HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2

HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2

Sickly Satire

Directed by Tom Six
Starring Laurence R. Harvey, Vivien Bridson, Bill Hutchens, Ashlynn Yennie

At the time of writing, it’s unknown whether the general viewing public will ever get the chance to view Human Centipede 2 in its original, unadulterated form; the Office of Film and Literature Classification is about to deliver a verdict on the film’s suitability for distribution in Australia, and savvy observers strongly doubt it’ll make the grade. So what’s all the fuss about?

Frankly, it’s hard to say. Yes, the film revels in grotesquery and degradation, but never without clear artistic intent; Dutch director Tom Six is a provocateur, deliberately pushing his audience’s buttons and making the viewer question their complicity in the voyeur/object relationship, but if that’s all the film did, he’d be treading water. Instead, Six cleverly adds another subtextual layer, turning what could have been a run-of-the-mill sequel into a sly comment on the very nature of sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, remixes, and the whole sorry state of the franchise-obsessed entertainment culture we find ourselves currently mired in.

Any attempt to follow or mimic an original work is doomed to mediocrity, Six is saying; even his own follow-up. Hence the film focuses not on the suave but deranged Dr. Heiter, the villain of the original Human Centipede, but on Martin Lomax (Laurence R. Harvey, putting in a fearless, committed performance), an obese, mentally disturbed fan of the first film who decides to not only replicate the experiment of surgically connecting people together mouth-to-anus, but to take it further, joining not just three victims, but 12. The thing is, Martin is not a skilled surgeon - he’s just a car park attendant, and thus forced to do his grisly work with whatever’s at hand; kitchen utensils, a hammer, gaffa tape, a staple gun...

Much of the film is taken up with a string of closely observed atrocities, but Six highlights the film’s artificiality to such a degree - in the reality of this instalment, even the first film is a work of fiction, so how can this film be any different? - it’s pretty much impossible for a thinking viewer to be offended by the goings-on. Disgusted, revolted, and repulsed? Sure. Offended? No. The violence and torture is so ridiculously over the top that it crosses over into broad parody, having more in common with are like Peter Jackson’s early gross-out comedies than any actual horror movie.

Yes, comedy; Six’s film has rich vein of black, bleak humour running through it. Martin’s continued frustration at his crude and unskilled attempts to recreate the first film’s centrepiece are a continuing source of humour, even as he’s methodically knocking out teeth with a claw hammer, and it’s this more than anything that puts the lie to the notion that this is just torture porn.

Human Centipede 2 is not for everyone, but then it was never meant to be. Those with the stomach for it, though, will find a sly, clever and thoughtful film amongst all the gore and grime.

_TRAVIS JOHNSON