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Released by: IFC Films
Released on: October 5, 2010.
Director: Tom Six
Cast: Dieter Laser
Year: 2009
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The Movie:
The subject of an inordinate amount of hype earlier this year, Dutch filmmaker Tom Six's The Human Centipede should make a star out of a German actor named Dieter Laser. An odd mix of Klaus Kinski and Udo Kier, the lead actor with the best name ever plays a mad doctor named Heiter whose bizarre specialty was working on separating conjoined twins. Now seemingly retired, he seems to have snapped for reasons never explained, and has gone in the opposite direction. When two stranded American tourists, Lindsay (Ashley C. Williams) and Jenny (Ashlynn Yennie) wind up at his door hoping to use the phone, he drugs them before they know it, they're part of a bizarre experiment in which the two girls are sewn, mouth to ass, to the front part of a human centipede in the form of a Japanese guy named Katsuro (Akihiro Kitamura).
Not so unrealistically touted as being '100% medically possible' this is one of those movies that will gross out all but the most cynical of viewers. There are certainly far gorier and more graphic films out there in terms of bloodshed and carnage and effects work but the very concept of Heiter's experiment, once its put into motion, is pretty disgusting, particularly when you realize that all three living humans involved are essentially sharing the same digestive track, whether they like it or not.
Shot on digital video, the film has a very cold, clinical look to it that periodically brings to mind David Cronenberg's body horror films, but whereas Cronenberg's pictures generally have a lot more going on than just surface shocks, Six's picture really doesn't. That's not to say it's bad, because it's actually ridiculously entertaining and seemingly completely aware of what it is in terms of artistic merit, but it's not a deep picture at all. Williams and Yennie aren't given a whole lot to do outside of acting dumb and playing to clichés, though Kitamura, whose character speaks only in Japanese (and some of the angriest sounding Japanese you've ever heard at that, though you can't really blame him for being grumpy, what with a woman's face sewn to his ass and all) is excellent in his part. With just the right amount of anger and inspired defiance, Kitamura's character turns out to be far more interesting than the two females that the film originally revolves around. That said, the real star of the show here is Dieter Laser. Not only is he instantly great based on his name alone, but he infuses his Doctor Heiter with such bizarre and manic screen presence that you can't help but love him. He goes just over the top enough to make the role really work for him, and it's hard to imagine the film being half as interesting without him as the antagonist and because of his efforts the film winds up with some really effective surreal humor running through its veins.
So while The Human Centipede may not wind up making you think about much more than the gross factor of what the three victims are subjected to, there's enough going on with the performances, the stylish cinematography and the very concept itself to make this one work. You know, so long as you're in the mood for this sort of thing.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The AVC encoded 1.78.1 1080p high definition widescreen image looks pretty good here for a production shot with a fairly modest budget. Color reproduction is strong, giving those sickly pale color schemes used throughout the movie some welcome medical malaise, while skin tones look natural, even at their most macabre looking. Detail is good, a few soft shots notwithstanding, and the digital to digital transfer ensures that there are no problems with dirt, debris or damage. Black levels are strong and contrast is good but this picture doesn't quite have as much depth as other more recent productions. That said, it looks quite good - those who enjoy the film will appreciate the transfer.
The LPCM 2.0 Stereo track is fine, though a true surround sound track would have been welcome, particularly in a few key scenes. Channel separation is there when it's called for and the levels are well balanced throughout. Dialogue is easy to understand and there are no problems with hiss or distortion. The low end of the mix could have used a bit more power but overall things sound fine. Optional English subtitles are included which are easy to read and free of any typographical errors.
The best of the extras on the disc is a commentary track with Tom Six, the enthusiastic writer and director of the film. Six spends a lot of time simply explaining what we're seeing on screen and telling us about it, which would normally be a bad thing, but he intersperses this with his thoughts on how effective it is or isn't and explains how it was done and, sometimes more importantly, why it was done. He also covers the cast, the effects, the location and story changes that occurred.
Aside from the commentary, there are a few interesting, if brief, featurettes to dig through. The first is a nine minute behind the scenes piece which shows us what it was like on set but which is more or less a basic fly-on-the-wall piece aside from some brief input from Dieter Laser which talks about his character briefly. A five minute interview with director Tom Six lets us in on the planned sequel in which he claims medical feasibility will be thrown out the window in favor of gross out tactics, while two minutes of foley sessions and four minutes of cast audition tapes lend some insight into how all of this was put together.
Rounding out the extras are a trailer for the film, a single deleted scene, a poster gallery, animated menus and chapter stops. Aside from the trailer and poster gallery, all of the extras are in standard definition.
The Final Word:
Is The Human Centipede thought provoking? Remarkably intelligent? Nope. It doesn't have much in the way of deeper meaning or sociological ramifications, instead, it's content to go for the gross out and so long as that's what you're after, it can be a pretty entertaining movie thanks to a wicked performance from Mr. Laser and a legitimately disgusting concept.