Here we have the last film in The Human Centipede trilogy. Something I didn’t know, since the first film, The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009), Tom Six apparently wanted to make a trilogy. Well, two films later, The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011) and The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence) (2015), his dream became a reality. Quick side note, maybe not all dreams should come true… just saying. Now, Six not only wanted to centipede people together but also the films themselves. Six pulled off the film-i-pede by using the ending of the previous film to start the sequel. So, both sequels start with someone watching the ending credits of the previous film.
The Human Centipede 3 is a Dutch horror film with a running time of a hundred and two minutes. It was written and directed by Tom Six. It’s rated NR (not rated) but has language, violence, and nudity. What’s in store for you if you decide to watch The Human Centipede III? Well, Prison warden, Bill Boss, is having trouble running his prison. Between the constant riots and high medical costs, Governor Hughes threatens to fire Boss if he doesn’t get things under control. Boss has tried over and over again to find ways to punish the inmates and finally have a smooth running prison, but nothing works. So, when Boss’s right-hand man, Dwight, suggests a new way to rehabilitate the prisoners and lower costs Boss decides to hear him out. Dwight’s idea could be the answer to all of Boss’s troubles. No more riots, lower costs and all the prisoners finally giving the warden the respect he deserves. All thanks to a film called… The Human Centipede.
Something I didn’t know, this film is a “body horror”, which is a term I had never heard of before. A body horror film (thank you Wikipedia) is, “horror fiction in which the horror is principally derived from the graphic destruction or degeneration of the body”, which “may deal with disease, decay, parasitism, mutilation, or mutation”. Two-fer, you get a movie review and some free knowledge.
Now, after watching the first film about three people surgically linked together, how do you go bigger for the next film? Well, the second sequel went for twelve people linked, and then this one… five hundred! That’s right people, a five hundred strong surgically linked human centipede. Sadly, that was about as hyped up as I could get while trying to talk about this one. I mean really, once you’ve seen the first one, the sequels don’t really give you anything new to look forward to. When I heard about the third installment I didn’t really care. Then I heard it was a five hundred link and… I still didn’t really care. Three, twelve or five hundred, it’s all the same thing. You just need more space to string everyone out. When comparing the second and third film, I’d have to say the second film was a lot more twisted and left you feeling a bit dirty, while the third was more comical. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a mess to watch and there are plenty of twisted scenes to choke your way through before the credits hit. It’s just the third movie doesn’t have the same level of twistedness as the second flick and was kind of a let down after it was all said and done.
Most of the film is filled with a constant bombardment of Dieter Laser’s character, Bill Boss. Boss’s random, abusive and crazed filled outbursts were cool at first, but then it got old quick. By the time the big unveiling of the human centipede came up two things happened. One, I realized what was happening and started paying attention to the film again. Two, about ten or so minutes later… the credits rolled. Yeah, I was a bit disappointed with how everything played out. We spent so much time on being shown how crazy Laser’s character was that the five hundred person centipede was a quick flash.
The playthrough was ok, but it had a hard time holding my attention during the build-up to the human centipede. Really I was just biding my time to see what Eric Roberts part was doing in this flick. Then I found out, and I was let down. This is one of those films that pushes a big name and then barely use them. Five minutes here, five minutes there and the film gets to claim “look who we have in our film!”
A few members of the cast are Dieter Laser (November), Laurence R. Harvey (Frankenstein Created Bikers), Bree Olson (The Human Centipede III), Clayton Rohner (Good vs Evil), Robert LaSardo (Anarchy Parlor), Tommy “Tiny” Lister (Friday), Tom Six as (I Love Dries) and Eric Roberts (The Expendables). I thought everyone did a good job, nothing great mind you. Keep in mind we’re talking about a flick sewing people together mouth to butt. Not exactly a blockbuster or anything. So for what we’re talking about, the acting level worked. It was cool to see Laser and Harvey make a return though because I dig their work. Laser, who did the first film, sells twisted really well. I was surprised to see LaSardo and Lister pop up in the film, I’ve always dug those guys.
Between the work done by the special effects (Bianca Appice and Toryn Reed), and the visual effects (Joost Hagedoorn) they made up some pretty convincing scenes and David Meadows was there catching it all with his cinematography work.
Overall, if you’re looking for something a bit twisted to pass the time with, then here you go. Just like the first two films, there are some scenes that will stick with you… for a long time.
The Human Centipede III
Cons
- Weak end to the trilogy
- More gross than good
