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The Human Centipede (First Sequence)

Synopsis

Siamese twin specialist Dr. Josef Heiter has a dream. A twisted demented dream for the evolution of mankind which involves some very unpleasant, immoral (and definitely illegal) surgery, to form a human centipede. Kidnapping three tourists he starts to put his diabolical plan into action, preparing their bodies and matching tissue to create his first triple creature. From the warped mind of Dutch artist Tom Six comes a bizarre body horror that surpasses anything by Cronenberg or Tsukamoto. You have NEVER seen anything like this before

Reviews

Human Centipede along with 5150 Elm’s Way and Macabre will no doubt fuel the fire of the ‘torture porn’ debate, representing very different notions of torture and violence. It is Centipede, however, which will undoubtedly cause debate among fans and critics alike for representing a type of torture which has never been seen before. Is it a work of torture porn, or a study in the abject, and is there any merit behind the most grotesque film of Fanomenon? You decide, but you have been warned.The utopian dreams of Siamese twin specialist Dr. Heiter, the archetypal mad scientist with one hell of a god complex, brings two American girls travelling across Germany and one Japanese guy closer together than anyone would wish to be. Literally too close for comfort in the sickest operation imaginable, the threesome must fight merely to survive the effects of the procedure before they can even think about escaping their new role as Heiter’s pet. This is not an easy task when you are a human centipede, created for Heiter’s one main reason: ‘I don’t like human beings’. No need for a spoiler alert: the procedure and its aftermath is the focus of Centipede, and though some of you may know the details, we’ll leave it to Dr Heiter to explain. This is a truly international film, being a Dutch production set in Germany with American, German and Japanese Actors. Writer and director Tom Six worked with a surgeon to ensure the procedure itself was 100% medically accurate. However, 100% medically accurate is not the same as medically possible, as it is hard to even believe that the actors managed to get through the film in this horrific position. Nevertheless, it is something they should be commended for. Notions of loss of identity, playing god and what would make the world a better place are nicely explored towards the end but are perhaps too disparate to take attention away from the centipede procedure itself. The characterisation is confusing, as Lindsay and Jenny are distinctly unlikeable and paper-thin in the exposition, like a pair of dumbass cheerleaders, yet one would think actually liking the protagonists would be essential in order to actually feel sorry for them later. Thankfully, Katsuro (Akihiro Kitamura), or the ‘mouth’, manages to carry the remainder of the film to quite an emotional conclusion as the girls can physically do no more than whimper in the background, which would almost be a relief were they not silenced in such a grotesque manner. The clinical aesthetic of the entire film brings the grotesque, Cronenbergist body-horror to centre stage, but this is not so much a work of gore as one of pure abjection; a horror which is felt from as soon as the details of the operation are realised, foreshadowed as it is in the very first scene by a photograph of Heiter’s beloved dog...It will be hard for Centipede to shake off its torture porn status; the girls are soaking wet for the first half, and topless for the second. Heiter’s utter hatred of women will also not quieten cries of misogynism; the male in the centipede is after all in the ‘best’ position by comparison, and the girls cry perpetually and beg of Heiter to ‘kill me, please!’. Fair enough if this is a commentary on how men should not treat women, but whatever you think, the tears and utter desperation all add to making Centipede an absolute ordeal, but one which will definitely stay with you. It would be too easy to hate Centipede, but this is a film which really needs to be accepted at face value as a true shocker, and a somewhat abrupt ending needn’t be disliked either as Six is now working on a sequel. Reactions to Centipede will be polarised, but one thing’s for sure: unlike Lindsay and Jenny, it will definitely get you talking.