In my review of the first, umm, segment of Tom Six's "Human Centipede" series, I stated that it was a very difficult film to review as it's inherently meant to alienate and disgust – so how to judge it evenly? I had no such problem with The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) as not only does it retain (and amplify) the revoltingness of the original, but strips away any twisted charm, tension, good performances and frequent tongue-in-cheek execution that made "First Sequence" better than it had any right to be.
Many haphazardly brand films they dislike as "worthless," but some movies are genuinely without any merit. "Full Sequence" is such a rarity. This sequel is artless, humorless, boring, without style (well, it is in black and white, so it must be high-class), purpose, or cleverness, and is generally off-putting, but never haunting or lasting. The only purpose seems to be in Tom Six's mind, in that he wanted to one-up himself. He succeeded in scope, but failed in every other aspect.
The opening scene reveals to us that the entire first movie was just that: a cinematic endeavour. Cut to Martin, a lonely and infinitely unhinged parking lot attendant who becomes obsessed with the film and further obsesses over creating his own humanoid monstrosity with twelve victims – an addition of nine. You see, these unlucky folks will be surgically attached mouth to anus, thereby connecting the gastric system, giving birth to a human centipede. His plan involves shooting his targets in the leg, bludgeoning them with a crowbar, tossing them into the back of his van and driving them to a grungy warehouse to await their fate. This drawn-out portion of the movie slogs along as Martin collects his subjects in a rythmic, monotonous pace with no sense of impending dread or sympathy for his victims. The camera seemingly just rolls for the hell of it.
While the original benefited from a deliciously deranged performance from Dieter Laser as the mad doctor, Laurence B. Harvey's Martin never speaks, is grotesque in his appearance and mannerisms and has no interesting motives or backstory except that he was apparently sexually abused by his father. In fact the entire second half of the film contains no dialogue, as by this point all the characters' mouths are otherwise full (I apologize for that imagery). When the poop did flow, I was both bored and otherwise desensitized from the previous grotesque events and simply wanted the experience to end. A backhanded aim of Six may have been to craft a movie that nobody could sit through, and he did succeed, but not in the way he likely intended. I felt my time was being wasted, not that I was being shocked to new extremes.
The only people I could recommend this movie to would be those like myself who enjoyed the first and are curious about the follow-up, but I would have to tack on the disclaimer that they will be disappointed and viewing could even diminish the bizarre appeal of the first. But I suppose if you truly love fecal matter, back-room surgery, blood, torture, infanticide, profanity, child abuse and (of course) centipedes, you will be in cinematic bliss. Six already plans to finish his vision with a third movie entitled Human Centipede (Final Sequence) and after fulfilling the worries I had that he would one-up himself to a fault with this movie, I quiver at the load of dung he has in store for us to cap the trilogy.
Read my review of the original: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1467304/reviews-40
Many haphazardly brand films they dislike as "worthless," but some movies are genuinely without any merit. "Full Sequence" is such a rarity. This sequel is artless, humorless, boring, without style (well, it is in black and white, so it must be high-class), purpose, or cleverness, and is generally off-putting, but never haunting or lasting. The only purpose seems to be in Tom Six's mind, in that he wanted to one-up himself. He succeeded in scope, but failed in every other aspect.
The opening scene reveals to us that the entire first movie was just that: a cinematic endeavour. Cut to Martin, a lonely and infinitely unhinged parking lot attendant who becomes obsessed with the film and further obsesses over creating his own humanoid monstrosity with twelve victims – an addition of nine. You see, these unlucky folks will be surgically attached mouth to anus, thereby connecting the gastric system, giving birth to a human centipede. His plan involves shooting his targets in the leg, bludgeoning them with a crowbar, tossing them into the back of his van and driving them to a grungy warehouse to await their fate. This drawn-out portion of the movie slogs along as Martin collects his subjects in a rythmic, monotonous pace with no sense of impending dread or sympathy for his victims. The camera seemingly just rolls for the hell of it.
While the original benefited from a deliciously deranged performance from Dieter Laser as the mad doctor, Laurence B. Harvey's Martin never speaks, is grotesque in his appearance and mannerisms and has no interesting motives or backstory except that he was apparently sexually abused by his father. In fact the entire second half of the film contains no dialogue, as by this point all the characters' mouths are otherwise full (I apologize for that imagery). When the poop did flow, I was both bored and otherwise desensitized from the previous grotesque events and simply wanted the experience to end. A backhanded aim of Six may have been to craft a movie that nobody could sit through, and he did succeed, but not in the way he likely intended. I felt my time was being wasted, not that I was being shocked to new extremes.
The only people I could recommend this movie to would be those like myself who enjoyed the first and are curious about the follow-up, but I would have to tack on the disclaimer that they will be disappointed and viewing could even diminish the bizarre appeal of the first. But I suppose if you truly love fecal matter, back-room surgery, blood, torture, infanticide, profanity, child abuse and (of course) centipedes, you will be in cinematic bliss. Six already plans to finish his vision with a third movie entitled Human Centipede (Final Sequence) and after fulfilling the worries I had that he would one-up himself to a fault with this movie, I quiver at the load of dung he has in store for us to cap the trilogy.
Read my review of the original: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1467304/reviews-40