The Human Centipede has become somewhat of of a horror cult classic. Not in the same class as The Evil Dead or Night of the Living Dead series, but it is damn sure on it’s way. Just in case you don’t know what the Human Centipede is allow me to enlighten you. The Human Centipede is the little tale of a German doctor, who dreams a dream of connecting three people from mouth to anus, (yes, anus) to create one digestive system. When I first heard the synopsis, I was confused to say the very least and was justly so. My thought was, how can this work and not come off as ridiculous, right under M. Night Shyamalan films. Tom Six, the writer and director, said he came up with the concept from a joke, he made with his friends. After seeing a child molester on television, he thought a great punishment for him would be to stitch his mouth to the anus of an overweight truck driver. Which in truth, doesn’t sound as a bad idea. However, I think Six was just on a whole ton of LSD and Acid, but that’s just my speculation.
You know you’re in for some -ish when his medical diagram looks like it was drawn by a four-year-old.
In 2009, the Human Centipede: the First Sequence had a limited release and got slammed. Critics panned the movie as “a grotesque, visceral and hard to (ahem) swallow”… “torture porn”. The list goes on and on, I was even almost reluctant to watch the movie. But, I’m a sick little bastard, so I watched it, anyway. And, I am non-apologetic of how much I loved it. The film is a slow-paced horror that doesn’t rely on jump scares, but on visuals and atmosphere. I was promoting the film as if, I was Tom Six himself, telling people “it’s 100% medically accurate”. To my surprise, a bunch of people were on the same boat. The Human Centipede went on to win several awards including: Best Picture/Movie at the Fantastic Fest and Screamfest Horror Film Festival. Plus, Laser won Best Actor in the horror category at the Fantastic Fest. So, what do you do when the critics hate your film, but the people love it? You make a got damn sequel!!
This man should have been nominated for an Oscar.
Enter The Human Centipede 2 – In the Human Centipede 2, the idea of Tom Six was to up the ante. More blood. More shit. More human centipede. This time, adding an additional nine more people into the mix, to bring the total up to twelve victims. Six said, and I quote, “the sequel [will] be much more graphic and disturbing, making the first film seem like ‘My Little Pony’ compared with part two.” Did he deliver? Dear God, yes he did. Let me explain. While the Human Centipede relied on a creepy atmosphere and gross concept for effect. The Human Centipede 2 went in a totally different direction. Making it super gritty and gory. Whipping away color and minimizing dialogue little as possible. A hundred words might have been spoken in it’s entirety. Making it a flat out, black and white. snuff film. Snuff films are essentially, real life films of people getting raped, tortured, murdered, and anything else a sick bastard can think up. The Human Centipede 2 was released in the U.S on September 22, 2011. Released, a little bit later, in the United Kingdom and Australia because it was banned for a while (which is always a good sign). The critics hated the movie a little less compared to the first sequence. They saw it more as an artsy horror film. The full sequence earned itself a 7 out of 10 by Bloody Disgusting; a B+ by Entertainment Weekly, and a 3 out of 4 by the New York Post. It was said the film was a “brilliant response to critics of his first film”; “is sick, disgusting, and vile”… but “it’s also demonically funny, stylish and ingenious.” The fans’ reaction was a little less welcoming with comments such as, “giving this movie a rating is disrespectful to the rating system.” So, what do you do, when you start to win over some critics, but you lose some fans in the process? You tell them, you are doing a part three!!!
The way this picture looks is the way the film is. I leave it up to your interpretation.
Welcome to the Human Centipede 3: the Final Sequence. The final installment was released on May 22, 2015. Coming out of this movie, I didn’t know what to think. I was bewildered from what I just saw. I had to sleep on it, seek some spiritual counseling to sift through my emotions to decipher if it was good movie or not. I’ve come to the conclusion that the film was an okay movie. Human Centipede 3 is definitely the weakest out of the trilogy. The storyline is laughable; the acting is horrible and the main character is inaudible. Inaudible more like. Batman and Bane, with a cold speaking in a German accent. But, there are some redeemable qualities in this film. The gross, uncomfortable factor is good as it has ever been. From blood and shit to a man getting raped in his kidney … YES, HIS KIDNEY!!! This time around, critics are going to have a field day. They are going to bash the hell out of it until it can’t be bashed no more; and, rightly so because they don’t understand.
My goal for posting was to compare and contrast the trilogy, but I can’t. Besides being “100% medically accurate”, there’s nothing to compare. Each film is an unique experience on its own. The Human Centipede series is not for everyone, and people who expect it to be are crazy. Each part is a specific type of niche, for a specific type of genre, for a specific type of people. You wouldn’t call the Justin Bieber movie a bad film. Why? Because, you know the audience its targeting, and if you don’t fit in it, you most likely aren’t going to enjoy it. There are always exceptions to the rule, but those are far and few in between. What Tom Six created, most people wish they could. He took three films and made something for everyone. If you like a slow horror thriller that captivates you with its story and plot, watch the first one. If you’re a hardcore horror fan and it takes a lot to shock and disturb you, give part 2 a chance. If you like, over the top campy horror that you can sit back and laugh at, part 3 is just for you. One thing, the series can’t be accused of is not trying to evolve. Yes, the premises are the same, but it went from creepy to gritty to campy.
Six took his first premise and expanded it into various avenues. How many people can take the credit of doing so? If you are going to tell me the same old story at the very least, you can switch it up. So, where’s the franchise heading? Anywhere Tom Six and his bag of Acid takes him.
