking for something fun to do. They set out for a club called Bunker but (of course) find themselves lost on a road in the middle of nowhere. The girls get a flat tire (of course) and soon discover that they can’t get a signal for the cell phone (of course). Lindsay gets the brilliant idea to start walking through the surrounding woods to look for help while Jenny insists on staying behind. Lindsay notices a light up ahead, which prompts Jenny to follow. The girls come upon a house and knock on the door looking for help.
The house belongs to Dr. Heiter, a guy so creepy that right when he answered the door, I would have taken my chances outside in the rain. I mean, if anyone ever dreamed of attaching three human beings by the mouth and anus, it would be this guy. No, nobody would suspect that, but it had to have crossed these girls’ minds that he was going to at the very least drug and fondle them. In fairness, The Human Centipede wasn’t made the examine the decisions of tourists in distress. Anyway, the girls are drugged, but instead of being fondled, they’re strapped onto hospital beds and wake up in a room with IV feeds and a third captured individual. That’s when the fun really starts.
As you can tell from the film’s title as well as the picture I posted at the top of this review, the girls end up attached to one another and a third captive, a Japanese man because the original third captive wasn’t a proper “match.” The three are attached in a line, from anus to mouth, and because Lindsay had the audacity to try and escape and thus inconvenience Dr. Heiter, she’s the one in the middle. Amazingly, the creation of Heiter’s human centipede – of which he is very, very proud – isn’t the climax of the film. Rather, it’s around the halfway point and the rest of the movie involved Heiter’s attempts to “train” his creation and his creation’s attempts to escape. Unfortunately, when only one of the three people who make up the centipede can speak (for obvious reasons) and movement requires synchronized crawling, escaping isn’t very realistic.
The Human Centipede spares audiences most of the procedure itself. The horror and disgust that comes from watching this movie isn’t really due to any graphic representation on screen. Instead, it’s the psychological reaction that an audience will have from imagining themselves as part of the human centipede itself. It’s certainly a fate worse than death, and part of me wondered why the group’s escape attempts weren’t attempts at suicide. Without giving too much away, the film ends on a particularly horrific note, and it’s this scenario that will likely replay in the minds of audiences well after they’ve seen this movie. I know that given the choice, I’d choose death without hesitation.
I’m not sure what else to say about The Human Centipede. It’s creative and original and certainly succeeds in what it sets out to do, but at the end of the day, is it really a good film? It reminds me a bit of when the boys of South Park wrote The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs – sure, it’s novel, but other than a massive gross-out, what’s the point? It’s not the type of movie I’d want to see again and even though the premise is pretty disgusting, it’s not something I’m going to lose sleep over. I can’t yet say the same for my fiance, so take that for what it’s worth. Recommended for only the morbidly curious.
3 out of 5 stars
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Wow, how did you find this movie? I have the same feeling as I had with 2 girls 1 cup. I don’t want to see it, but I have to.
Btw. Is the tagline correct? “100 % medically accurate”
@ Drester
It was playing at the IFC center here in NYC – if a movie is released, chances are you can find it somewhere in NYC.
As far as the tagline, apparently the director/writer (Tom Six) consulted a surgeon with regard to the procedure. Take that for what you will.
I saw this flick and enjoyed (is that the right word…) it.
One thing though…in the end, why didn’t the the middle woman take a sharp object and cut out the ass and lips of the people in front and behind to escape?
@ FrankenPC
Well, she couldn’t. It wasn’t simply lips-to-ass; their faces were literally surgically grafted to each others’ behinds. She would have to cut off her entire face to free herself, as well as her friend’s face behind her.
RE: 100% medically accurate
You can’t die from being grossed out, so being forced to crawl around on your knees and eat poop won’t kill you, however eating already-digested meals isn’t very healthy, so without MASSIVE nutritional supplements and antibiotics (probably via IV) for those not at the “head”, those at the “end” would quickly die from starvation or sickness.
