Saturday, May 15, 2010

HUMAN CENTIPEDE (FIRST SEQUENCE) (a review)




I'm not sure what the first sequence part of the title refers to because it's hard to imagine a sequel to this horror movie. And I do mean horror movie. Most horror movies are more like action movies with zombies or they are just slasher movies where the kids are obnoxious and you are almost rooting for the villian. There are very few movies that actually come up with an idea that can get under the skin of the viewer, that have something in them that it truly disturbing. This is one of those movies.


The story: two American girls in Germany drive off to a party but get lost/a flat tire and head out in search of help, but instead find a sadistic surgeon with a project: to surgically (and permanently) attach several people together to form a human centipede.


So how was it? Disturbing as hell. I have to admit, hearing the concept didn't sound so horrible. Hey, people all tied together -- what's the big deal? It could even be kind of funny. WRONG. This isn't CHUCKY or RE-ANIMATOR. There is something of the sight of those three people attached to each other that was very disturbing to me. A lot of that comes from the fact that they took a more realistic route. The people aren't made to look like some giant insect, but are three human beings sewn together. Then it's the details -- the way the feet are attached to hands, the way the doctor tries to make them learn to move together, the fact that the two back people have their mouths attached to the anus of the person in front of them, so to feed...(shudder). Like I said this was disturbing, mainly because they took a very realistic route for it. It's like the writer/director had really sat around wondering what it would be like to sew three human beings together.


And even plot-wise the movie takes a more realistic approach. There is no big Hollywood final confrontation, no happy endings and the ending in fact is probably one of the most disturbing they could have come up with.


Yikes. Still, it's rare that I see a movie that can actually disturb me, so as a horror movie it did what it needed to do.


*** RECOMMEND but only for fans of intense, disturbing horror movies ****

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