Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The Human Centipede: First Sequence (2009)

Wow. I wavered on the fence with this one, but just fell into the liked-it yard. This movie is bizarre in more ways than the obvious plot premise: it is a collage of parodic horror irony combined with cringe-eliciting gags, a superb female lead (whose dialogue ends at the beginning of Act II), and one of the creepiest mad surgeons I've (possibly ever) seen on film. The overall tone came across, at least to me, as I understand that this plot is over-the-top, so I won't take myself too seriously; but, at the same time, I can deliver just enough raw edge to please 'mature' horror fans. And sure, there are some jarring oversights (GPS units? A secret ground-level door that the surgeon uses?), but overall this is a fine movie that goes from parodic camp to nihilism.