"The Human Centipede" Goes Beyond Artistic Filmmaking to the Obscene and Unnecessary

The Human Centipede (First Sequence) is a film almost too grotesque to even discuss. The plot of the movie has a scientist turning a man and two women into a human centipede by reverse engineering a Siamese twin scenario. Given that the subjects are joined from the end of ones digestive system to the beginning of another's and so on, you can easily see why critics are saying the film pushes the boundaries of inappropriate content.

Graphic torture, nudity, violence and drug use are all becoming more commonplace in films. The completely outrageous and graphic nature of this film unfortunately will make people seek it out even though the film is, in my opinion, of no artistic value and is relying completely on shock appeal to get views.

I feel the criticism of this film is completely warranted. The graphic depictions and storyline of The Human Centipede does not even come close to what I would describe as good moviemaking. While I recognize the need for graphic scenes of violence or even graphic depictions of rapes to further a movies plot, as you might see in films such as The Accused or The Brave One, both starring Jodie Foster; this film is, in my opinion, poorly made and simply obscene for obscenities sake.

While the film has been bestowed with honors such as best picture at L.A.'s Screamfest, I personally feel this is simply a reflection of societies desensitization towards gratuitous subject matter. As films continue pushing the boundaries, it is becoming harder and harder to shock and awe the viewer.

Sensitive subject matter in films has continued to become more and more accepted as viewers and society becomes more acclimated and accepting of taboo issues. According to Film Site, The Moon is Blue that was released in 1953 was denied a seal showing compliance with the Motion Picture Production Code Administration because of it's offensive and prohibited use of such words as "virgin", "seduce", "pregnant" and "mistress" in the dialogue. You can pretty much hear all of these on regular programming nowadays.

Island in the Sun (1957) was daring for it's time; providing the first scene in a US film to have a white woman kissing a black man. Gone are the days of the double single beds for married couples in the movies and modest dress. You routinely find female nudity and occasionally full frontal nudity for both men and women, though it is more common to see naked women on screen than men.

The innocence of films and the concentration on solid storyline and plot development as things of the past are painfully clear when faced with the release of a movie such as The Human Centipede (First Sequence).

Resources

IMDB - The Human Centipede (First Sequence)

Boston Herald - 'Human Centipede' Makes Skin Crawl

USA Today - Sick of Sequels and Remakes: Feast on Three Tasty Fringe Films

Film Site - Film History of the 1950's