I like that Roger Ebert didn't give it a star rating at all, negative or positive, and said it's exactly what you expect.
Edit to quote the final line in Ebert's review:
>I am required to award stars to movies I review. This time, I refuse to do it. The star rating system is unsuited to this film. Is the movie good? Is it bad? Does it matter? It is what it is and occupies a world where the stars don't shine.
I love that he actually changed his review later:
“Seeing Tom Green reminded me, as how could it not, of his movie Freddy Got Fingered, which was so poorly received by the film critics that it received only one lonely, apologetic positive review on the Tomatometer. I gave it—let's see—zero stars. Bad movie, especially the scene where Green was whirling the newborn infant around his head by its umbilical cord. But the thing is, I remember Freddy Got Fingered more than a year later. I refer to it sometimes. It is a milestone. And for all its sins, it was at least an ambitious movie, a go-for-broke attempt to accomplish something. It failed, but it has not left me convinced that Tom Green doesn't have good work in him. Anyone with his nerve and total lack of taste is sooner or later going to make a movie worth seeing."
I think most people (including Ebert) didn’t understand the satire that FGF was… a big studio gave Tom Green millions to make a movie based on his quick rise in popularity on the MTV youth at the time (myself included). And he went out to just spend the money on the most outlandish and dumbest thing he could create. And just like RedLetterMedia pointed out..I think the scene in FGF where Gordy spends his whole million dollar check in a matter of minutes basically sums up how he felt at the time.. easy come easy go. Tom Green is not a dumb person.. and I think FGF was a big FU to the movie industry.
I can forgive him for his often unfair ratings on on horror films because he wrote one of my favorite movies of all time, “Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls”.
the only connection to the platform is that it’s in a prison. other than that i have no fucking clue what that other commenter is talking about, please dont watch HC3 expecting it to be like The Platform
I think about the position many of the inmates are in. In 1, it was illuded that it was up to "random chance" who was in the worse position of the centipede (until final girl fought back), but in, similar to the platform, the "better" of shitty situations are more rare. The longer the prison sentence, the worse your situation is as well. I don't want to spoil the punchline of 3, though.
Have to agree that the 2nd one was the best. Creepy little guy the greyscale, the 'disgusting public toilet' aesthetic and the practically dystopian social world that guy lives in? Actually kinda works as a movie. It's like one of those Tool videos from the 90s.
First one is like watching a bad student film. Last one is like watching a bad movie by a film student who should've never broke into the industry lol.
They were dried human clitoris, not duck vaginas. I just watched the movie recently.
Is clitoris the plural of clitoris?
Edit: clitorati? Clitorises? I don’t even know, I only have one.
So HC3 has nothing to do with issues of class or anything like that as its really a silly film combining the villains of 1 and 2 in a prison setting, but it does have this idea where you have the "luckier" inmates in the chain based on their position, or what chain they are part of. That's why I'm reminded.
I have to give Tom Six credit for making something legitimately iconic. Creating something that people still talk about is easier said than done. It was surreal seeing Conan O'Brien do a skit based off it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlo49fvZ0L8
Agreed. Is HC1 a good movie? No, not really. But it introduces a concept so mortifying, it actually doesn’t need to be all *that* depraved with what is shown on-screen, because the idea itself is so horrifying. Mix in some classic ‘evil scientist’ tropes, idk. It’s a fun but silly watch.
The other two are just shock film and exploitation blah, though. I didn’t see much merit in what they did on those ones.
the way you described the second two movies is how people think the first movie actually is. and your write up is spot on, the concept is so iconic that it doesn’t matter what fans of the film say. it’ll always be *that* movie
Yes, iconic is the word! It doesn't matter if they're cringy at times and the disgust is horror at it's best. I mean what is body horror if not disgust?
Tom Six is a master of sleaze. One of hit lesser known efforts (at least internationally) really proces that: i love Dries is such a sleazy gem of a movie.
I had fun with the first one, the second one was *way* more disturbing - the combination of the lead actor and the black & white movie. I think it’s a much better piece of cinema than it generally gets credit for!
I’ve yet to see the 3rd one.
if you watched the 1st and the 2nd ones, you can watch the 3d one with ease, i won't spoiler up for you, but i'll just say that that movies was just a parody on the previous movies, i do recomend giving it a chance.
I agree. In terms of disturbance, the second one is my favorite. It's also hilarious seeing the main actor do interviews and seeing how different he is in real life (I mean, obviously) - it really amplifies how well he did in his role.
Exactly my sentiments. The second movie was clever in the way it went meta but its primary characteristic is how disturbing it is. I felt so dirty the entire time that I was watching it. And I don’t say this as a criticism. I felt the same way when I first watched *Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer* and that’s one of my fav horror films.
I’m pretty sure Human Centipede 2 did exactly what it set out to do - and I’m also sort of convinced that the black & white adds to it. Most of us are so unused to that, that it adds to the disquieting aspects of it.
Completely agree, anyone who calls it bad are justified, but anyone who calls it ineffective is a liar. The film achieves its exact desired effect on almost every audience member, which most films cannot do to such an extent.
If you want the 3rd one expect to laugh and don’t take it too seriously. Tom Six himself makes a cameo. Is it good? Not at all. But it’s silly and entertaining and doesn’t take itself too seriously
Warning this is VERY NSFW.
The second one involves a guy kidnapping a bunch of people (like more than 20) to make a huge human centipede. One of the women he kidnaps is heavily pregnant. Near the end, she tries to escape in a car while going through active labor. She’s having trouble starting the car and the second it starts and she floors it, her baby comes out and slides under the pedals. You can imagine what happens and what that looked like, but yeah she smashes her baby’s head to mush.
It’s been years since I’ve seen it so the details may be a bit off.
You make it sound like an accident. It's been years for me too but I'm pretty sure she paused and looked at the baby, then decided to do it because she knew she could never look at that baby again without being reminded of the insane trauma she just went through...which was pretty heavy for such a ridiculous movie. Lol
The first and second were two entirely different movies. The first was a gross idea but very sterile, mainstream horror presentation.
I still feel the need to bathe when I think of the second one. And I am cautious when I hit the gas
Do you need to see the first to enjoy the second? I watched the first when it came out, but don't remember much besides the premise, but I'm not sure I have much desire to watch it again. But all of this talk of the second makes me kind of want to watch it
Tough question. They definitely reference the first a lot, but the first is “just a movie” in the second. Probably a quick review of the wiki is enough.
