The Release
So far, The Human Centipede (First Sequence) has taken numerous film festivals by storm, having premiered at the London FrightFest, Lees International and Screamfest circuits.
Tom Six noted that thanks to the high amount of word of mouth, numerous studios approached him with offers to distribute the film.
In the end, IFC Films snapped up the rights for distribution in the USA and Canada, and The Human Centipede was given a limited release in the States on 30 April.
“The Human Centipede is more artfully done than you think,” says Williams. “Its horrifying but also medically accurate, intelligent and not a slasher movie! There are a lot of fans out there who have seen it that said ‘This is the grossest, craziest movie I have ever seen’, at the same time they give it 5 out of 5 stars.”
Reviews have been mixed. “The Human Centipede is not what it's cracked up to be,” we reported last August from FrightFest 2009. “it is not, actually, nearly as vomit-inducing and the hype suggests. Far from being this year's Irreversible, Martyrs or Inside, films that push boundaries, it is (relatively speaking) a rather tame affair.”
Still, others have lapped it up, with Entertainment Weekly favourably reviewing the film and saying that Six "has put together his nightmare yarn with Cronenbergian care and precision”.
The flick has also received a fair few awards, having taken home Best Picture prizes from Fantastic Fest, ScreamFest, Sainte Maxime and Ravenna Nightmare Film Festivals.
Roger Ebert perhaps surmised the film’s divisive nature best: “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.”
Comments
Vespertine
Jun 11th 2010, 10:11
The thing is 'The Human Centipede' isn't shocking, it's actually just a very boring film, not to mention absolutely rubbish. And the critic who compared it to Martyrs and Antichrist is in the wrong profession.
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Propaganja
Jun 11th 2010, 16:00
Being from the Netherlands I can tell you that Six directed hands down the worst movie I've ever seen: 'I Love Dries'. His other movies 'Gay' and 'Honeyz' aren't very good either, but are masterpieces compared to 'I Love Dries'. He really is not a well know or respected director here in The Netherlands...
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Ichi1
Jun 13th 2010, 16:05
Vespertine is correct. The only thing shocking or disturbing about this movie is the idea of it. The film itself is niether shocking or disturbing...or any good really. The first half is far superior to the second half, and the second half is where all the human centipede stuff comes in. And I highly doubt most of the critics who are ripping it even saw it. One critic in the US stated it had "gobstopping amounts of gore", when in fact there is pretty much no gore what so ever. Great idea. Horrid execution.
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