The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) [DVD]

I believe this DVD is the edited version of Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence). Apparently it was originally banned and later granted a release under the BBFC's condition that certain cuts were made.

Even without the genitals in barbed wire and extra snippets of violence, it's mighty strong stuff. The plot revolves around a mentally unstable man attempting to build his own real-life human centipede, after becoming obsessed with the first film. Hmm. How postmodern.

It has been shot in colour and converted to black and white in post production. Not quite sure why. Occasionally I get the impression director Tom Six wants to emulate Eraserhead or Man Bites Dog, but Human Centipede 2 is nowhere near as good. Maybe the absence of red and brown liquids gets past the censors and is financially lucrative. The jury is still out on this one.

The story is as follows - A warped car park attendant called Martin sets out to humiliate, torture and kill lots of people in close-up photography. The end.

There is very little script beyond screaming, expletives and brief explanations of dysfunctional behaviour. Martin doesn't utter a single word and some of the violence is poorly choreographed. At one point Ashlynn Yennie `punches' Martin in the genitals. I had to watch the shot twice to figure out why Martin collapsed in agony, such was the flimsy nature of Yennie's attack. By contrast, the scenes of Martin's attempted cosmetic surgery and forced coprophagia are a little too effective for my tastes. Others may choose to disagree.

People love getting their knickers in a twist about the BBFC, but the video nasties debacle was a long time ago and sometimes film-makers get what they deserve. Human Centipede 2 has a half baked subtext about the media's perceptions of on-screen violence. Unfortunately any deeper meaning is entirely overshadowed by voyeuristic shots of torture, murder, dead babies and the obvious build up to people doing runny poos in each other's mouths. Yum.

Human Centipede 2 is not fun, it's not clever and it won't provide much entertainment when spending a night in with friends, although they will think twice about visiting you again. Unfortunately, when a film is this revolting it's hard to defend or enjoy, particularly in the absence of an artistic motive. Human Centipede 2 is like taking a painful dump after a very hot curry. You'll be glad when it's over and you will have no desire to repeat the process.

I didn't like The Human Centipede. As much as I like to see originality in films, THC just didn't do it for me at all - I found the fundamental concept laughable, the tone contradictory (intended to be a dark and shocking film, supported by a cast of pantomime characters and a cartoon villain...) and I just couldn't find it in myself to be frightened by the concept of being surgically forced to 'eat da poo poo'.

The Human Centipede 2, on the other hand... Suffice to say I've never seen a movie director improve and mature so much in such a short period of time. THC2: Full Sequence is a gorgeously creative, unique and original film, cultured and sophisticated to the point that it's almost a shame it has to share a name with its predecessor. The first act has more than a little in common with David Lynch's 'Eraserhead', the dream-like atmosphere serving to help you to distance yourself from the rest of the film's explicit content.

THC2 is a meta-sequel, set outside of the world of its namesake - think Return of the Living Dead, Wes Craven's New Nightmare or Halloween III: Season of the Witch - and revolves around a mute, asthma inhaler wielding sociopath, obsessed with the original film, attempting to recreate its "100% medically accurate" content for real, substituting surgical experience with brute force, a crowbar and staple gun.

Here's the thing - the film is difficult to review as the 'good film checklist' doesn't apply here. THC2 can't be judged on the same scale as your typical movie because of the way it tells its story. For example, the severe lack of character development is one of the film's strongest points; the director wants you to follow one character - the antagonist (or protagonist?) - as he works on his 'project'. I can guarantee you'll find pages of reviews ridiculing the lack of any character development for any of the innocent people who meet their gory fates here, but this and the black & white presentation shift the focus away from 'nasty scary movie' and in the direction of an intriguing art film. You aren't supposed to be fearing for the lives of the innocents, but rather watching in fascination, almost seeing the world through the eyes of the 'villain', to whom these humans are no more than ingredients in his recipe.

I would also expect to see many reviewers claiming this film to be 'the most explicit thing (they've) seen', and while objectionable content is probably more prevalent here than in many (or any) other mainstream movies, I risk repeating myself in stating that this really isn't the focus.

I was as happy as a pig in the brown stuff to have such a stylised, almost Lynch-like film sprung on me in the middle of one of my mates' regular beer & double-feature nights which usually entail brainless horror films, but it wasn't without its share of drawbacks, particularly later on in the film when a pregnant character endures a far-too-predictable and completely implausible sequence of events.

Overall an impressive and ferociously unique film, bound to anger a few prudes. Watch it just to be able to say that you've watched it, and hopefully you will appreciate this surprising leap forward for the post-Hostel gore genre as I did. I can't wait to see what comes next.

Somehow, this film has not only managed to be disgusting and ridiculous but also hilarious.

The story this time around focuses on a mentally impaired individual named Martin who is obsessed with The Human Centipede and watches endlessly. He even has his own Human Centipede scrapbook that he has lovingly crafted.

Not only is Martin obsessed and fascinated with the image/idea of a human centipede he is also sexually aroused by it.

Now, I'm not going to go into too much detail regarding the events of the movie, but if what I've already written (and what you may already of heard) about the movie sounds ridiculous, that's because it is.

In my opinion the movie is intentionally ridiculous and over the top. It is afterall, about someone who watches a movie and then goes out and copies what they saw occuring on the screen.
The majority of us know that is a ridiculous notion, but censorship groups and the like will often state that a movie is 'damaging' to the general public because 'the events depicted could be copied by someone in real life.'
This just shows how ridiculous that notion is.

The film is shot in black and white and the performances are good, especially from Laurence R. Harvey as the disturbed Martin. He portrays the charcter with a clever mixture of psychosis and childlike glee. His performance is particularly good as the character doesn't say a word throughout the entire movie.

For those (like myself) who thought that the surgery scene in the first film needed to be more graphic, then you will not be dissapointed this time around. Although Martin's medical skills leave a lot to be desired, he is afterall a security guard and not a surgeon.

Also upping the disgusting stakes...well, anyone who saw the first film will know what I am referencing when I quote. "Feed her."
Last time all that was really shown was the reaction of Ashlynn Yennie's character, but this time...well...there's a fair amount of spillage and spatter.

As I also metioned at the start of this review the movie is also hilarious. The interaction between Martin and his mother is really good and funny. There are other lines of dialogue that also gave me a laugh, the comment made when Martin is spotted pleasuring himself, being one example.
There are even a few laughs to be had from martins reactions when things don't quite go how he expected...his glee and then reaction to the smell at feeding time being one in particular.

For me the film did exactly what it set out to do and the fact that it is in black & white in no way detracts from the viewing experience.

As I said it is ridiculous and it knows it is.

People just need to stop taking it all so seriously.