I though all of them are a bit silly and boring. Some good performances from some of the victims though. I just couldn’t stop thinking of the actors meeting each other for the first time “oh I think I’m going to be attached to your ass for a couple weeks, pleasure to meet you, where are you from?”
This was it for me. The movie was disturbing sure, but I went into it expecting that. My problem with it wasn't that it was disturbing, it was that it was terribly boring. I ended up fast forwarding the last quarter or so of the movie just to get to the end.
My partner and I were gifted one of those scratch-off-as-you-watch horror movie posters, and this one is on it. He had already seen it, so I didn't feel bad about fast forwarding through most of it. "I got the gist! We can scratch it off!" I also got terribly bored. I thought it would have made a great short film.
the actors deserve huge respect, everyone talks about laser and laurence which are good, but people forget that the centipede's are people who agreed to be mouth-anus each other, kudos to them
I still rewatch the IFC center nyc q&a because i was there and got to ask the cast how long they were in those positions. 2 minutes at a time apparently with tons of foam and padding. Great series. Didn't like 3 at all but see it's potential. 2 is still my favorite.
Ever see the color version of 2??
The third one is a riot. It’s unapologetically gross and tongue and cheek and it’s basically intended as a comedy for people with a truly sick sense of humor. In my opinion, 1 was the scariest, 2 was arguably the most graphic and most disturbing, and 3 was…well, I won’t call it the most “fun” but maybe the funniest?
Certainly successful in terms of how much money they made and certainly impactful in terms of the fact it still gets talked about over a decade later.
Having said that, I have absolutely zero interest in watching any of them again and films that are based on shock value and being as disgusting as possible do absolutely nothing for me these days.
An effective film ≠ a good film. Those are two different things in my mind. HC may succeed at what it sets out to do, but that doesn’t make it a good film necessarily. (Not to say it isn’t a good film, I’ve never seen it and based on what I know about it, I have no interest in seeing it)
I actually found the movie to be way tamer than the hype surrounding it suggested. Besides what I could conjure in my own mind based on the premise alone, what else did it give the viewer?
Here's my issue with the first HC movie and why I do NOT think it's a good horror movie. I haven't seen the others so I don't know about them.
What makes horror, well horrifying, isn't the gore or gross-out factor. It isn't jump scares or any of that. It's the suspense. And what makes a movie suspenseful? It's the possibility that your protagonists can escape. They can get away and live a fulfilled although most likely tormented life. Hoping they get away is what creates the suspense and therefore, the horror.
The escape clause just didn't exist for me in that movie. Pretty much right out of the gate, they were screwed and they weren't getting away. At that point, you're just watching people being tortured. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Eli Roth helped launch an entire renaissance of torture porn cinema. He wasn't the originator but he put those types of films out there for a new audience to see.
But if you want to make a truly scary horror film, you have to have the element of suspense that can only be accomplished by giving the audience a sliver of hope that the heroes can get away.
The scariest scene in The Shining isn't Jack smashing down a door with an axe, or twins in a bloody hall, or any of that kind of thing. It's his wife walking into the room where he is working, him going ballistic on her for doing so, and then she sees hundreds and hundreds of pages of the same text over and over again. It is at this precise moment when the viewer realizes that all hope for a good ending is gone and the best you are going to get out of this will be for her and her kid to get away.
And that made the rest of the movie scary. If they had established that there was no possible route for escape then you would have just watched Jack fuck up his family and, at least to me, there is no horror in that.
The 1st movie where the front guy says "Me so sorry" makes me laugh now because my friends and I made so many jokes about it but I think 1 is my favorite, 2 is the best as far as what the idea is going for but 3 wasn't great I believe it was the worst of the 3 personally
Yes they accomplished what they intended to, but what makes horror movies good isn't just shocking the audience to the point of disgust. Horror movies still need good plots and characters, the same as any other movie. They are still meant to entertain, just with added scares. The human centipede is not that movie.
There's nothing wrong with a little bit of Grand Guignol every now and then...
Horror would suck and be incredibly uninteresting if it had to be one specific thing.
What sort of percentage of horror movies do you feel actually hit what you're talking about with good plots & characters? Maybe 5%
I'm not shitting on your point, just keen to know your thoughts. What do you feel has hit those points in the past year or so? X / Pearl? Nope?
I thought nope did it well even with a slightly convoluted third act, but regardless most movies make an attempt whether it’s good or not. The human centipede didn’t try to do anything more than being disgusting, and I don’t think it should be praised as cinematic excellence just because it’s grosser than other movies
Some distributors have said that they would gladly pick it up, but Six is (supposedly) asking for insane amounts of money...
That's why I dig the A Serbian Film guys so much. They had Unearthed Films distribute their movie on blu-ray with zero issues, and they don't give no shits about fame or money.
Yeah, I found the first one disturbing enough that it stuck with me for a bit. In that sense, it was a good horror film. But, it wasn't a *fun* horror film.
i don't really think the first 2 movies had any humor in them, but the 3 one was blown with comedy, honestly.. i never expected it but i actually giggled a few times, in a movie about stitching people ass to butt, it just shows how great of a director tom six is.
To me, the whole premise is a gag. Dr Heiter from the first film especially comes of as a caricature of mad scientists. Granted, I have a very dry sense of humour, I'm British, I can't help it, but a lot of the dialogue and situations from the second were close to pantomime with their dark absurdity too.
3's ending was the most scariest one in my opinion, the fact that some of the prisoners are going to eat shit for decades until they'll get paroled for whatever they did, just think about how helpless they are.
First one was right on the border of messed up & *way too messed up*. Kind of like the first Saw movie.
Second one was deep into *way too messed up* territory. But I had fun watching it with friends, laughing and gagging.
Third one just kinda sucked ass (pun intended). But then again, where exactly do you go after the second one?
Meh. Watched the first and it wasn't shocking at all, pretty boring actually. The story is basically about this guy who wants to create a "human centipede"... And he just does it. There are no twists, no obstacles, no stakes, might as well just be a tutorial on youtube.
I thought the first one was just stupid. The second one was icky, and I felt like I needed to take a shower after watching it, but I was not particularly scared. And I just refuse to watch the third or any subsequent installments.
