Saturday 3 December 2011

What bothers me about 'The Human Centipede 2'.

Last night, the bad film crew (Moon, Chris and I) were back in full force and the first film of choice was The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) - we later found our minds and settled into the much better and funny yet dark 'Back-cancer comedy', 50/50, but I have nothing to say about it because even if it hadn't been as good and as enjoyable a watch as it was, it still would have made up for the horrific visuals we were subjected to by the film we watched prior to it, plus it was likely I was going to like it whatever, because Seth Rogen's in it and I even like Funny People.

Before I officially begin, I just want to say that this is purely my opinion of the film and I've tried my hardest to find stills that aren't graphic or offensive, firstly because I like having a clean blog, and secondly because I found it grotesque myself so I wouldn't feel right inflicting it on others.

My curiosity over the Human Centipede follow-up has really bothered me since learning of it's impending release. The first film to me seemed to be disgusting for the sake of it, with the risk of sounding like a horrified parent. Please bare in mind that I'm actually not, and that I do enjoy horror films, I would never call my self a huge gore fan but the psychology behind it can be fascinating and I maintain the knowledge that in some genres, violence can be necessary.
Saying this, I don't feel that whatever violence was featured in the 'First Sequence' was that shocking, the whole premise merely lacks a point and for me the '100% medically accurate' tagline sells the film as bad from the off, rather than clever or interesting, because who cares if it is, really though? The first film did leave myself and those I watched it with with a dull ache in our stomach, after feeling uneasy throughout the film all that resulted was our questioning of what we had just watched and why. The former being the main reason we were willing to sit though the 'Full Sequence', as I mentioned at the beginning we were curious as to what Tom Six could do to us next, turns out quite a lot.

'Full Sequence' sees mentally-challenged and abused loner, Martin, plunge into sick fantasy after becoming obsessed over the original film. Immediately there is an element of satire and self-parody. In fact, it was Little White Lies' review on HC2 that made me wonder whether it could be taken more seriously as a real film, it can't. While there is an incredible amount of dark humour running throughout, the fact that it is now being shown in black and white rather than full colour is the only thing that allows this to be noticeable. I think that although this is essentially a censored version, it is also how it should be; as a visually educated person, fully for freedom of speech, there does come a time when it can be said that there is no place for certain images, and arguably no point.

There are two things that completely throw me when it comes to 'The Human Centipede (Full Sequence)'. Firstly, how did they get the 'middle' actress from the first film to return - this time playing herself - to do the second one, surely this poor girls acting career is over before it started, then again, she was probably only in porn before anyway.
Secondly, from a photographic perspective, each shot of the film is so well-considered and thought out. Tom Six is clearly someone who actually knows how to make a film and what angles and lighting to use, but why is he wasting this talent on such unnecessary, appalling content. The use of black and white perhaps adds to the depth of the films visuals as well as providing a slight David Lynch/Eraserhead-esque edge but the overall storyline and actual imagery encapsulate the needlessness of this films existence. I don't even know why I felt so compelled to talk about it, but maybe that's what Tom Six wants, even if people are watching this and are disgusted, at least they're watching it and for lack of better cliché, any publicity is good publicity.

I would not advise that you watch this film but if you do wonder what all the fuss is about, by all means do. Just remember that you know what the story line is and that it's going to be fucked up and while it doesn't disappoint, you'll probably end up being disappointed in yourself.

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