the past year, it has come to my attention that we finally have a new horror film franchise that actually repulses people. Naturally, it has to come from outside the US of A. It is not that I don't have faith in the American Horror Film industry, but their recent output from the last decade kind of has made me feel worse than watching this on a loop:
That's right! It's the infamous film that pretty much dares America to re-make it (you just know they would if they could): The Human Centipede
! This is a film that got pretty much no theatrical distribution in the USA (however, I still managed to watch it at Tempe's own MADCAP Theater in June '10). However, after getting released on Blu-ray, DVD, VOD, and Netflix Watch Instantly, has become a truly iconic horror film that we didn't think was ever going to come again since the neutering and consistently terrible remakes that the genre has now become more known for in the country. It even got its own homage in the recent premiere of South Park
:
Having seen all of these works, I have to say, the film was probably the only film I've seen in the last five years, American or otherwise, that actually made me physically nauseous in the best possible way: the intentional kind! Not even the recent Euro gross-out insta-classic, A Serbian Film
, The film itself is rather terrible, a non-existent script with a flimsy story that just exists to give a reason to the fabulous make-up, art direction, and cinematography that comes our way. It also contained a lovely mad scientist performance courtesy of Dieter Laser. But, let's face it, that performance really wasn't what we remember about the film. I will not go into detail of what the featured, but I will provide plenty of visual supplements for you to feast on if you haven't seen them already:
Of course, that final image isn't from the film....but don't you wish it had been the poster? I guess this is an example of how iconic the film has already become. It has become instantly recognizable in the form of actions figures (shown above), posters, graphic art, birthday cakes, and even video games (this you gotta see):
Of course, what does any of this cultural success mean in terms of market value? That's right: QUICKIE SEQUEL!!!! This will be no ordinary sequel is courtesy of the original film's director, Tom Six!
Over the past few days, the internet has been a buzz that the "100% Medically Inaccurate" sequel, imaginably titled, The Human Centipede 2, has been officially banned in the UK.
I have to admit, all of the shock and disgust this "story" has brought, I suddenly realized how little the UK has really progressed as a nation. Are we still living in the 80s with the "video nasties" giving all the horror hounds a reason to live? I also have to admit that this whole controversy has been hankering to my more nostalgic sensibilities, dating back to the early-90s with postmodern films being made with a meta narrative. Somehow, no storylines or cast details were able to leak into the press....until the UK ban basically lifted the lid on the whole ordeal. Of course, Mr. Six said the sequel make the first look like this:
After what has been exposed thus far, he's probably right.
Has any film ever practically begged to have a heavy metal band name themselves after it? Wait, don't answer that. I really don't want to know.
This is what Mr. Six said in reaction to the ban: “Apparently I made an horrific horror-film, but shouldn't a good horror film be horrific? My dear people it is a fucking MOVIE. It is all fictional. Not real. It is all make-belief. It is art. Give people their own choice to watch it or not. If people can’t handle or like my movies they just don’t watch them. If people like my movies they have to be able to see it any time, anywhere also in the UK."
Hmmm. Freedom of speech has been a privilege of not that many nations in the world. I'm still of the opinion that certain nations cannot handle certain types of stories and/or films. Film of the nature of The Human Centipede
really don't have much of a function other than to brutalize the senses, not really to frighten anyone. I've never really heard anyone say that they were actually frightened by the film, or even really compelled by it in anyone. I must admit that while I am more interested in his exploration of the mental effect of horror films upon its viewers and the actions they take to express their desires that this sequel promises to be than the more traditional story of the original ever aspired to be, I really doubt that's what Mr. Six was attempting to achieve with this sequel. It sounds to me that he is doing nothing ore than trying to push the envelope without really being bothered by things like style, intelligence, subtext, or even decent filmmaking. I'm sure the final product will gross out, but not really surprise anyone who watches it. I don't really care how many people he decides to make into a centipede chain, more than likely, the film will just descend into the stereotypes and pratfalls of what 21st century slasher filmmaking is all about. Of course, all of this is probably more preferable to listening to Lauren Alaina
's new single. This banning will simply become the chief marketing device of the picture, much like this was of Lucky McKee's new film, The Woman
, back in January:I also won't be surprised if complete strangers start forming their own centipedes to celebrate the release of this sequel in the USA. I can't wait to post the pictures from that.
But however memorably gross or iconic this sequel becomes, it will probably be laughed at and referenced in academic essays five years from now. People will watch it on Blu-Ray and the internet and wonder what all the fuss is about, just like all of the video nasties from the 80s. Some things ever change.
Now, let's look at that lovely South Park
image again. This one's a little different,
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