The Human Centipede

Body Horror. What is it? Well, honestly, it could be any type of horror film that deals with unusual bodily harm or modification- be it having another limb put onto your body, or having limbs removed. While the aforementioned removing of limbs sounds like Slasher films, Body Horror is a different genre; it's a different type of removal. Slasher films are limb removal and then wholesale slaughter, while bodily horror is removal and then dealing with loss of limbs. Instead of immediate death, we see more of the disturbing aftermath. From the description of this genre, many would place the later Saw films in it, but they aren’t. Body Horror is a difficult genre to describe. I honestly can't think of many films that fit the genre. Only two come to mind; a German film by the name of Autopsy, and the title I’m reviewing today, The Human Centipede.

Plot: Okay, how do I explain this without grossing you out or confusing you?

The Human Centipede is about a mad doctor who grafts an Asian man and two American girls together, mouth to rectum.

Have you stopped reading yet? No? Okay, let me elaborate a bit more.

So the real story is that an award winning surgeon, famous for separating many conjoined twins, has a mad idea to form a human centipede: 3 humans sharing the same digestive track.The beginning of the film allows us to see his first subject via drugging. He is later killed for the sake of the girls and a Asian man who we never see caught.His other two subjects fall into his hands. He drugs two American tourists who come to his house looking for assistance with a flat tire. The human centipede is formed, and what follows in the final 45 minutes of the film is the centipede trying to escape.

Review: So… yeah. That’s all I have for a plot, because that’s all really anyone needs to hear to say either "Weird! This I've got to see," or "Um, ew! Count me out."

Let me start out by saying that this really isn't that disturbing of a film. Yes, some will watch it and be disturbed by the concept alone, and some will not be because it’s just so bizarre. The concept really is the most disturbing part. There is not a lot of gore, and what is there is never extreme or over the top. It’s just there because it’s showing the consequences of someone being shot. The most violent part of the film is the surgery that takes place. It’s graphic, but no more than you'd expect.

Okay, so on with the actual review. One question a lot of people ask is, "Gore and everything else aside, is this a good movie that actually stands on its own merits rather than the concept alone?” The answer is a sort-of. It’s a decent horror film, but not exactly a scary one, nor -once you get over the overall concept- is it very disturbing. It fails in several aspects. The first fifteen to twenty minutes are almost painful to watch because of the two leads. They can't act, plain and simple. It’s just rough to watch these girls. The director, Tom Six, is not from America and it shows. You can tell the girls were originally meant to be American. They are clichéd, bland, flat, and annoying. They’re airheads. The doctor, however, is brilliant. He is so darkly funny at times that you have to remind yourself what you’re watching. I won't say much because i don't want to ruin the weirdness.

Where it succeeds is that it’s about as original as it gets. They idea is grotesque, and it keeps you watching.

Recommended? Well, yes and no. It's easily one of 2010's most original horror films, but it rode a hype train from its first trailer to its last trailer, setting up expectations that it fell short of. Not only are the lead girls annoying, but they are hard to root for. Dieter Laser, who plays the mad doctor, does a great job being crazily over the top. So it's a recommend title for Netflix viewers who need something different and aren't too grossed out by the concept. Other than that, take a pass if you would have to buy it or rent it and are still uncertain of the plot or idea.