The Human Centipede II

Lead actor is honestly scarier than the movie itself

The movie was better than I thought it would be. It took me a a few days to get ready to view the movie. I usually watch a movie twice (on-demand), but I could only stomach HC1 once. I had to get into a frame of mind to view this movie and I was correct. HC2 is far more over the top. Lot's of gore and surprises.

I thought the villain in HC1 was a great choice, but the villain in HC2 is off the charts!! I felt pity towards this guy (however brief it was)until he started his re-creation. I hope this guy was acting and not just being himself. I mean I have never seen someone so jacked up. I thought he was going to pass out half the time or have a heart attack. I hope he has a life outside creepy movies.

I was shocked after reading about some of the parts that where cut out. I don't know how much more shock value I could have took, although some of the cut scenes seem to merit a viewing. Which begs the question of why IFC, the benchmark of indie films, would cut anything?

Overall, I liked the movie for what it was,although it must have been a bear to shoot. I have to give props to all the actors in this film. At some points I could see the physical difficulty some of the actors were having with some of the contortions.

Big props to Sixx for shocking me another time!!

Human Centipede 2 is like watching a crime scene. Besides our nasty, degenerate villain in Martin, there is no character development at all. What is on the screen is just violent act after violent act, culminating in a slightly open ending. I was expecting to see some really horrible acts of violence against bodies, and that's exactly what I got. I didn't enjoy it one bit. However, I cannot deny the effect it had upon me. I had to watch the Simpsons for an hour following this film so I could feel normal again. Physically, this is the most disturbing film I've seen. I have seen worse in extreme cinema when you are actually invested in the characters, but that is impossible here. This movie is not for the squeamish at all, in fact a scene or two forced me to turn away and gag slightly. It sucks to admit that as I consider myself a seasoned genre fan, but yeah, certain parts were really freaking gross. Was there any tension? Well the first one elicited a few genuine scares but here, the fear is for what your eyes are going to be subjected to next. Watch at your own risk.

If you've ever wondered, "how disgusting can a movie be?..." well, this film pretty much answers the question. For what it is - and you probably know more or less what it is, or you wouldn't be reading this - it is fully realized in pretty much every aspect. Casting Harvey was pure genius. He carries the film with his amazing performance. There are plenty of little twists to keep you occupied, some of which are actually humorous in a grotesque way.

The odd thing, though, is that the film really isn't scary. Maybe because Martin is so divorced from reality that he seems incapable of true evil. Rather, he is just driven by a single-minded vision to complete his project. Probably the first real success he's had in his sad, sad life.

The effects are spot-on, and the pacing generally good, although I found it dragged a bit about 2/3 of the way through. However, the brashness and oddness of this film have surely earned it a spot alongside cult classics such as Eraserhead.

I really liked the original The Human Centipede. I was surprised by how tame it was as well. It really didn't show anything, and it was very subdued in its execution. It was also very well-made, and not some crappy and weak thriller. I liked that about it, but at the same time it got a little dull at times. Which is why I was completely excited for the sequel. I wanted it to come in a different style and vain and for it to be so much more gross. Does that say something about my mental health? Anyways, it didn't disappoint.

Like the original, the sequel is well-made. The use of black and white gives it a tone of its own, and the cinematography is pretty damn excellent, making use of its textures very well. The script doesn't have much depth in it, but how can it? Many people as opposed to how well made a film is also ask what's the importance of it. What's the importance of this? I'm not sure Tom Six was trying to say anything here... not even sure he was trying to in the original. The thing is, he has complete control of this film and the type of film he wants to make. This is shock cinema at its finest. People go watch horror films, well how about a really horrifying film? It is a question to be asked about films like this. How far do people go to see films like this, and why do we? Michael Haneke pointed out this very question in his film Funny Games, and this film is exactly the type of film he would be pointing at and criticizing. But in fact, he would criticize us... and our reason for watching this. For me, I love me a really gross film.

A Serbian Film is still the nastiest film I have ever seen, but that film's second half while nasty left me sorta bored. To me this type of film doing this is the ultimate disgrace it can do- to get you bored. This didn't. It's riveting cinematography, along with the performances, kept me entertained. Kudos not only to Laurence R. Harvey (who manages to be even better than the infamous performance of Deiter Laser) but also to his lunatic mom played by Vivien Bridson. They both manage to give the film a very dark humor tone during many scenes. Then the last 30 minutes, which are definitely too damn disgusting. Many scenes in this film are still in my head, and not just the gross scenes, but also many of the moments of the lead character and his weird mannerisms.

I do want to note that I most likely saw the edited version. The unrated is nowhere to be found, so I do want to give the unrated a visit on DVD hopefully. The sequel is better than the original for these simple reasons- it is more disgusting while also being more entertaining and definitely more funny in a twisted way. Also, kudos to the eerie sound effects and lack of music.