DOES FAECAL MATTER, OR DOES NOBODY GIVE A SHIT?

The Human Centipede II (2011) has become one of the most talked about and controversial films of the year. Alike with the first in the soon to be trilogy, it is jam-packed full of scenes that will make you squirm in your seat. Of course we should all know by now that The Human Centipede (2009) is a film about a German doctor who creates a centipede out of three people, by stitching their mouths to the anus of the person on front of them. The second film is the same concept, but this time there are twelve people involved in the centipede. Also, the creator of this centipede is an overweight man sexually obsessed with the first Human Centipede film. He is so infatuated with it; there is even a scene in which he masturbates using sandpaper whilst watching the film.

As soon as the BBFC got their hands on this film, they banned it in the United Kingdom. Reason being that; “Unlike the first film, the sequel presents graphic images of sexual violence, forced defecation, and mutilation, and the viewer is invited to witness events from the perspective of the protagonist. Whereas in the first film the ‘centipede’ idea is presented as a revolting medical experiment, with the focus on whether the victims will be able to escape, this sequel presents the ‘centipede’ idea as the object of the protagonist’s depraved sexual fantasy”. After a couple of weeks though, director Tom Six decided to give in and cut the film according to the BBFC’s guidelines. On October 6th, the film received an 18 rating and had its UK premiere at the Frightfest Halloween all-nighter in London. After attending this and watching this film, I thought to myself that it wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be. Evidently, each audience member reacts differently to the film depending on their own interests and how desensitised they are to the genre.

To me, A Serbian Film (2010) was far more shocking than The Human Centipede II, and one scene even managed to disturb me. Of course I’m talking about the infamous ‘Newborn Porn’ scene, in which an unknown woman gives birth in a grimy room and then a chubby man proceeds to rape the child – still attached to its mother. The part that made me feel most uncomfortable was the fact that the mother was smiling and looked pleased as the man raped her child. Obviously this was one of the parts that was heavily cut when it was passed through the BBFC. I asked the main actor of The Human Centipede, Dieter Laser what he thought on the matter; “all kinds of penetration and rape seem to be subconsciously more acceptable than poo in your mouth”. Looking back at the history of this genre, what he is saying is totally true. The only film I’ve heard about that is centred on faecal matter is Monsturd (2003) – a straight to video film about a serial killer that mutates into a monster made of human waste. The subject of rape however, is in countless films - even mainstream ones such as Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003), Thelma & Louise (1991) and Straw Dogs (1971).

The main difference between the two films is that in The Human Centipede II, the protagonist does not face any repercussions for his actions, whereas in A Serbian Film, the protagonist goes through a living hell. Milos (Srdjan Todorovic) ends up unwillingly killing people, raping his own seven year old son and in the end commits suicide, taking his wife and son with him. To the viewers, this is giving out an almost positive message that suggests you will pay for actions if you cause harm to others. The endings of both films are left open for the viewer to decide what happens next. In The Human Centipede II, the final scene is of the protagonist sitting alone watching The Human Centipede, which gives off the impression that the whole film was just part of his imagination. As much as I’d like to think of this as true, I wouldn’t experience the full effect of the film if I thought about it in this way.

Even though both are classed as horror films, I think that they both dabble in the genre of torture porn and exploitation. According to Srdjan Spasojevic - the director of A Serbian Film, the film is a metaphor for the struggle of the people living in Serbia under their government - there is just no hope for the future and no way to escape. This could possibly be one of the reasons why the BBFC decided not to ban the film, as it actually had meaning behind all of the shocking images. When I asked Dieter on his opinion on why The Human Centipede II was banned, he replied; “Maybe it’s very simple, maybe they are (like me) very easily disgusted by bodily fluids and excrement but don’t dare to frankly admit it”. I have to agree with what he is saying, as when you take away all of the faecal matter in the film, the content of it isn’t so bad. It just looks like another horror film filled with rape and bloody violence, nothing exceptional that hasn’t been done before.

Ultimately, the BBFC decided to ban The Human Centipede II because it was likely that it would cause harm to the viewers. But does cutting just over two minutes of footage make this film less harmful? Was it even harmful in the first place, and would you suddenly decide to make your own centipede and rape it after watching this?

That’s up to you to decide.