subject: The Human Centipede Achieves New Depravity [print this page] After ten years of accurately named 'torture porn' movies where graphically violent and psychologically disturbing scenes take precedence over plotting and characterisation, should we really be surprised when a film such as The Human Centipede crops up?
Apparently dreamed up by creator Tom Six after his claim that sexual deviants should be punished in ways similar to the main thrust of the movie, The Human Centipede takes sick horror to a new level - but for what purpose?
The last decade has been one that many true horror fans would admit to be a disappointment. With the ever-spiralling Saw series taking the helm when it comes to reaching new levels of disgust and depravity, now having reached its sixth instalment with no promise of whirling to a halt any time soon - Saw VII is already on its way, and in glorious 3D at that! - gone are the days, it seems, of thoughtful horror that incited genuine fear through tension and terror. Instead, we have seen ten years of cheap scare tactics and a plethora of lazy devices like 'the sudden shock' - which is a far cry from the well-crafted horrors of the 70s and 80s, and even the postmodern slashers of the 90s.
Still, the genre is showing no signs of slowing down. Amidst all the Saws and Captivities and Hostels, a new breed is emerging - bizarre gross-out films that barely even bother with the tenuous plot that films such as Saw attempted. The Human Centipede is one.
Now notorious on the web as a viral trailer that is hopping from Facebook to Blogger to Twitter, The Human Centipede has been causing horror and nausea wherever it turns. What's most interesting about this particular piece is that it appears to be succeeding where others have failed: The Human Centipede is the gross-out film of the decade. The title alone clearly describes it as a concept film: a mad German scientist who used to be hailed as a master at separating conjoined twins now wishes to reverse his work and create a creature that is not two but three humans stitched together and living as one fully functional body. The only way to do that, it appears, is by connecting them through the gastric system so that there is one continuous intestinal tract from the very front to the very back.
This could be the one film that even the sickest torture porn fans avoid, but if you do end up catching it, you may not want to see it in HD. It is, after all, purported to be 100% medically accurate.
