Human Centipede (First Sequence)

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

Does this really not have a thread?  Probably for the best.  Regardless, I just saw a midnight screening of this last night, so here's some necessary info.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't state what the hype machine is clinging to about this:

100% Medically Accurate!



Synopsis
A one—of—a—kind experience that is guaranteed to shock and divide audiences, Dutch filmmaker Tom Six's twisted biological horror film ,"The Human Centipede" confidently goes where few films have dared to go. In addition to its shocking imagery, the film also features an indelibly villainous performance by Dieter Laser, whose brilliant and demented Dr. Heiter is sure to soon join the ranks of Freddy, Jason and Jigsaw whenever true horror icons are discussed. During a stopover in Germany in the middle of a carefree road trip through Europe, two American girls find themselves alone at night when their car breaks down in the woods. Searching for help they find only an isolated villa, whose mysterious owner, Dr Heiter, takes them in for the night. The next day they awake to find themselves in the basement, trapped in a terrifying makeshift hospital with another one of the doctor's abductees. Dr Heiter explains to the three of them that he is retired surgeon who had specialized in separating Siamese twins. However his three "patients" are not about to be separated, but joined together in a horrific operation. He plans to be the first to connect people, one to the next, via their gastric system, and in doing so bring to life his sick lifetime fantasy: 'the human centipede'.

Directed by : Tom Six

Trailer here

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It had some moments, mostly the audience was laughing (not sure if all the laughter was intended).  I guess it's a horror/comedy, but the tension is fairly limited.  It's mostly a "Oh my fucking God, they're still doing this."  The actual problem I had: Not actually that gross or disturbing.  I mean, conceptually, yes, very gross and disturbing.  But not very graphic visually.  It is shot pretty well, though.  So, it's not like gouging your eyes like some independent horror aesthetically, but it fits along them in realm narratively.  Definitely a good midnight film to see with friends drunk, however.

Oh well, they're already working on the second one.  (This is Human Centipede: First Sequence, the next is Full Sequence.) 

[Reel]

This looks like the type of movie I actually don't want to see because I probably couldn't stomach it. Thats what I love about horror though, theres always someone willing to push the limits and be disturbing in ways you'd never expect. I'll probably keep thinking about that trailer for awhile and one night when I decide its probably the only scary thing out there and buy it on demand. Thanks!

[Captain of Industry]

I guess it's a horror/comedy, but the tension is fairly limited.  It's mostly a "Oh my fucking God, they're still doing this."  The actual problem I had: Not actually that gross or disturbing.  I mean, conceptually, yes, very gross and disturbing.  But not very graphic visually.  It is shot pretty well, though.  So, it's not like gouging your eyes like some independent horror aesthetically, but it fits along them in realm narratively.

The local papers also made references to it being not actually that gross or disturbing (with the - and you thankfully avoided this line of commenting - obvious 'I've seen worse on the Internet'), but I thought it was gnarly.  Really gross.  And the thought of it follows me around.

I guess it's a matter of how gross and disturbing you take the concept to be.  I agree with Ebert who said he'd rather have death.  Dog bowls of food, ass-to-mouth shitting, dying links, dangerous and painful stretches - argh!  So, for my personality, that created a HUGE tension, the tension of what you correctly refer to as "Oh my fucking God, they're still doing this" and every little bit they did and kept doing was really difficult for me.  It's some kind of compliment to the film that that amazement doesn't diminish throughout the running time.

That's kind of a Cannibal Holocaust tension though, an obviously exploitative and shocking tension, owing little to the filmmaker's skill.  So I know what you mean.  But also, a bad filmmaker could have ruined the film, which this guy didn't.  Continuing with the Cannibal Holocaust analogy, there are plenty of horrible CH knock-offs.

[matt35mm]

OH SPOILERS I GUESS

I didn't think this was very good at all.  It was a big piece of nothing.  Other than the neat idea, there was nothing particularly original or interesting in the film.  The writing is pretty lousy (they really should have left the Japanese guy's dialogue unsubtitled--everything he says is worthless, just a bunch of "Hey, who do you think you are?"  It's only at the end that he says something worth subtitling, and I thought even that was pretty bad dialogue and a cheesy idea).  The movie contains not one single surprise.

