Horror Movie Review: The Human Centipede

The Human Centipede

Starring: Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, and Akihiro Kitamura

Directed by: Tom Six

Written by: Tom Six

Production Company: Six Entertainment

Release Date: August 30, 2009

Awards: Best Horror Jury Prize at the 2009 Austin Fantastic Fest, Best Picture Festival Trophy at the 2009 Screamfest, and Dieter Laser won Best Actor Jury Prize at the 2009 Austin Fantastic Fest



Two girls on a trip through Europe get lost on the way to a secluded club and wind up in the hands of the deranged Dr. Heiter. Dr. Heiter, an esteemed surgeon known for his work on separating Siamese twins, has developed the twisted dream of not separating life, but joining it, creating a Siamese triplet, a human centipede.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to rent The Human Centipede. I like horror movies that endeavor to scare us, not gross us out like so much of the torture porn that has started since the debut of Saw. (Although, lumping Saw in with some of the later torture porn like Hostel is a disservice to Saw.) But I decided the concept was interesting enough for there to be a redeeming element. I was wrong.

After being joined together by the gastric system, one girl's mouth connected to the anus of the guy in front, the girl in back being connected similarly, Dr. Heiter one night complains to his creation that he should have removed their vocals cords because the incessant sobbing of the girls in particular prevented him from sleeping. After the surgery, that's what the film became. Heiter training his human centipede to walk, and the three victims sobbing. Heiter feeding the head of his centipede, the girls sobbing. Heiter getting excited when the head could no longer keep himself from shitting into the middle's mouth, and everyone sobbing.

And we horror lovers have to accept that the victims do, to some degree, stupid things, but both escape attempts were ripe with idiocies beyond what I would call acceptable amounts of idiocy. Returning to save your friend ensures that not only will you not save your friend, but you won't save yourself either. The other moronic move in the second escape I'll just leave for anyone who wants to check this crapper out, pun intended. But then the girls were idiotic beyond the pale to begin with. They get a flat tire and start walking down the road to find help. Net thing we know they are stumbling through the woods...Why did they leave the road?

Dieter Laser does a great job as the demented Dr. Heiter, so we can thank Laser for one redeeming element, but the very limited scope of the script, the apparent lack of social commentary, the pointlessness of everything associated with the film, wastes Laser's entertainment value.

Related Trailers

The Human Centipede II - Tom Six and Ashlynn Yennie return in The Human Centipede II. Inspired by the fictional Dr. Heiter, disturbed loner Martin dreams of creating a 12-person centipede and sets out to realize his sick fantasy.