Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) Review

Movie: Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)
By: Maniac E
Date: December 3, 2011

Amplifying the worst

When I watched the original The Human Centipede, I wasn't impressed. Tom Six's concept of a movie about connecting three human beings to each other anus-to-mouth was indeed disturbing but the movie itself was not that horrific. This sequel however sees Tom Six back with vengeance in his heart as he presents to us one really vile piece of work that will leave a distinctive stain on the history of horror cinema forever.

The story:

Martin spends his evenings working in a parking garage, and days in the small apartment he shares with his verbally abusive mother, who has never forgiven him for reporting the physical and sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, and therefore getting her husband taken away from her. Obviously lacking any social skills, and at the mercy of near-constant berating, Martin seeks a mental escape from his hellish life. Unfortunately for the rest of the film’s characters, that escape has come in the form of obsession with the original Human Centipede movie. But watching it on a loop and collecting a scrapbook of images from the film can only satisfy Martin for so long. He decides to take the next step and replicate the work of the film’s Dr. Heiter (Dieter Laser, only appearing in footage from the last movie), with two crucial differences – he intends for his centipede to consist of twelve people instead of three, and he comes at the project with absolutely none of the real medical knowledge the doctor was armed with.

Undeterred by that little fact, Martin begins collecting his subjects from the parking garage, stashing them in a grimy warehouse until he has enough to begin making his “masterpiece.” Unlike the previous movie, in which the victims were as much of characters as the villain, this group is a mostly interchangeable collection of undeveloped faces. The one notable exception is the first film’s Ashlynn Yennie, who in a clever touch appears as herself, tricked by Martin into thinking she’s auditioning for a Quentin Tarantino movie, only to find herself part of his creation. But hey, at least she’s the "front piece” of the centipede this time, which has got to be quite the step up from her role as the "back piece" in the last film. Might I suggest Six think about making her the villain in the third entry, thus completing what would have to be considered one of the most upwardly mobile career progressions in cinematic history?

Let’s get it out of the way - Human Centipede 2 is every bit as depraved and disgusting as you have heard. It’s not the goriest film I have ever seen…but that probably says more about the movies I watch than it does the film itself. Make no mistake about it, this is one fucked up movie. Unlike the first film, which despite the extreme subject matter was arguably somewhat subtle and not really all that graphic in its presentation, the sequel goes absolutely balls to the wall (or should I say “feces to the wall”) in its onscreen depiction of the carnage Martin creates. Teeth removal by hammer, severed nerves, “surgical” application of mouth to ass, forced consumption of human waste – we see everything, in all its “I can’t believe they went there” glory. There was certainly a contingent of fans that felt the previous film wasn’t hardcore enough, that it unfairly skimped on the gruesome visuals the concept seemed to imply.

Six shot “The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)” in black and white, which at first you assume was a deft stylistic choice (the scenes in Martin’s apartment are strongly reminiscent of David Lynch’s “Eraserhead”). But once the horrible second half of this revolting movie gets under way, you realize the film would have been unwatchable if Six had made it in color. Everything that was hinted at and implied in the first film, Six gleefully makes graphic this time. Some would think this is just more of the same but it’s really not, it gives you more to think about. It is refreshing to see the way Six wants it movie trilogy to go through.

This sequel might be considered Six’s love-letter to those fans – although, by going so extreme, and by having the violence come at the hands of an obsessed fan himself, you could also argue that Six is being openly confrontational with his fans, begging them to question whether this is really what they wanted. You could ask yourself if a movie like this can raise questions at all. Many see it as a brainless, trashy, vile piece of cinematography. Six appears to be addressing the idea that extreme horror films (and his movies, in particular) can actually be dangerous to society, positing a scenario so over-the-top to, the point of being ridiculous, that it exposes how silly the whole notion is. He wants to show that movies in a way can only be judged by the person watching it. At the same time, he also seems to be somewhat mocking those bloodthirsty fans, giving them representation in the form of a small, fat, and awkward maniac that can’t differentiate real life from the movies.

“Human Centipede II” is undeniably a better film than its predecessor — I liked certain twisted touches, such as the way Martin slowly lines up his medical instruments (a pair of pliers, a hammer, a staple gun and duct tape) in front of his horrified patients — but in its final half-hour, the movie becomes an all-out wallow in torture porn, played out in stomach-churning detail that leaves nothing (and I mean nothing) to the imagination. I think it will be hard for the Final Sequence to go beyond this grotesque play. I really like the way Six has turned things around for part two, where I felt that part one was losing my attention, he turns things around here in the second movie.