Review of The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009) by Brian M — 11 Feb 2012

Whoa! I just watched "The Human Centipede" for the first time. The word of mouth and general reaction to this film got me curious, and with a quiet afternoon to spare, I decided to watch it for myself.

If you're not familiar with the concept of the film, it's quite simple... and quite deranged. It involves a maniacal surgeon who abducts three individuals, and aims to join them together like conjoined twins to make the world's first human centipede. They are to be connected to one another in the most horrid of ways imaginable. The one at the front will have the person in the middle joined onto him via his anus and her mouth, and the same goes for the one at the back. When the one at the front has to excrete, it will "feed" the one in the middle, and same goes for the person at the end. They also have their kneecaps removed and have to move all together. Pretty messed up right?

Well, two of our doomed guinea pigs are travelling American girls in Germany, who get a flat tyre while driving down a remote road, walk aimlessly through the woods and come across a house. The door is answered by a sinister, ghostly looking man who takes them in and offers to call road side assistance. Of course, he doesn't and they are taken hostage in his sick little game.

After an attempted escape by one of the girls, the surgeon proceeds with his demented operation and succeeds in creating the human centipede. Now, in traditional horror films, this might be where the film ends - the villain succeeds in his goal and the characters (we imagine) are fated to live this way for the rest of their life. But instead of leaving us there for the viewer to imagine what it would be like, the movie continues, for a considerable time, showing the Human Centipede in all its gory. It makes for disturbing viewing and you can only imagine the hell these people go through in this situation.

If you do decide to watch this film for yourself, you should know a couple of things;.

1. it's unlike anything you've seen before. It takes torture porn to even lower realms of the deep, dark and disturbing chambers of the imagination, and if you thought the Saw movies did this well, this movie takes it up a notch.

2. Don't expect terrific acting or storytelling. This is more of a situation movie. It is an exercise in torture and exploitation.

3. Finally, have an open mind. Despite the dodgy acting and absurd premise, there are some brief moments of meaning and truth in this film. One scene in particular, which I thought gave the film substance, involved one of the characters in the human centipede, confronting his master face to face, making a statement about what it meant to be human and how no one has the right to play God. It takes an interesting twist I didn't expect, and if you've seen the film, you will know which scene I mean.

So that's it. The Human Centipede is sick, twisted, absurd, engrossing and provoking. I won't watch it again, as its images are burnt firmly on my mind and will act as a reminder that the imagination can be a dark, twisted and horrific tool as much as it is a creative force.