You said that people should be able to get the gist of the film from the title. Well jackass I did not, I thought it was some sort of pretentious existentialist title. Obviously I was wrong and you managed to kill a bit of innocence that I did not even know I had with that picture.
@ matt
Well then, are you sure it’s me who’s the jackass?
i had been so stoked for this one after hearing about it. i couldn’t find it anywhere and someone told me it was on demand on my cable network, so i dished out the 5 bucks to watch it.
seriously, it was way too tame for the plot. i understand the psychological freak-out it provides, however, when i hear about a movie that involves a crazy german surgeon connecting people via digestive tract, i expect to be horrified and grossed out beyond belief. i was really debating on whether or not i would be able to handle it and almost didn’t watch it. honestly, the most “horrifying” or graphic part of the movie was when he popped the pus-filled cyst on one of the girl’s faces because she was infected. i’ve been more grossed out by episodes of nip/tuck.
i was very much disappointed in the movie because the acting was atrocious and they could have done so much more with the story and direction, in my opinion. i give it major props for being original, but it loses when it comes to execution.
@ chelsea
Well, as I wrote above, the horror in this movie comes not from any graphic images, but rather the thought of being part of a human centipede.
I agree, I watched it simply to be grossed out
psychological horror doesn’t really work in movies these days.
Was it bad if the first thing I thought was “what if one of them farts?” :[
This movie looked a little too much like a gross out for me. I don’t mind horror films, but I expect some decent acting/solid plot line to it. From your review Madison it seems neither of those were present.
@ Hallo457
I didn’t think the acting was bad, which tends to happen in a lot of horror movies, but it wasn’t great, either.
I will say that the guy who played Dr. Heiter (Dieter Laser) was unbelievably creepy, but I don’t know if that’s from good acting or being born that way.
Well, I just saw it and after Cannibal Holocaust it’s one of the top movies to make you feel sick. Ok it wasn’t as graphic as I thought, but you have got to be grossed out by the “poop” scene.
I’m surprised I didn’t hear about this movie sooner, like 80% from the crew was dutch.
Heed my words for they are the truth.
You want gross out movie(not Cannibal Holocaust cause that’s number 1 and already mentioned) Check out Society. Bar none, the best gross out horror movie.
Originally, I believe it was supposed to be 12 people, but they went with 3 because they were unsure they could get funding that. Apparently the sequel will tackle the 12 person centipede.
the psychological horror did nothing for me… when i heard the premise of this movie, my mind raced and i pictured something just disgusting…. all i’m saying is the visuals severely lacked and the premise of the film is the disturbing part, not the film itself. human imagination (at least mine) conjures up way more graphic situations than those delivered.
@Brendan I LOVE Society, haha! Glad to discover I’m not the only one. I consider it a “Classic,” which I’m partly ashamed of, but I enjoy it.
[...] just seen The Human Centipede, I’ve unfortunately spent a lot of time over the past day or so thinking about what it must [...]
The fact that somebody even thought up this idea in the first place and the fact that it actually got funded and filmed is what sickens me more than anything. Can you imagine the thought processes that went into this, or lack of them should I say? Then again, it’s pretty much standard pornographic fare taken to it’s logical conclusion. I depsair for humanity. We are in a bad place if this is what passes for ‘entertainment’ and people are actually willing to pay money to sit there and watch it.
the only disgusting thing in Canibal Holocaust is how they kill that poor turtle. Besides that the movie sucks. Watch the French movie Martyrs that’s a movie that will make you think “I hope it’s not going to be like this for 90 minutes because I might not make it to the end”
@xiaoxin
good call on Martyrs…. that movie has gotten to me more than any other movie ever. really hard to handle.
[...] Right simply because I owed my fiance a movie in return for her very reluctantly agreeing to see The Human Centipede with me a little over a month ago. A movie about a lesbian couple whose children contact their [...]
[...] somewhat relieved to discover that I’m not the only person who’s really fascinated with The Human Centipede. In fact, my love of the soon-to-be-if-it-isn’t-already cult classic is pretty tame [...]