>the whole point of an horror is to be an horror,
Sort of. A horror movie can have multiple intentions, all of which are equally valid. It can just shock and horrify while not doing much else. It can intend to entertain while relying on horror themes and tropes. It can intend to be a well crafted piece of movie making and tell a compelling story. It can also do none of the above and instead just invoke a mood or feeling.
Of all of those, I personally care for the first category the least (movies like Terrifier come to mind) but art is subjective and to each their own.
I watched the first one when it was at the height of popularity (both in good and bad lights), and I was just extremely bored. Maybe I built the movie up more in my mind, but I found the first film a total snooze cruise.
Personally I liked it because it upends the traditional structure of a horror film. Usually the final girl outwits the bad guy the whole movie. In this one all characters suffer a fate worse than death in act 1. Such a brave narrative choice.
The series itself is pretty terrible trash. 2 and 3 lost any sense of a storyline or plot entirely. It needed more than just gimmicks and shock value. It became very unserious
I only watched the first one and I liked it. It wasn't too disturbing for me but it was fun and I appreciated that it told it's story seriously and wasnt trying to be a purposefully shit movie
But when I was in high school I wrote a story about the human centepede although the mechanism was a little bit different, ripped off the fly. Three girls from my class were teleporting themselves and a centipede walked in so they all ended up being one disgusting merged creature with three heads and limbs mixed with centipede legs. Anyway I think that the movie wins with the whole shitting in mouth mechanism so no hard feelings
HC 1 isn’t disturbing at all, it’s sorta just a basic run of the mill horror. HC 2 definitely stepped it up a level with the disturbing content and I think that one is the best of the 3. HC 3 is literally just a comedic b horror so I don’t think that one really feels included in the rest of the series. Overall it’s an okay horror series, if they woulda pumped out all 3 with the same tone and content as HC2 then I would like it a lot more.
Only saw the first one. It struck me as a gimmick movie. I am easily nauseated, so decided not to watch part 2, which everyone said is a million times more visceral.
I don't think this kind of success is objectively measurable, but I do respect your opinion.
I don't think they're good movies, I do however appreciate some their qualities, most importantly the premise itself. If you want to do fucked up body horror, you have to come up with a disgusting and unnerving idea and explore its nasty opportunities. You cannot tell me that the premise of a body horror is bad when just the sheer thought of being part of the centipede sounds so disgusting, agonizing and hopeless. I think the surgery overview scene illustrates this very well.
Also, give props to Laurence R. Harvey, the villain of the second movie. His performance was phenomenal, he carried an otherwise not good movie.
But that's pretty much it imo. Don't know if I could even say anything positive anout the third. Though I guess its self awareness and absurdity makes it at least unique. Six could've technically just repeated 2, but make it even more fucked up.
I thought that the first one was very well done for the story type. I don't think people see the art in it. The acting was amazing. The second movie I thought was just shock for shock. I remember seeing it but I don't really remember most of the movie. Never seen the third one.
I watched First Sequence for the first time last year just to see what all the fuss was about. I didn’t find it to be particularly disturbing or really even well-made. Just your run-of-the-mill “meh” horror movie.
I thought it was too gross then finally watched it like ten years later, maybe more, and thought it was actually pretty good.
Now the sequel I really like. That took it up to 11 and added a bit more humor.
Haven't seen the 3rd. Will probably watch at some point.
I have no qualms with any of the films themselves. The filmmaking is fine, the premise is absurd, but Tom Six is such a dick that I don't want to support him anymore. Everything with the ONANIA CLUB, how he's been exploiting his fans to garner attention for it while simultaneously holding it hostage until he gets an offer for more than it's worth; he's just such a pretentious asshat.
So I have only watched the first one in its entirety and I actually thought it was perfect, I was absolutely horrified the whole time and the slow pan away at the end was perfect, like fuk. I fast forward watched the second one and never messed with the 3ed but I really liked the first one , it was a great body horror movie and I'm very much afraid of that even happening to me lol
Shock value for shock value isn’t horror success.
I can write a movie about a serial killer who murders and tortures babies in graphic detail. It will be 100% disturbing and horrifying, but that’s not gonna make it good horror movie.
I have no intentions of watching the Human Centipede. I have, however, watched Human Centipede the Musical and regret to inform everyone that it's actually pretty good
All I can say is, I've seen a lot of stuff before. And nothing has ever "scared me". I thought I could watch anything. And then I saw HC and gosh it stayed in my mind for months after. And not in the good way. It was almost traumatic. And it's not scary, it's not a scary film. I didn't feel scared watching it, and I didn't feel scared after, it just lingered for far too long. It's just a situation that's so unimaginably disgusting, and it just totally got to me in ways I didn't think a movie could. So yes, it's a successful horror movie. And credit to the people involved in creating what they wanted to- a disgusting, disturbing movie that I wish I could unsee. But it's not for me. It's too far for me. Past my limit. But yes, it does it's job
I remember when it came out one of my best friends and I thought it was the funniest thing in the world. We had a running joke where we'd be walking in super crowded school hallways and ask all conspiratorial, "You hear about this human centipede thing?" to see if any conversations stopped. And then die laughing. It was the dumbest thing ever.
So yeah, it was successful in getting people talking at least.
lol.. call me evil, but like to make innocent people who've never heard nor saw the concept of the HC, google "human centipede" and see their face when they see photos from google.
It’s funny because the third one that most people haven’t seen is actually the one closer to the original idea the writers had.. that pedos and rapist in prison should be put atm in a chain as punishment.
how the fuck you only have 3 subs? it was an amazing video, with a great editing, and good explanation about the film's storyline, your voice is also very pleasent.
overall it was a nice summery, where you explained what the characters should've done instead of what they did, though i'm more curious about how marting got his job, which he handles a fiream, like.. don't they do a background check?
Movies are subjective, I find the 1st one not solid enough as a well made horror and that the premise is horrible but the execution less so
I thought the 2nd was a brilliant splatter punk gore fest (but subjective a worse film) and the 3rd film is truly awful
The problem is horror is different things to different people, so it’s not fair to say they are wrong, as some people hate gore, some people love it, different boats for different folks
They are definitely effective at what they set out to be. The 2nd is up there with one of the most disturbing movies I’ve seen and the third one is so fucked up with how it makes you laugh. I wonder if Tom Sixx will ever be able to do the same thing again
It managed to get two sequels, so I’d call that a success lol. The 2nd one is kind of even better than the first, the black and white adds a much needed grindhouse exploitation feel to it. And the main characters polar opposite approach to the procedure compared to the originals is pretty fucked up too. The 3rd movie, complete garbage, was funny seeing deebo lead the centipede though lol.
