Review of The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009) by Zachary N — 17 Jan 2016

Watching The Human Centipede I continually kept finding the same question cropping up, that question wasn't why am I watching this, it was what is the point behind all of this? The hilariously named Tom Six, crafts a horror, which he claims is influence by Pasolini and other film makers of that era and ilk, the problem is that unlike a director who can take gratuitous violence and use it in an ingenious way to portray the horror of a smart subject matter, Six takes the route of glorified sadist, with a film that has no reason, no message and makes no sense what so ever.

When American friends Lindsay and Jenny brake down in the German wilderness, they happen to stumble upon an insane retired surgeon, who drugs them and decides to use the girls as part of a project to connect 3 people together, ass to mouth, in order to create a centipede.

There you go folks, that's your film, that is the story, nothing else, there is no higher meaning, no subtext, no meat on this bone. The script is hilariously shallow, with horrendous dialogue, made worse by subtitles, but then again what were you expecting from a man who comes up with a story quite like this? What pains the most here is the fact that not only does the film look pretty impressive visually at times, not only is the lead character actually outstanding, not only does Six craft occasional moments of tension, the biggest criminal of all rests in the fact that The Human Centipede is neither scary nor the most revolting film that exists.

The only thing that Six wants to strive for and he cant manage it, leaving causal viewers disgusted but anyone who actually witnessed say Salo: 120 Day Of Sodom, slightly bored by proceedings. Centipede doesnt offend on moral terms, more on outright stupidity and its existence based solely to shock.

There are occasional flurries of something sound here, however their inclusion only pains knowing that if Six could get away from being an idiot, he might actually be able to craft an acceptable horror film.

It's by no means the most vile or disturbing film you will ever watch, its by no means good and it really has little to offer, which is a shame because Dieter Laser's performance and the cinematography are what horror films were made for.