Okay people, if you’ve been following the hype surrounding this movie you are in one of two camps; Super Horror/Gore flick nerd who is eagerly awaiting this movie, or Average movie goer that probably thinks that seeing this movie will make you puke forever and scar you.
Sucks to be either of you.
grossest part of the movie.
Here’s the deal folks, I was both disappointed, and surprised, at this film. Let me break it down:
First, why I was disappointed.
The honest truth is that the main draw for this film is the scat play. I hate to break it to you, but there really is none. Want proof?
This is the most graphic shot where the front dude shits in the girls mouth.
Yup. This is what months of hype and outrage are about.
I’d also like to add that the middle girl never shits in her friends mouth, thus killing her. GOOD FRIEND!
As much as I wanted to see poop-eating when I came in, as the film progressed, the real horror set in. This is a psychological thriller where you know the ending and are doing your absolute best to avoid the inevitable, but you are stuck in this world and there is no escape and you are at the whim of a madman, in this case, Director Tom Six.
You are placed in the roles of the victims here, and as much as you hate them for their stupidity (typical horror flick victim), you can do nothing but empathize, and THAT is where the agony comes from. Not from poop, but from the idea that you are here and you will eat shit and you will grow to accept your new life as the pet of a crazy German asshole.
Which brings me to why I am surprised by this film.
It’s extremely well made. I am a big fan of film from the Netherlands/Germany for their visual style, and while this film does a great job of replicating that style (I’m not familiar enough with Six’s work to form an opinion on his abilities), you simply don’t expect such a beautiful looking movie from this concept.
The acting is meh, with the exception of Dieter Laser, who is absolutely amazing. His character, Dr. Heiter, is a world renowned surgeon specializing in the separation of siamese/conjoined twins. In his retirement, he designed a surgery that would “create a new life form” but the reality is, that with all of his know-how and expertise, he decides that the human centipede form is best. A form where people are force-fed shit. What a kook right? Well, he’s right.
Somehow during the film these three human individuals actually become a trained entity of this madman. They essentially become one being, that is until the end when it is painfully obvious that they are in fact three individuals who’s existence is now both reliant on each other AND the madman doctor.
This film in not about shit eating. It’s about domination. It’s about how fragile the human spirit is, and how easily it can be completely shattered. It’s hard to watch. It’s VERY hard to watch. There is true suffering happening here in this film and you are never allowed to forget it for a second. Dr. Heiter is your master and you are his monster, like it or not.
The most powerful motif in this film is the use of mirrors. Immediately after the victims awake from their surgery, The good doctor takes photos, cries, and shows the creation to itself via a mirror. This is the beginning of a set of demoralizing acts the Doctor performs to his pet to break it’s spirits, to bend it to his will. Domination. This is the monster you are, you have no choice. Then he holds the mirror to himself, crying, tears of joy. He is God in his mind.
God is another theme that really helps this film move along. Not the “big man in the sky” God. But your master, the controller of your destiny, God. The Japanese man in front, verbalizes this point many times. “Do you think you are God?” Well, in this situation, he is. The final scenes are heart-wrenching especially when the Japanese man comes to this realization. His world is different. The normal rules no longer apply. Heiter is now his God.
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