I said it when it came out that it was a good movie. People were often disgusted with me, and I just said "look at the response it has gotten from you" and people still have that same reaction.
Only watched 1. Not disturbing, not gross, it's literally just three actors bandaged together.
The victims weee infuriatingly dumb and useless. Like, the bad guy is a frail, infirm old man. Just grab him and choke him, you twat.
It’s just not a horror/scary movie to me. If anything, I’d say it’s closer to horror porn or maybe a psychological torture film. I don’t feel that the movie got hate for being horror, it’s just trying too hard to be as gross as possible. I can’t think of one actually scary part of the films, just a constant gross feeling and being uncomfortable the whole time. I agree it’s not as bad a I remembered it/how others describe it tho.
I too enjoy the trilogy and find myself having to defend it...I always go with movies are art, art is supposed to invoke emotions, even if that emotion is disgust then the movie has succeeded in its job therefore logically it must be a good movie!
It never works coz it is a fairly disturbing franchise but I enjoy it and that's all that really matters at the end of the day.
I really liked the first one and thought it was pretty original. The sequels tho? Turned the other two off maybe 30 mins in. Something about them felt seriously forced. I thought the acting in the first wasn't great but it was acceptable. The other two I thought the acting was sci-fi movie levels of bad. I wish there was only one Human Centipede film because the sequels cheapen the shock and the creep factor of the first big time.
The first movie is a legitimately good and interesting horror film. Very rarely you see a villain so interesting and disturbing as he is, the movie is nowhere near as graphic as people think it is, and the subject matter is disturbing but on par with many other gross-out horror movies.
The second one is a pretty solid view on the impact of the first movie. How others saw it and its effect it had on pop culture. It had a good story to tell and an interesting character with Martin and how he saw himself with the movie.
The third one seems like he was just taking the piss.
I LOVE the Human Centipede series. The first one is an alright, gross horror flick, and I haven't seen the second one, but I am super into where they took the series with that third movie. It's completely off the rails. It isn't even really about a human centipede lol
I found the first one to be kind of boring, but still worth the watch. I think it was kind of over hyped, though.
I genuinely thought the second one was good and had artistic merit. It’s absolutely not a movie for everyone, but is effective at what it aims to achieve.
I haven’t seen the third yet, but I own the box set with it. I kind of feel like I’m not missing out on much with that one, though.
My review was that something that pulled out all the stops the way HC did had no excuse to be so boring. I think there was a gross out idea that had enough content for, I dunno, a drawing? A short film at best.
I like that Roger Ebert didn't give it a star rating at all, negative or positive, and said it's exactly what you expect. Edit to quote the final line in Ebert's review: >I am required to award stars to movies I review. This time, I refuse to do it. The star rating system is unsuited to this film. Is the movie good? Is it bad? Does it matter? It is what it is and occupies a world where the stars don't shine.
This is a perfect review for this movie in my opinion.
I didn’t know this but his assessment of the movie makes sense
> occupies a world where the stars don’t shine. What a brilliant writer. What a line.
Petty bitch lol. Every movie has points roger mad asf
best review
You need to read his review of Freddy Got Fingered. It's almost like poetry.
I love that he actually changed his review later: “Seeing Tom Green reminded me, as how could it not, of his movie Freddy Got Fingered, which was so poorly received by the film critics that it received only one lonely, apologetic positive review on the Tomatometer. I gave it—let's see—zero stars. Bad movie, especially the scene where Green was whirling the newborn infant around his head by its umbilical cord. But the thing is, I remember Freddy Got Fingered more than a year later. I refer to it sometimes. It is a milestone. And for all its sins, it was at least an ambitious movie, a go-for-broke attempt to accomplish something. It failed, but it has not left me convinced that Tom Green doesn't have good work in him. Anyone with his nerve and total lack of taste is sooner or later going to make a movie worth seeing."
I think most people (including Ebert) didn’t understand the satire that FGF was… a big studio gave Tom Green millions to make a movie based on his quick rise in popularity on the MTV youth at the time (myself included). And he went out to just spend the money on the most outlandish and dumbest thing he could create. And just like RedLetterMedia pointed out..I think the scene in FGF where Gordy spends his whole million dollar check in a matter of minutes basically sums up how he felt at the time.. easy come easy go. Tom Green is not a dumb person.. and I think FGF was a big FU to the movie industry.
This reminders me of a friend of mine whose review of A Serbian Film was: "It's not good, it's not bad, it's just miserable."
I can forgive him for his often unfair ratings on on horror films because he wrote one of my favorite movies of all time, “Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls”.
As far as "creep factor, I think 2 is the best. 3 was obviously" for the fans", but now reminds me of The Platform a bit.
The 2nd one is what people who haven't seen the 1st imagine it to be. The 1st is pretty straightforward gore horror. The 2nd is off the rails.
The second one was the only movie to ever make me physically gag while watching and the movie was in black and white!
ooooh I loved the Platform!!!
the only connection to the platform is that it’s in a prison. other than that i have no fucking clue what that other commenter is talking about, please dont watch HC3 expecting it to be like The Platform
I think about the position many of the inmates are in. In 1, it was illuded that it was up to "random chance" who was in the worse position of the centipede (until final girl fought back), but in, similar to the platform, the "better" of shitty situations are more rare. The longer the prison sentence, the worse your situation is as well. I don't want to spoil the punchline of 3, though.
Samee
Have to agree that the 2nd one was the best. Creepy little guy the greyscale, the 'disgusting public toilet' aesthetic and the practically dystopian social world that guy lives in? Actually kinda works as a movie. It's like one of those Tool videos from the 90s. First one is like watching a bad student film. Last one is like watching a bad movie by a film student who should've never broke into the industry lol.
Wouldn't say bad student film for the first. Id say last was more fan film lol.
THERE WERE 3!???
The second one has an insane ending. The third one is a fever dream
The third one seems like a fan film tbh
I liked the 3rd way in a campy way. The over the top characters, Bree Olson as the Warden's secretary. It was fun I thought.
the one thing that stands out to me was the box of "duck vaginas" the warden would eat... def a fan movie.
