Human Centipede - Der menschliche Tausendfüßler

I have heard LOTS of things about The Human Centipede. Lots of negative things and lots of positive things, and I have to start off with what is easiest.

For all of it's premise, honestly, the film was not AS gory or sick as I imagined. Honestly though, I am glad. With a film like this it's hard to review properly because it's almost as if a film like this will exist whether people hate it or not. I mean, it's meant to disturb. BUT one thing has to be said, the film was, surprisingly, very well-made. I expected a 'shocking' and nasty B-grade horror. The only B-grade aspect of the film was the performances from Ashley Williams and Ashlynn Yennie. When I first saw them on screen they come off very phony and unlikeable, especially when they were chit-chatting about usual chatter. BUT even their performances, as they became more and more scared, actually worked, and dare I say it, pretty fantastic for a film like this. I don't know if it was actually acting or what, but one could really feel for their physical and emotional distress.

Surprise after surprise, the film has one central fantastic performance, and that is from the twisted Dieter Laser. Like I said before, the film didn't only concentrate on shocking us, but it also showed us a lot of this man's twisted mind. Also, the lack of music helped build real tension.

Ultimately, I actually have to recommend this film. It's VERY well-made and has one terrific performance, and the film itself, for all its sick premise, at least isn't a sequel or a horror remake. It boasts originality, although it doesn't do anything completely original regarding how the premise works out, The ending is also brutal, and I am sure it will linger in the mind. Still, it's hard to really 'love' a film like this. Compared to Saw, it is actually a 'better' film.