Fans of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise will probably love this piece. The 2010 Dutch horror film tells the story of a psychotic German surgeon, Dr. Heiter, who abducts three tourists and stitches them together to form a "human centipede." Although Dr. Heiter was a world-renowned expert at separating conjoined twins before his retirement, he dreams of making a new creature that shares a single digestive system by connecting separate individuals together via their mouths and anuses.
Idea of The Human Centipede Started Out as a Joke
Inspiration for this startling plot first came about when Six joked with friends about how child sexual abusers should be punished by having their mouths sewn to the anus of an obese truck driver. After making the same joke repeatedly, he began to develop the idea and shaped it into a grotesque horror movie.
Due to the controversial nature of the film, Six did not reveal the way the actors would be sewn together in case it deterred potential investors for the project. The financiers never learned about the mouth to anus aspect of the movie until it was entirely complete, although he did pitch the general idea of a surgeon sewing people together. When holding an open casting call for the roles of the 'centipede' in New York City and Berlin, several women walked right out of the auditions upon reading the script. Eventually, the roles went to Ashley C. Williams and Ashlynn Yennie as their first major film role. Akihiro Kitamura, a relatively experienced actor in a number of film productions, also joined the cast as a male victim. The character of the lunatic doctor was given to Dieter Laser.
Director Six mentioned that he placed a Japanese male as the head of the 'human centipede' for two reasons: to create a language barrier between the doctor and the centipede since the two females could not speak, and also to allow a solid fight between doctor and centipede at the end of the film. The decision for a German villain was influenced by World War II when Germany invaded the Netherlands, and also based upon the Nazis with their medical experiments.
Controversial Content Implied Rather Than Shown Directly
Whilst Six has indicated that The Human Centipede contains barely any shocking imagery and that much of the disturbing content is more often implied than shown, he wanted his film to be 100% medically accurate. The Dutch surgeon consulted for help was initially reluctant to take part in the creation and filming process in fear that it might harm his professional reputation, but later agreed because he was intrigued after reading the full script. He then designed and developed a surgical method which he believed would work in real life. It is, in fact, this element of actuality that makes the film such a sensation. Six has claimed that a 'human centipede' would be able to survive for years if the middle and back parts of it are supplied enough food and water.
The Human Centipede Coming to Cinemas
All the hype surrounding the horror film has led to several studios approaching Six regarding the distribution of the film. The Human Centipede has nabbed a theatrical release date and will be showing in cinemas this year on May 7 in the US, and August 20 in the UK. It has also received a DVD and Blu-ray release in both countries later in the year. A sequel is scheduled to be released in 2011.
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