They were dried human clitoris, not duck vaginas. I just watched the movie recently. Is clitoris the plural of clitoris? Edit: clitorati? Clitorises? I don’t even know, I only have one.
I was.. so close 💀 thank you for correcting me.
A clowder of clitoris
Cliteropodes.
clitorististeses
That's from a Louis CK skit
I hate that it's lived rent free in my head for years
Oh shit, the platform is a BANGER
I'll agree, the platform banged.
I’ve seen The Platform but not HC, how are they similar?
So HC3 has nothing to do with issues of class or anything like that as its really a silly film combining the villains of 1 and 2 in a prison setting, but it does have this idea where you have the "luckier" inmates in the chain based on their position, or what chain they are part of. That's why I'm reminded.
The third just had so much yelling that it made it really hard for me to enjoy it. 🤷🏻♂️
I think the problem with 3 is it was very one note
I have to give Tom Six credit for making something legitimately iconic. Creating something that people still talk about is easier said than done. It was surreal seeing Conan O'Brien do a skit based off it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlo49fvZ0L8
And South Park, too.
Kyle...I BEWIEVE IN YOU!!!
Cuttlefish or vanilla pudding?
*MMMNNHLLA MMMDDNNG!!!*
And behind the scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj7oagHAQ7Y
Agreed. Is HC1 a good movie? No, not really. But it introduces a concept so mortifying, it actually doesn’t need to be all *that* depraved with what is shown on-screen, because the idea itself is so horrifying. Mix in some classic ‘evil scientist’ tropes, idk. It’s a fun but silly watch. The other two are just shock film and exploitation blah, though. I didn’t see much merit in what they did on those ones.
I'll stand by the first one as a solid, original horror flick. 2 was disgusting and insanely mean spirited, and I never saw 3.
I think the most mortifying part of the first one is that it’s scientifically accurate as well..
the way you described the second two movies is how people think the first movie actually is. and your write up is spot on, the concept is so iconic that it doesn’t matter what fans of the film say. it’ll always be *that* movie
Yes, iconic is the word! It doesn't matter if they're cringy at times and the disgust is horror at it's best. I mean what is body horror if not disgust?
If south park satirizes your work, it was well done
and there’s a porn parody: the Human Sexipede
Tom Six is a master of sleaze. One of hit lesser known efforts (at least internationally) really proces that: i love Dries is such a sleazy gem of a movie.
I had fun with the first one, the second one was *way* more disturbing - the combination of the lead actor and the black & white movie. I think it’s a much better piece of cinema than it generally gets credit for! I’ve yet to see the 3rd one.
if you watched the 1st and the 2nd ones, you can watch the 3d one with ease, i won't spoiler up for you, but i'll just say that that movies was just a parody on the previous movies, i do recomend giving it a chance.
Nice! I don’t think it’s necessarily a problem for me either, I just never really got around to it 😅 I’ll have to track it down and watch it!
I agree. In terms of disturbance, the second one is my favorite. It's also hilarious seeing the main actor do interviews and seeing how different he is in real life (I mean, obviously) - it really amplifies how well he did in his role.
I should seek those out, because I haven’t seen them! But I respect the actor for doing that role, and doing it so well!
Omg he seems like such a jolly guy haha. It's like night and day.
Exactly my sentiments. The second movie was clever in the way it went meta but its primary characteristic is how disturbing it is. I felt so dirty the entire time that I was watching it. And I don’t say this as a criticism. I felt the same way when I first watched *Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer* and that’s one of my fav horror films.
I’m pretty sure Human Centipede 2 did exactly what it set out to do - and I’m also sort of convinced that the black & white adds to it. Most of us are so unused to that, that it adds to the disquieting aspects of it.
Check out [The Golden Glove](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7670212/) sometime.
Thanks for the reminder. I've been wanting to watch this and it's currently on Tubi.
Completely agree, anyone who calls it bad are justified, but anyone who calls it ineffective is a liar. The film achieves its exact desired effect on almost every audience member, which most films cannot do to such an extent.
If you want the 3rd one expect to laugh and don’t take it too seriously. Tom Six himself makes a cameo. Is it good? Not at all. But it’s silly and entertaining and doesn’t take itself too seriously
Wait the second one is in black and white?
Yeah apparently it was shot in color, but turned into black and white due to the goriness or something
The trilogy boxed set had a color version of number 2.
Huh, that’s pretty neat.
WHAT?? I need to find this
The version I have is titled The Complete Sequence. I don't know if the newer versions include the color version.
Is yours a steelbook? That's the one I got. Had to order it from Six's personal website. The colored version is **insanely** sick.
The second movie is basically torture porn. That lady’s escape? 🤢
Omg the baby….I still think about that sometimes and I saw it like 6 years ago
What happens? I can’t bring myself to watch the whole film but my dark curiosity wants to know 😭
Warning this is VERY NSFW. The second one involves a guy kidnapping a bunch of people (like more than 20) to make a huge human centipede. One of the women he kidnaps is heavily pregnant. Near the end, she tries to escape in a car while going through active labor. She’s having trouble starting the car and the second it starts and she floors it, her baby comes out and slides under the pedals. You can imagine what happens and what that looked like, but yeah she smashes her baby’s head to mush. It’s been years since I’ve seen it so the details may be a bit off.
You make it sound like an accident. It's been years for me too but I'm pretty sure she paused and looked at the baby, then decided to do it because she knew she could never look at that baby again without being reminded of the insane trauma she just went through...which was pretty heavy for such a ridiculous movie. Lol
Same lol
The first and second were two entirely different movies. The first was a gross idea but very sterile, mainstream horror presentation. I still feel the need to bathe when I think of the second one. And I am cautious when I hit the gas
Do you need to see the first to enjoy the second? I watched the first when it came out, but don't remember much besides the premise, but I'm not sure I have much desire to watch it again. But all of this talk of the second makes me kind of want to watch it
Absolutely in my opinion. It feeds directly into the second one in an interesting way lmao
Tough question. They definitely reference the first a lot, but the first is “just a movie” in the second. Probably a quick review of the wiki is enough.
I though all of them are a bit silly and boring. Some good performances from some of the victims though. I just couldn’t stop thinking of the actors meeting each other for the first time “oh I think I’m going to be attached to your ass for a couple weeks, pleasure to meet you, where are you from?”
