Human Centipede, The (First Sequence) (2009)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
A couple dumb American girls (Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie) are on a road trip in Germany when they head out to a party but suffer a flat tire. They decide to get out and walk and soon find themselves inside the home of Dr. Heiter (Dieter Laser) who drugs them and then takes them hostage. He captures another man and starts his dream operation of making a human centipede. There's a lot of hype going around about this film being the most shocking, disturbing and outrageous horror movie in decades but don't believe it. This isn't an exploitation movie so don't expect any gore, shocking violence or disgusting situations based around what actually takes place in the film. For the most part this is a pretty straight-forward film that goes by the "less is more" belief. Yes, what these three people go through is horrific but the film doesn't try to exploit the situation so those just looking for scenes of gross shocks are going to be disappointed. I think, for the most part, the film works because it's simply too original not to. The idea of putting three humans together (butt to mouth) to create a "dog" that can walk around with its master (the doctor) and take orders is a dark matter but it's interesting. The basic idea of this taking place is rather ridiculous and the film knows that and that's why we get some dark humor from time to time. This starts early on when the girls first get stranded as a perverted German man drives up to them talking dirty. The film also falls into some very stupid moments like who and why the girls end up at the house. They are on a road, which they could follow to get back to town or at least find someone yet they decide to walk through the woods where they're bound to get lost. Why would they be dumb enough to walk through the woods? Because if they had done the smart thing the movie would be over. As I said, this movie is rather tame in terms of violence and gore but I found this to be rather refreshing. The director constantly keeps us off guard because there are times when he throws things in that we wouldn't expect. Take for example the scene where the two police come to ask the doctor if he knows about the missing girls. In most movies the person would act innocent and make sure not to raise any suspicion. Not here as our man has a meltdown and makes sure that the police will come back. The visual site of the human centipede is actually pretty good and I give all three actors credit for making it work. I really didn't care for any of them in their "human" roles, especially the two girls, but as one long creature they work. Laser on the other hand is rather brilliant as the coldness he brings to the role really makes it work yet at the same time there's just something about him where you never really hate him. Strange that someone so evil could be so cold that it pretty much numbs you to the horror he's doing. It's certainly a very good performance but don't expect him to be welcomed at next year's Oscars. The movie isn't going to appeal to everyone but I do think the subject matter is going to keep people away who would probably find themselves into the movie more than they'd expect.
