Friday, December 03, 2010

The Human Centipede: First Sequence (2010)

"...a Siamese triplet, connected via the gastric system. Ingestion by A, passing through B, to the excretion of C. The human centipede, first sequence."
                                                  - Dr. Heiter 

The Human Centipede: First Sequence is a film with a ridiculous B movie style premise that takes itself so seriously (no winks and nods to the camera) it’s almost engaging. Almost.

Dutch filmmaker Tom Six tells the age old tale of two American tourists in Europe who get lost and end up on the wrong doorstep on a rainy night. Enter Dr. Heiter. Heiter is a mad German scientist (seriously) who dreams of creating the human centipede by linking three humans into one centipede-like creature. You can use your imagination (or Google) to guess how this looks once he successfully reaches his goal. And he does reach his goal. The three victims (the two Americans and a third captive) try to escape, their screams bring the attention of the police, blah blah blah, murder, gunshots, and tragedy ensue.

Does it have a larger message or a theme to be explored? Is it commentary on gruesome Nazi experiments? Hard to say, but no. Not even slightly. This truly seems like an idea that two guys kicked around while they were high and then actually followed through on it.

Be warned that there are some truly gross scenes here. That said, it’s not a very graphic movie (very little gore or nudity involved) and yet still very disturbing which, incidentally, is a pretty neat thing to pull off. So why should you see it? See it because it’s ridiculous. See it because the acting is so very, very bad. See it because it’s a gross out movie. See it because it’s stupid and marvel at the fact that someone actually financed a movie like this to be made…and because there’s a sequel due out next year. It really is fascinating to think about the development process with a movie like this. What did it look like to pitch this idea to investors? What was the casting process like? Hmmm...

Have a drink and watch it with friends; it’ll be funnier.

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