I would have been okay with the film not explaining why the evil guy does what he does, but my problem was the nobody handled anything like a real person might.  Everything everyone did was for the plot's sake.  The girl has what seems like 2 days or so to escape, and only at the last minute does she think to use her teeth to untie the loose knot that's tying her down, which takes her about 5 seconds.  The cops, greeted with this incredible weirdo, practically say, "Okay, we know you're hiding something, but we need a warrant, so we're gonna leave and be back in 20 minutes.  So that's 20 minutes.  So bye.  Remember: you have 20 minutes until we, the authorities, are back to see what you're hiding.  20 minutes."  I mean I was having flashbacks of Clancy Wiggum saying, "See you in court!  Oh, and, remember to bring that evidence, 'cause otherwise, y'know, you'll go scott free."  Then after 20 minutes, they're back, and the drug that took 5 minutes to kick in for the girls, now takes 30 minutes or so to kick in for the cop.  The Japanese guy, whose holding a big bludgeoning tool, drops that in favor of a small shard of glass, even though it seems pretty clear that he makes his final decision after that.  He doesn't do anything with his free arms until it's That Time Of The Movie Where That's Supposed To Happen.

I didn't find the centipede disturbing at all (with the exception of them climbing up the stairs).  The idea is neat, but really I was distracted by my thoughts of, "Ooh, nudity."  Because they didn't move much, it was surprisingly not visceral.  The thing that's supposed to be really gross about being in the centipede was actually just silly, because the Japanese guy actually says, in subtitles: "Oh shit!  I have to shit!"  I was disappointed by the performance of the doctor--what should have been a really disturbing character was more like a cartoony bad guy who had two states of being--angry or aroused.  Pretty cliched.

This movie is riding on the central idea alone.  Without that, it's exactly like any direct-to-video horror movie in its writing and construction.  It's too bad, because a much better movie could have been made with this idea.

I liked the ending, though.  And I thought the one girl was very pretty.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

Wow, it doesn't take much for you to react, does it?

This movie, beyond the theory which can easily be summed out in or out of the movie, is the grossest part.  The visual isn't really that gruesome.

[Fernando]

a patton oswalt tweet.

http://kotaku.com/5546500/the-most-provocative-movie-of-2010-is-now-a-flash-game

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

a patton oswalt tweet.

http://kotaku.com/5546500/the-most-provocative-movie-of-2010-is-now-a-flash-game

Were you simply stating two separate ideas, or am I missing how that link is a Patton Oswalt tweet?

[Fernando]

yeah you missed! did I phrase that wrong? 

anyway, patton oswalt tweeted about it, here's the whole story:


patton said days ago: "When does the HUMAN CENTIPEDE video game come out for the Wii?"

me: lol

days after some guy said : "You wanted a Human Centipede game? Someone made it into a flash game"

me: 

[Stefen]

To start, I'm scared to death of centipedes and any other creepy insects be it scorpions or spiders. I've talked about it before. Last time I saw a centipede I almost passed out. I hate them. I HATE THEM. I haven't seen one since I was living in New England four years ago.

Anyways, this was pretty stupid. Shocking idea executed horribly. It was pure corniness.

I watched it, thought it was dumb and went to bed. I get to work the next day and turn on the light in my office and I find this little fucker.



I SHIT YOU NOT. I did not make this thing up. It was the most coincidental thing that has happened to me in quite awhile. I haven't seen a centipede in years and I watch a movie about one and see one the very next day? What are the odds.

I stomped the shit out of it and threw it in the trash. When I was getting ready to go home seven hours later I looked in the trash and the little fucker was STILL trying to lunge and get at me. WTF?

[pete]

I saw blair witch and thought it wouldn't affect me 'cause I don't go out camping and then that night I got in a fight with my mom in her car and she made me walk home, 3 hours through the woods.

[Pubrick]

I SHIT YOU NOT. I did not make this thing up. It was the most coincidental thing that has happened to me in quite awhile. I haven't seen a centipede in years and I watch a movie about one and see one the very next day? What are the odds.

I stomped the shit out of it and threw it in the trash. When I was getting ready to go home seven hours later I looked in the trash and the little fucker was STILL trying to lunge and get at me. WTF?

that never happened.

[Stefen]

^lol.

But seriously, I know I'm the xixaxer who cried wolf, but I'm serious this time. THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED. You gotta believe me, guys!

[Pwaybloe]

Hilarious.

[cronopio 2]

))<>(( 

[Stefen]

More pictures of the centipede that actually happened to me (the day following the night I watched this worst movie ever).