Thursday, May 3, 2012

The Human Centipede 2: The Full Sequence (2011)

In this meta-horror film Martin is a disturbed loner who's long suffered from mental abuse from his mother and sexual abuse from his father. Martin works an imaginably boring job in a parking garage where most of his down time is spent in bondage type masturbation to Tom Six's infamous horror film The Human Centipede. Martin's love of the film goes beyond that of the typical insane horror fan (shout out to myself and others) and he has a dream of creating a human centipede of his own, using twelve people. It isn't until Martin kills his mother though that he seeks out to pursue his dream and in a ghastly attempt captures twelve random strangers. Where Dr. Heiter had the surgical skills and operating room to achieve his dream all Martin has is an empty warehouse and Heiter's kindergarten drawings from the film. In a brutal, graphic, and explicit final twenty minutes Martin creates a human centipede in a grisly conclusion.

Please, excuse me for the socially inept term but this film is retarded. Interesting how it reflects that of its main character Martin, it's a little tragic, a little disturbing, a little boring but ultimately is challenged. Tom Six's sequel to his infamous first film is in likes to nature of being a social commentary, it's about the fans of the first who called to derogatory comments of masturbation and obsession but also to the skeptical horror fans who felt it was too tame for it's hype. Six isn't shy in showing you everything, and then some. Maybe it was the poor use of special effects or the spoilers I read beforehand but I felt I saw through the grim of the film and saw for what it really was, nothing. That's not to say it wasn't graphic and unneccessary and I have no shame in saying I looked away for a good portion of the shit scene but it was all just...well fake. In that it holds to its tagline, 100% Medically Inaccurate, as besides the amateur approach to the medical stuff which I'm sure would kill most from shock he hits all his victims hard enough with a crowbar that I'm sure they'd die, if not then the second hit.

There's not much to say in casting as of the twelve people only a few stand out, Ashlynn Yennie returns and of course being meta it is as herself. She's not in it much and as a favor to us all again Martin rips out her tongue so even as the A piece she doesn't have to speak. The pregnant lady sticks out because of what her fate entails, which I'll say is more horrible than people defecating in each other mouths. The rest get a few lines that are mostly useless or campy, my favorite being "He's going to sew us ass to mouth!". That just leaves us Martin, now if Six knows how to do anything it's how to cast his villains. Laurence R. Harvey is really terrifying as Martin, his lack of dialogue and large eyes are very effective in creating a man unhinged. Scenes where he cries or laughs adds to that human quality to the character and you get a sense he could exist. Very worthy with Dieter Laser. Again, pre final twenty minutes, Six's strongest aspect in film making is his camera work and visual choices. His decision to shoot the film in black and white gives it a nightmarish visual overlay. The ascension of bright lighting in focus creates a surreal feel to the build of Martin's world and obsession. As well as a lot of other cleaver shots to master that loner and warped mindset feeling. For a brief moment you do live inside his head.


Yet it is effective. I felt wrong and nauseated after its ending. It resembles the creed of a homemade snuff film and even now I feel unease having it on my blog, as if it's tainting it or making it dirty. While I found The First Sequence to be good, only in originality and camera work, I find that The Full Sequence to not be good but had the potential from the first simple thought. Maybe my biggest issue with Tom Six as a director and writer is he has the ability to create horror films with depth and an artistic touch but goes for the shameful gore and tits show. The Human Centipede 2 is just one of those films that I cannot tell you to watch but it is iconic, it's part of this generation of horror, and it does what those who bitched about what the first film didn't, it goes there. However no plot and a single character developed doesn't surpass the grotesque latter half which isn't horror but rather just shoddy. Maybe its to say that you can achieve your dreams with a little duct tape and a staple gun? I don't know, it's not something I can recommend but it is what it is. Your decision.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

DUCT tape.