I had the opportunity to see this on its one week tour of Australia, and I was lucky enough to get tickets to the premiere followed by Q+A with Lawrence R. Harvey. Having literally just finished The Human Centipede before leaving to see this I was quite excited to see what Tom Six would do with this sequel (considering I stayed away from any reviews and spoilers). Well, I must say, Six has produced one of the best genre pieces in quite some time. It's a strange little movie, black and white, with a silent villain and an intense final half hour. It is well known that part of this film is Six responded to the negativity from horror fans of the first film, which was berated for not being extreme or sick enough. Now, I didn't LOVE the first film (I gave it a 6/10), but this was for different reasons. I though Six did a fantastic job with The Human Centipede, the direction and setting were fantastic, and the concept was just so screwed up! Where the first one fell short was the writing and acting from the three victims, which seriously detracted from the horror of the movie. With The Human Centipede II I think there has been a big improvement in writing and acting, but more importantly for Six, an increased amount of depravity.
Martin is a parking garage attendant. A loner, with mother issues and who was abused by his father. Already mentally unstable, his fixation with The Human Centipede inspires him to create his own, by knocking people out in the garage, dragging them to an abandoned shed and using kitchen appliances to perform the surgery. The first fifty minutes aren't exactly violent, but still quite good. The scenes in Martin's apartment reek of David Lynch, and are darkly comic. Once Six gets into making the centipede there is a kind of joyfulness about it all that is disturbing, yet still enjoyable. Teeth are knocked out, tendons are cut, flesh is stripped and staple guns are used instead of stitches. The assembly of the centipede isn't the end, and what follows blends very dark humour with some very disturbing imagery.
I won't go into anymore detail, needless to say, the uncut version is MUCH better than the cut version. Having read the descriptions of certain scenes in other versions, let me say, they are FAR worse here! So for those waiting for the uncut version you are in for a pleasant surprise. Lawrence R. Harvey, for a debut performance, is fantastic. He is easily one of the best horror villains to grace our screens in years. Meeting him afterwards was a pleasure, he is an incredibly friendly, well-spoken man. The cinematography is fantastic, the whole film has a dirty, grungy atmosphere.
On a sad note, the film just got banned in Australia, a disappointing choice by the OFLC. Will this film ever see the light of day in Australia uncensored? Not in the near future. Much like A Serbian Film, an incredible viewing experience has been denied to adults who are able to consent to the films they want to see. I don't want to get into a censorship essay though!
8/10
Martin is a parking garage attendant. A loner, with mother issues and who was abused by his father. Already mentally unstable, his fixation with The Human Centipede inspires him to create his own, by knocking people out in the garage, dragging them to an abandoned shed and using kitchen appliances to perform the surgery. The first fifty minutes aren't exactly violent, but still quite good. The scenes in Martin's apartment reek of David Lynch, and are darkly comic. Once Six gets into making the centipede there is a kind of joyfulness about it all that is disturbing, yet still enjoyable. Teeth are knocked out, tendons are cut, flesh is stripped and staple guns are used instead of stitches. The assembly of the centipede isn't the end, and what follows blends very dark humour with some very disturbing imagery.
I won't go into anymore detail, needless to say, the uncut version is MUCH better than the cut version. Having read the descriptions of certain scenes in other versions, let me say, they are FAR worse here! So for those waiting for the uncut version you are in for a pleasant surprise. Lawrence R. Harvey, for a debut performance, is fantastic. He is easily one of the best horror villains to grace our screens in years. Meeting him afterwards was a pleasure, he is an incredibly friendly, well-spoken man. The cinematography is fantastic, the whole film has a dirty, grungy atmosphere.
On a sad note, the film just got banned in Australia, a disappointing choice by the OFLC. Will this film ever see the light of day in Australia uncensored? Not in the near future. Much like A Serbian Film, an incredible viewing experience has been denied to adults who are able to consent to the films they want to see. I don't want to get into a censorship essay though!
8/10