Directed by: Tom Six
Starring: Laurence R. Harvey, Ashlynn Yennie, Bill Hutchens
I really enjoyed the original Human Centipede. It was different, it was disgusting, it was funny, but I also thought that it was a bit too tame. So when I heard that the sequel was going to make the first film 'look like My Little Pony' I was a little more than excited. Then when it was banned in the UK and cut in the US I really couldn't wait to see it. But after this much hype, can any film still live up to expectations? Apparently not.
Martin (Harvey) is an overweight, middle-aged, mentally challenged man who lives with his mother. He works as a parking garage attendant and spends his long hours alone, escaping into a fantasy world via the original Human Centipede movie. He obsesses over it, watches it over and over, and even keeps a scrapbook. He listens to Dr Heiter's instructions and begins to write his own surgical notes, in preparation for his own sick creation.
Soon enough he begins to gather his victims, mostly singles or couples wandering the parking garage at night. With a crowbar across the skull he knocks them out, piles them into his van and takes them to his special warehouse where he plans to create a 12-person human centipede. His crowning achievement however is the kidnapping of Ashlynn Yennie, the actress from the original film. He lures her to town with a fake audition and before she realises it, it's too late.
If you've seen the first film then you will know Dr Heiter was a retired surgeon who specialized in separating conjoined twins. Obviously he had plenty of surgical knowledge and experience, and also the correct tools and equipment. Martin on the other hand is a fat, stupid freak and the best he can do is a shitload of duct tape, a staple gun, a hammer and a bunch of knives. Whereas Dr Heiter had proper anaesthetic, Harvey only has a crowbar with which to whack his patients upon the head when they start to get a bit too lively.
The first hour or so of the film follows Martin as he gathers his victims, finds a place to store them, gathers more victims, fights with his mother and gathers more victims. It is a little tedious and repetitive but I did however enjoy the scenes involving Martin and his mother. Especially when his mother finds his special scrapbook.
The rest of the film is basically the process and end result of making the human centipede.
The violence and gross factor have definitely been turned up since the first film, and there is a lot more blood and shit involved. Watching it in the stark black & white in which the entire movie is filmed, actually increases the impact of the violence I think. The gushing blood is pure black, running down white skin. I did notice a touch of color when the fecal matter made it's big entrance though.
For a person who's seen the first movie this sequel will bring no surprises, no tension, nothing that you wouldn't have already seen. It's just taken the more disgusting factors and increased them. The effects are fantastic though, and the movie looks great in black & white. The acting was perfect and the casting (especially of Lawrence Harvey as Martin) was spectacular. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see it uncut, but after knowing which scenes were cut I don't think including them would have made much of a difference to the viewing experience.
It's worth a watch if only for the shock factor, and no matter how good or bad you think the movie is, it will definitely be one which is long remembered.
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