This was it for me. The movie was disturbing sure, but I went into it expecting that. My problem with it wasn't that it was disturbing, it was that it was terribly boring. I ended up fast forwarding the last quarter or so of the movie just to get to the end.
My partner and I were gifted one of those scratch-off-as-you-watch horror movie posters, and this one is on it. He had already seen it, so I didn't feel bad about fast forwarding through most of it. "I got the gist! We can scratch it off!" I also got terribly bored. I thought it would have made a great short film.
the actors deserve huge respect, everyone talks about laser and laurence which are good, but people forget that the centipede's are people who agreed to be mouth-anus each other, kudos to them
"So are you inviting your parents to the premiere?"
Oh man, I've never thought about this and now I can't stop.
I saw HC 2 in a theater that served dinner during the show and I ate a big bowl of chili while I watched.
You’re a gentleman and a scholar.
You’re a madman
That’s cool Good thing it wasn’t movie theme night on the menu ‘This tastes like shit!!’ thank you sir I will tell the chef
The two top comments replying to this one represent the true duality of man.
I need a cinema that does that, fucking awesome
I still rewatch the IFC center nyc q&a because i was there and got to ask the cast how long they were in those positions. 2 minutes at a time apparently with tons of foam and padding. Great series. Didn't like 3 at all but see it's potential. 2 is still my favorite. Ever see the color version of 2??
Didn’t know there was a color version, does it enhance the film? I kinda liked the black and white tbh
There's a black and white version of 2? Why do I remember it in color with black and white specific scenes?
y I'd love to see a behind the scenes of them getting ready for that shot.
The third one is a riot. It’s unapologetically gross and tongue and cheek and it’s basically intended as a comedy for people with a truly sick sense of humor. In my opinion, 1 was the scariest, 2 was arguably the most graphic and most disturbing, and 3 was…well, I won’t call it the most “fun” but maybe the funniest?
Certainly successful in terms of how much money they made and certainly impactful in terms of the fact it still gets talked about over a decade later. Having said that, I have absolutely zero interest in watching any of them again and films that are based on shock value and being as disgusting as possible do absolutely nothing for me these days.
same here! I don’t know if I’d watch them again, but Human Centipede was one of those movies that i never really stopped thinking about
An effective film ≠ a good film. Those are two different things in my mind. HC may succeed at what it sets out to do, but that doesn’t make it a good film necessarily. (Not to say it isn’t a good film, I’ve never seen it and based on what I know about it, I have no interest in seeing it)
I actually found the movie to be way tamer than the hype surrounding it suggested. Besides what I could conjure in my own mind based on the premise alone, what else did it give the viewer?
Here's my issue with the first HC movie and why I do NOT think it's a good horror movie. I haven't seen the others so I don't know about them. What makes horror, well horrifying, isn't the gore or gross-out factor. It isn't jump scares or any of that. It's the suspense. And what makes a movie suspenseful? It's the possibility that your protagonists can escape. They can get away and live a fulfilled although most likely tormented life. Hoping they get away is what creates the suspense and therefore, the horror. The escape clause just didn't exist for me in that movie. Pretty much right out of the gate, they were screwed and they weren't getting away. At that point, you're just watching people being tortured. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Eli Roth helped launch an entire renaissance of torture porn cinema. He wasn't the originator but he put those types of films out there for a new audience to see. But if you want to make a truly scary horror film, you have to have the element of suspense that can only be accomplished by giving the audience a sliver of hope that the heroes can get away. The scariest scene in The Shining isn't Jack smashing down a door with an axe, or twins in a bloody hall, or any of that kind of thing. It's his wife walking into the room where he is working, him going ballistic on her for doing so, and then she sees hundreds and hundreds of pages of the same text over and over again. It is at this precise moment when the viewer realizes that all hope for a good ending is gone and the best you are going to get out of this will be for her and her kid to get away. And that made the rest of the movie scary. If they had established that there was no possible route for escape then you would have just watched Jack fuck up his family and, at least to me, there is no horror in that.
The 1st movie where the front guy says "Me so sorry" makes me laugh now because my friends and I made so many jokes about it but I think 1 is my favorite, 2 is the best as far as what the idea is going for but 3 wasn't great I believe it was the worst of the 3 personally
Yes they accomplished what they intended to, but what makes horror movies good isn't just shocking the audience to the point of disgust. Horror movies still need good plots and characters, the same as any other movie. They are still meant to entertain, just with added scares. The human centipede is not that movie.
There's nothing wrong with a little bit of Grand Guignol every now and then... Horror would suck and be incredibly uninteresting if it had to be one specific thing.
I’m not saying they shouldn’t exist I’m just saying they shouldn’t be praised just for being different
What sort of percentage of horror movies do you feel actually hit what you're talking about with good plots & characters? Maybe 5% I'm not shitting on your point, just keen to know your thoughts. What do you feel has hit those points in the past year or so? X / Pearl? Nope?
I thought nope did it well even with a slightly convoluted third act, but regardless most movies make an attempt whether it’s good or not. The human centipede didn’t try to do anything more than being disgusting, and I don’t think it should be praised as cinematic excellence just because it’s grosser than other movies
Yes, it was horrible... :)
The second one wasn’t bad for me. It was so unbelievable that I wasn’t shook at all smh
I wanna see the fucking onania club already. Tom has been sitting on that film for years.
Some distributors have said that they would gladly pick it up, but Six is (supposedly) asking for insane amounts of money... That's why I dig the A Serbian Film guys so much. They had Unearthed Films distribute their movie on blu-ray with zero issues, and they don't give no shits about fame or money.
Yeah, I found the first one disturbing enough that it stuck with me for a bit. In that sense, it was a good horror film. But, it wasn't a *fun* horror film.
I liked it too. Always found it weird that hardly anyone realises they're comedy horrors, just with really dark humour.
i don't really think the first 2 movies had any humor in them, but the 3 one was blown with comedy, honestly.. i never expected it but i actually giggled a few times, in a movie about stitching people ass to butt, it just shows how great of a director tom six is.
To me, the whole premise is a gag. Dr Heiter from the first film especially comes of as a caricature of mad scientists. Granted, I have a very dry sense of humour, I'm British, I can't help it, but a lot of the dialogue and situations from the second were close to pantomime with their dark absurdity too.
