*vomits*
Ok, now that THAT'S out of my system...here's the thing. The first movie in this duo (I don't want to call it a series and risk giving someone the idea to make another one of these movies...if they get sicker and gorier as they go, I don't really want to see what would be sicker and gorier than this) was a hotly contested movie when it came out. People loved it, even more people hated it, and a lot of the people who hated it didn't even bother to watch the whole movie because the premise was so disgusting: a sadistic doctor kidnaps three people and surgically connects them together via their mouths/anuses to create a "human centipede" (yes, I know that "centipede" roughly translated means "100 feet," and thus the number of feet don't match...they don't in the sequel, either, because there are still only 12 victims...just go with it). In other words, the first victim eats food and the second gets fed when the first victim defecates, and the third gets fed when the second victim...you get the idea. Gross, right?
But the thing is, apart from the nastiness of the premise, the movie really doesn't show as much gore as you'd expect, so all the horror came from imagining what this experience would be like for the victims, and I actually liked all the victims, so I found it pretty grueling. A lot of people complained that the two female victims were "shrill and whiny," but I'd like to kidnap you and sew you ass-to-mouth with one of your friends and see if you don't become rather shrill and whiny. In short, I wouldn't say that I "liked" the first movie, but I found it horrific, and since I find value in experiencing horrific cinema, I didn't really regret watching it. What I DID do was dread the sequel, because the director promised that it would be more disgusting and gory than the original.
So does it deliver? Hoo boy. Let me tell you, that movie poster above might be titillating, but there is NOTHING titillating about this movie (and if you find it titillating, please stay very far away from me forever and ever, you creepy weirdo). This movie is DISGUSTING. I mean, there is more gore in the first half hour of this movie than there is in the entire running time of the original. The lead character seems to have no capacity for human empathy, so he maims and mutilates people with impunity. The movie is black and white, which is a saving grace because I don't know that I could have stomached some of what this movie shows in full color (except for certain times when the movie is showing human fecal matter, in which case that is a lovely shade of brown, and thank you so much to the filmmakers for putting THAT image in my head).
Again, there's more to this movie than just the nastiness and gore. The lead character is MESSED UP, and horrible things have happened to make him that way, not that this excuses his actions, but it makes me very uncomfortable any time we get to watch the movie hint at his childhood or current life with his emotionally and verbally and physically abusive mother, or his sexually abusive doctor, or his dead-end job monitoring security cameras at a parking garage where people constantly refer to him as a "retard." I feel horrible seeing what he goes through, and I feel horrible seeing what his victims go through, and the whole thing is very emotionally wrenching. Of course, there are some plot elements that leave much to be desired, such as the total lack of any kind of supervision at his workplace where apparently he can beat and kill people without anyone ever noticing, and where babies can be left in cars in the parking garage for days without anyone discovering what's going on, or his apartment where neighbors can disappear without anyone ever investigating. It's almost like the entire movie is one big plot hole, but it's emotionally devastating enough that I don't much care about these things. They don't detract from the horror in any way. I can't recommend this movie, but I can say that I made it through and found some things to ponder, and now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go wash my brain out with bleach and attempt to get on with my day.
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