Film reviews
Men In Black 3
It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.
Bel Ami
The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.
The Dictator
A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.
The Woman In Black
Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.
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The Human Centipede (Film)
Rating: R
Running Time: 109
Country: Netherland
Director: Tom Six
Cast: Akihiro Kitamura , Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie
Distributor: Monster Pictures
Release Date: August 26, 2010 (Adelaide) September 4, 2010 (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane)
Film Worth: $11.00
FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worthCompletely absorbing the viewer in its nightmarish premise, this unsettling film raises some interesting and challenging questions.
The Human Centipede is not a 1950s creature feature, as its name might suggest, but an exploration of the ultimate bodily violation. Set in Germany, it follows the efforts of deranged surgeon Dr Heiter to create a "human centipede"- a series of humans attached anus to mouth, sharing a single digestive tract. Taken at face value this seems a ridiculous conceit, but part of the film's power is the way in which it absorbs the viewer so completely into its nightmarish scenario.
German character actor Dieter Laser is transfixing as the surgeon, whom he plays with menacing (and later rabid) intensity. His marvellously alien features are used to great effect. Also contributing to the atmosphere is the film's pared down sensibility and cleverly unsettling soundtrack, which uses heightened ambient noise.
Writer/director Tom Six is notable for helping to kick off the original Big Brother reality TV series in his native Netherlands. It comes as a relief, then, that in spite of the extreme subject matter, The Human Centipede does not exploit its young leads. At the outset the two female characters (played by Ashley C. Williams and Ashlynn Yennie) appear as almost comical horror stereotypes. Like those party girls who adorn every American slasher flick they are attractive, ditzy and out of their element. But the film takes a less conventional turn, and the viewer is soon forced into a position of extreme empathy with them, as well as with their male counterpart (Akihiro Kitamura).
This is a film about the integrity of the human body, and raises an interesting question. What remains of humanity when the body has undergone a devastating transformation? It's not an easy film to watch, and probably one for horror buffs only. They, however, should make an attempt to see it.