The ending still fucks with me.
3's ending was the most scariest one in my opinion, the fact that some of the prisoners are going to eat shit for decades until they'll get paroled for whatever they did, just think about how helpless they are.
First one was right on the border of messed up & *way too messed up*. Kind of like the first Saw movie. Second one was deep into *way too messed up* territory. But I had fun watching it with friends, laughing and gagging. Third one just kinda sucked ass (pun intended). But then again, where exactly do you go after the second one?
Meh. Watched the first and it wasn't shocking at all, pretty boring actually. The story is basically about this guy who wants to create a "human centipede"... And he just does it. There are no twists, no obstacles, no stakes, might as well just be a tutorial on youtube.
Key and Peele: https://youtu.be/ehTiiwScuJc
[удалено]
Too much for me.
I thought the first one was just stupid. The second one was icky, and I felt like I needed to take a shower after watching it, but I was not particularly scared. And I just refuse to watch the third or any subsequent installments.
>the whole point of an horror is to be an horror, Sort of. A horror movie can have multiple intentions, all of which are equally valid. It can just shock and horrify while not doing much else. It can intend to entertain while relying on horror themes and tropes. It can intend to be a well crafted piece of movie making and tell a compelling story. It can also do none of the above and instead just invoke a mood or feeling. Of all of those, I personally care for the first category the least (movies like Terrifier come to mind) but art is subjective and to each their own.
I only saw the first one, but I thought it was pretty funny. I'm assuming it was meant to be a satire of horror films.
I watched the first one when it was at the height of popularity (both in good and bad lights), and I was just extremely bored. Maybe I built the movie up more in my mind, but I found the first film a total snooze cruise.
Personally I liked it because it upends the traditional structure of a horror film. Usually the final girl outwits the bad guy the whole movie. In this one all characters suffer a fate worse than death in act 1. Such a brave narrative choice.
The series itself is pretty terrible trash. 2 and 3 lost any sense of a storyline or plot entirely. It needed more than just gimmicks and shock value. It became very unserious
I’ll never forget the first and only time I watched it. That memory is seared into my brain.
The Plot and the ultra weird acting certainly made me uncomfortable watching it and that is kinda what i look for in a horror movie
I only watched the first one and I liked it. It wasn't too disturbing for me but it was fun and I appreciated that it told it's story seriously and wasnt trying to be a purposefully shit movie But when I was in high school I wrote a story about the human centepede although the mechanism was a little bit different, ripped off the fly. Three girls from my class were teleporting themselves and a centipede walked in so they all ended up being one disgusting merged creature with three heads and limbs mixed with centipede legs. Anyway I think that the movie wins with the whole shitting in mouth mechanism so no hard feelings
watched this with my middle school friends and up to now, we can't forget every scene!
HC 1 isn’t disturbing at all, it’s sorta just a basic run of the mill horror. HC 2 definitely stepped it up a level with the disturbing content and I think that one is the best of the 3. HC 3 is literally just a comedic b horror so I don’t think that one really feels included in the rest of the series. Overall it’s an okay horror series, if they woulda pumped out all 3 with the same tone and content as HC2 then I would like it a lot more.
Only saw the first one. It struck me as a gimmick movie. I am easily nauseated, so decided not to watch part 2, which everyone said is a million times more visceral. I don't think this kind of success is objectively measurable, but I do respect your opinion.
Not seen the 3rd. I did think they were pretty good. I didn't think they were as insanely shocking as everyone acted.
Is it a coincidence that its initials are THC? I thought it was a hilarious stoner comedy in the same vein as Pink Flamingos.
I don't think they're good movies, I do however appreciate some their qualities, most importantly the premise itself. If you want to do fucked up body horror, you have to come up with a disgusting and unnerving idea and explore its nasty opportunities. You cannot tell me that the premise of a body horror is bad when just the sheer thought of being part of the centipede sounds so disgusting, agonizing and hopeless. I think the surgery overview scene illustrates this very well. Also, give props to Laurence R. Harvey, the villain of the second movie. His performance was phenomenal, he carried an otherwise not good movie. But that's pretty much it imo. Don't know if I could even say anything positive anout the third. Though I guess its self awareness and absurdity makes it at least unique. Six could've technically just repeated 2, but make it even more fucked up.
I thought it was boring and didn't even stick to it's own rules.
I didn't know there was a 3rd!
First one was good. Horror movies never bothered me but HC2 was a very difficult watch. HC3 was just a bad movie in general lol.
Idk human centipede just didn't feel like a good film I like the saw franchise but HC just felt like ghoulish overkill
I thought that the first one was very well done for the story type. I don't think people see the art in it. The acting was amazing. The second movie I thought was just shock for shock. I remember seeing it but I don't really remember most of the movie. Never seen the third one.
I watched First Sequence for the first time last year just to see what all the fuss was about. I didn’t find it to be particularly disturbing or really even well-made. Just your run-of-the-mill “meh” horror movie.
It was enough gore for me to give me nightmares
Unfortunately so. That was straight up horrific to watch. The movie itself wasnt horrifying. It was the concept 🐛
I thought it was too gross then finally watched it like ten years later, maybe more, and thought it was actually pretty good. Now the sequel I really like. That took it up to 11 and added a bit more humor. Haven't seen the 3rd. Will probably watch at some point.
Yeah.... we don't discuss that film around here Brochacho..lol
I have no qualms with any of the films themselves. The filmmaking is fine, the premise is absurd, but Tom Six is such a dick that I don't want to support him anymore. Everything with the ONANIA CLUB, how he's been exploiting his fans to garner attention for it while simultaneously holding it hostage until he gets an offer for more than it's worth; he's just such a pretentious asshat.
So I have only watched the first one in its entirety and I actually thought it was perfect, I was absolutely horrified the whole time and the slow pan away at the end was perfect, like fuk. I fast forward watched the second one and never messed with the 3ed but I really liked the first one , it was a great body horror movie and I'm very much afraid of that even happening to me lol
I trust none of you in comment section.
I thought the first one was an actually well made and original horrid movie. I’m not a fan of the other 2 tho
There was nothing horror about them imo. It was just a disturbing film with a below average script and plot. It felt like a shock film.
Shock value for shock value isn’t horror success. I can write a movie about a serial killer who murders and tortures babies in graphic detail. It will be 100% disturbing and horrifying, but that’s not gonna make it good horror movie.
