The frightening Tom Six movie debuted in theatres more than ten years ago to lukewarm reviews. Since the reviews were split amongst critics and fans, The Human Centipede won’t always be remembered as one of the best horror movies of all time. In fact, The Human Centipede retains the distinction of being the only review from renowned critic Robert Ebert to receive 0 stars. There’s no disputing the effect that this contentious movie left, though. The Human Centipede performed a fantastic job at grossing out audiences, but the major reason this movie had such a big impact is because it appeals to a particular kind of fear that isn’t typically addressed in the horror genre. Psychological horror is nothing new, but The Human Centipede’s use of mental dread is. The “what if” scenario is explored in The Human Centipede, instilling the idea that there are outcomes that are worse than death.
The protagonist of the movie is a successful conjoined twin surgeon who has an obsessive obsession with making the first human centipede by stitching three individuals mouth-to-ass. Unfortunately, Dr. Josef Heiter’s (Dieter Laser) evil ambition of connecting three people together by their gastrointestinal systems is imposed upon Lindsay (Ashley C. Williams), Jenny (Ashlynn Yennie), and Katsuro (Akihiro Kitamura). It’s scary to consider spending the rest of your life linked to another person. There is little prospect of escape if you are the middle or end piece. Your mouth is attached to someone’s behind, and as will be demonstrated later in the movie, Jenny is made to ingest Katsuro’s faeces. All three characters lose their freedom, which is more significant. They are stuck with a sick madman who has little regard for their humanity forever; they can’t just slink back to their regular lives of work, family, and enjoyment. In Dr. Heiter’s house, Lindsay, Jenny, and Katsuro are each serving a life sentence. They even lost the ability to merely breathe, eat, and sleep, as inmates can do when they are confined. You aren’t constantly going through physical and mental pain while being ruled by a crazy person who treats you like a pet when you die, at least.
Characterization is a crucial component of storytelling in all cinema genres, however it’s well known that horror slightly deviates from the norm in this area. For instance, Laurie Strode, played by Jaime Lee Curtis, is a cherished final girl, but when she first appears in the Halloween movie, there isn’t much to her character. The Human Centipede uses this technique of storytelling extensively. Although we don’t know much about Lindsay, Jenny, or Katsuro, their characters are developed sufficiently to keep them from being unlikable. Actually, this benefits the feature. Of course, viewers would have had a closer connection to Lindsay, Jenny, and Katsuro if their backstories had been shown. However, it increases the incident’s unpredictability by evoking a sense of mystery about them. Even though we don’t know anything about them personally, it’s easy to feel sorry for these characters because it’s obvious that Dr. Heiter has bad intentions. The spectators are immediately moved by their anxiety and panic.
As each second goes by, that feeling of dread takes over our emotions; the drama and tension are brought on by the psychological torment these characters are through. They’re afraid because the status quo has been upset by a perverted lunatic with an equally obscure past. The dread increases as the human centipede takes shape because it is now more difficult for these three to flee. By not overdoing it with this kind of technique, Tom Six smartly avoids shattering the sense of reality by turning this into a gross-out creature picture like David Cronenberg’s The Fly or John Carpenter’s The Thing. It’s the reason his three-part trilogy’s first film, which took the Texas Chain Saw Massacre approach by avoiding excessive blood and gore in favour of a psychologically complex narrative, continues to be his greatest.
It may seem insignificant or unnecessary to see a newly created centipede being handled like a dog, but the idea was to demonstrate how insane and vicious Heiter is. This makes it easier to want Lindsay, Jenny, and Katsuro to find a way out of this unfathomable nightmare. Tom Six deserves credit for creating situations that make it extremely difficult to support Heiter’s persona, notwithstanding the paper thinness of these individuals. Even though the notorious sequence of Katsuro urinating in Jenny’s mouth is cleverly staged for humorous effect, his infamous line, “Swallow it, bitch!” demonstrates his contempt for human life and prevents him from becoming a fan favourite like Freddy Krueger. When it is discovered that Jenny (the centipede’s middle segment) is perishing from malnutrition, the drama intensifies. The heroes are given a timer and are forced to take action under the care of this insane surgeon. The movie’s climax is rather straightforward but shockingly effective and unsettling.
Katsuro decides to take his own life because he no longer has any possibility of surviving this trauma. Given his position at the head of the centipede, Katsuro had the best chance of surviving, but because the feature had left him mentally damaged, he saw this as his only choice. Because The Human Centipede is viewed as a gross-out movie, significant moments like this are sometimes missed; yet, the actual focus of this 2010 horror movie is the investigation of human behaviour. Is suffering more severe physically or mentally? That assertion is confirmed by the conclusion, in which Jenny eventually passes away after Katsuro commits suicide. By the time the credits rolled, Lindsay was still alive, but at what cost? She is the last of two humans, whose bodies will undoubtedly rot from a lack of oxygen and nourishment. In addition, because Jenny’s backside is attached to her face, she won’t be able to consume anything herself. Additionally, Heiter killed off her only hope for assistance before he passed away. If Lindsay doesn’t decide to give up like Katsuro did, she will experience a protracted and agonising death.
When it comes to The Human Centipede, it makes sense why fans are so divided. On the surface, it seems like a horror movie that will either cause you to throw up or leave the cinema. The movie is deeper than the revolting sequences, though. Does this imply that The Human Centipede is a timeless piece of horror? No, but the movie isn’t all that horrible either. Whatever side of the debate you take on The Human Centipede, there’s no denying that it left a lasting imprint that the horror community won’t soon forget.
