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The human centipede [First sequence] - Dieter Laser, Ashley C Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Tom Six

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Whilst in Germany during a carefree European road-trip, two American girls find themselves alone one night when their car breaks down in the woods. Seeking help at a nearby villa, they fall into the clutches of a deranged, retired surgeon. Together, with a hapless Japanese tourist, they are to be the subjects of his sick lifetime fantasy: to be the first person to connect people, one to the next, via their gastric system, and in doing so bring to life 'the human centipede'.

Truly one-of-a-kind, writer/director Tom Six's twisted biological horror film The human centipede confidently goes where few films have dared to go. This gut-churning vision of a demented surgeon, a role portrayed so brilliantly by Dieter Laser, is sure to join Freddy, Jason, and Leatherface in the horror pantheon, and is 100% medically accurate.

Theatrical propaganda posters

The human centipede [First sequence] theatrical one sheet image

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film horror biological medical surgery backpacker kidnap tourist Europe psycho crime police surgeon

Persons of interest

Dieter Laser .... Dr Heiter
Ashley C Williams .... Lindsay
Ashlynn Yennie .... Jenny
Akihiro Kitamura .... Katsuro
Andreas Leupold .... Detective Kranz
Peter Blankenstein .... Detective Voller
Bernd Kostrau .... Dirty Man in Car
Rene de Wit .... Truck Driver
Sylvia Zidek .... Hotel Receptionist
Monica Iconica .... Amy
Maurício d'Orey .... TV Presenter
Tom Six .... Screenwriter
Tom Six .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

The human centipede [First sequence] official movie sites:

The human centipede [First sequence] film production notes
The human centipede [First sequence] movie trailers:

Awards and film festivals:

Austin Fantastic Fest 2009: Won: Jury Prize Best Actor (Dieter Laser), Horror (Tom Six)
Screamfest 2009: Won: Festival Trophy Best Picture (Tom Six)

NB: English, German and Japanese language dialogue with English language subtitles
Studios and distributors:

Monster Pictures

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Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

The human centipede [First sequence] is of the movie genre called "cinema nasty". And it is nasty. It's about pain, suffering, intimidation, loss of freedom, power and the fact that you can't do anything to protect yourself from nutters. Nutters are nutters because they think outside the square (they're not even on the same page as everyone else) so their behaviour is unpredictable. They can do anything at any time, which is what makes them so scary. And this film takes the horror a step further by having as its centrepiece a post-Nazi German dude who looks, like, totally freaky. You wouldn't take a glass of water from him if you'd been lost in the Sahara for two weeks. He's just wrong (talking here about Dieter Laser). It's like they stole a cadaver from the morgue, zapped it with lightning and let run around in the woods.

Then there's the subject matter. Kidnapping backpackers for fun and laughs is all well and good (see Wolf Creek) but life is not an episode of Australia's funniest home surgery. There's something inherently wrong about compulsory, elective surgery. Dr Mengele and his Nazi cohorts have a lot to answer for (I know they weren't the first to do this sort of thing but they industrialised it, behaving as if what they did was normal, putting the greater good - scientific advancement - above the individual good - shit, just staying alive was a challenge for some of their subjects). Herr Doktor Heiter is one straight from the camps, and his project replicates some of the Nazis' work trying to create conjoined twins from monozygotic twins. Erk, not the kind of thing that you want to think about over morning tea.

Yet, beyond the obvious horror aspects of The human centipede [First sequence] is the psychological hit.What's it like to be kidnapped? How does the balance of power between kid and napper change? How does one cope with a bad situation that is beyond one's control? What strategies can one use to ensure survival? How can one resist torture? How can one deal with ongoing pain? Humiliation? Being at the mercy of not only the bad man but the innocents who are forced to suffer alongside you? (Well, not alongside exactly...)

I didn't enjoy The human centipede [First sequence] but I did like it because it affected me, it made me think, it aroused my empathy. What would I do?

What would you do?

The horror movie The human centipede [First sequence] is directed by Tom Six and stars Dieter Laser, Ashley C Williams, Ashlynn Yennie.