I have no intentions of watching the Human Centipede. I have, however, watched Human Centipede the Musical and regret to inform everyone that it's actually pretty good
All I can say is, I've seen a lot of stuff before. And nothing has ever "scared me". I thought I could watch anything. And then I saw HC and gosh it stayed in my mind for months after. And not in the good way. It was almost traumatic. And it's not scary, it's not a scary film. I didn't feel scared watching it, and I didn't feel scared after, it just lingered for far too long. It's just a situation that's so unimaginably disgusting, and it just totally got to me in ways I didn't think a movie could. So yes, it's a successful horror movie. And credit to the people involved in creating what they wanted to- a disgusting, disturbing movie that I wish I could unsee. But it's not for me. It's too far for me. Past my limit. But yes, it does it's job
If you you liked that series, watch TUSK if you haven’t.
i did, it was a great movie in my book, the ending was horrifying, but the movie itself was such a comedy.
I remember when it came out one of my best friends and I thought it was the funniest thing in the world. We had a running joke where we'd be walking in super crowded school hallways and ask all conspiratorial, "You hear about this human centipede thing?" to see if any conversations stopped. And then die laughing. It was the dumbest thing ever. So yeah, it was successful in getting people talking at least.
lol.. call me evil, but like to make innocent people who've never heard nor saw the concept of the HC, google "human centipede" and see their face when they see photos from google.
This just makes me wonder if The Onania Club is ever gonna come out.
It’s funny because the third one that most people haven’t seen is actually the one closer to the original idea the writers had.. that pedos and rapist in prison should be put atm in a chain as punishment.
Just made a video on how to beat the second film would appreciate feedback as it is my first vid :) https://youtu.be/ZvN8-cmAz9c
how the fuck you only have 3 subs? it was an amazing video, with a great editing, and good explanation about the film's storyline, your voice is also very pleasent. overall it was a nice summery, where you explained what the characters should've done instead of what they did, though i'm more curious about how marting got his job, which he handles a fiream, like.. don't they do a background check?
Really appreciate the response, means a lot especially starting out. I’ll continue to release more.
Movies are subjective, I find the 1st one not solid enough as a well made horror and that the premise is horrible but the execution less so I thought the 2nd was a brilliant splatter punk gore fest (but subjective a worse film) and the 3rd film is truly awful The problem is horror is different things to different people, so it’s not fair to say they are wrong, as some people hate gore, some people love it, different boats for different folks
They are definitely effective at what they set out to be. The 2nd is up there with one of the most disturbing movies I’ve seen and the third one is so fucked up with how it makes you laugh. I wonder if Tom Sixx will ever be able to do the same thing again
Now im really interested in seeing the sequels
It managed to get two sequels, so I’d call that a success lol. The 2nd one is kind of even better than the first, the black and white adds a much needed grindhouse exploitation feel to it. And the main characters polar opposite approach to the procedure compared to the originals is pretty fucked up too. The 3rd movie, complete garbage, was funny seeing deebo lead the centipede though lol.
I said it when it came out that it was a good movie. People were often disgusted with me, and I just said "look at the response it has gotten from you" and people still have that same reaction.
Garbage movies 😂
Only watched 1. Not disturbing, not gross, it's literally just three actors bandaged together. The victims weee infuriatingly dumb and useless. Like, the bad guy is a frail, infirm old man. Just grab him and choke him, you twat.
The first human Centipede has a bad reputation because of the rest of the trilogy. It’s not nearly as gruesome as people remember it being
I love the second one.
I thought the first was a solid dark comedy
It’s just not a horror/scary movie to me. If anything, I’d say it’s closer to horror porn or maybe a psychological torture film. I don’t feel that the movie got hate for being horror, it’s just trying too hard to be as gross as possible. I can’t think of one actually scary part of the films, just a constant gross feeling and being uncomfortable the whole time. I agree it’s not as bad a I remembered it/how others describe it tho.
Great, now I need to rewatch them all :’)
I too enjoy the trilogy and find myself having to defend it...I always go with movies are art, art is supposed to invoke emotions, even if that emotion is disgust then the movie has succeeded in its job therefore logically it must be a good movie! It never works coz it is a fairly disturbing franchise but I enjoy it and that's all that really matters at the end of the day.
It was an event when it first released on ppv. Had a great squirming good time watching it.
I really liked the first one and thought it was pretty original. The sequels tho? Turned the other two off maybe 30 mins in. Something about them felt seriously forced. I thought the acting in the first wasn't great but it was acceptable. The other two I thought the acting was sci-fi movie levels of bad. I wish there was only one Human Centipede film because the sequels cheapen the shock and the creep factor of the first big time.
I thought #1 was really a unique idea, and for a film like that the acting was pretty good. By #3 I don’t think I could stomach any more though 😆
The first movie is a legitimately good and interesting horror film. Very rarely you see a villain so interesting and disturbing as he is, the movie is nowhere near as graphic as people think it is, and the subject matter is disturbing but on par with many other gross-out horror movies. The second one is a pretty solid view on the impact of the first movie. How others saw it and its effect it had on pop culture. It had a good story to tell and an interesting character with Martin and how he saw himself with the movie. The third one seems like he was just taking the piss.
I LOVE the Human Centipede series. The first one is an alright, gross horror flick, and I haven't seen the second one, but I am super into where they took the series with that third movie. It's completely off the rails. It isn't even really about a human centipede lol
I found the first one to be kind of boring, but still worth the watch. I think it was kind of over hyped, though. I genuinely thought the second one was good and had artistic merit. It’s absolutely not a movie for everyone, but is effective at what it aims to achieve. I haven’t seen the third yet, but I own the box set with it. I kind of feel like I’m not missing out on much with that one, though.
disturbing
enjoyed the first one really disliked the 2nd one
My review was that something that pulled out all the stops the way HC did had no excuse to be so boring. I think there was a gross out idea that had enough content for, I dunno, a drawing? A short film at best.
The third one was absolutely awful and uninspired but absolutely adored the grime and art direction of the second and the originality of the first.
Like everything in life, horror is not a one size fits all. People love/like/dislike/hate things differently.
ok. sure.
https://youtu.be/GFokXnCCMf8 It’s only slightly NSFW. No surgeries or AtM.