Rewatching a film I remember laughing at quite a bit.
When the first of these movies came out I checked it out (because of course I did) and I thought it was pretty lame. It seemed that the idea was suppose to make up for a lack of anything really disturbing. Overall, it is just a boring movie with bad acting. Then, the second one came out and a friend of mine and I watched it, and kind of loved it. Don’t get me wrong, this is a terrible movie, but it is also kind of awesome.
We follow a loner security guard Martin (Laurence R. Harvey) who is obsessed with the first film. This leads him to attempt to construct his own human centipede, but much larger. Martin is nuts, and never speaks in the entire film. The plot is quite weak, and the film is just a series of fucked up scenes. It is shot in black and white to give it an artsy feel, but it certainly isn’t that.
This movie does well to kind of lampoon extreme horror while actually presenting a fairly disturbing movie. I wouldn’t classify this as a normal disturbing film as it is just so ridiculous it is hard to take seriously. Each scene is designed to push buttons, and each episode of violence gets more and more asinine.
The sheer brutality of it all is honestly kind of mesmerizing. The film just wants to be as over the top as possible, and it does so in a genuine way. Of the entire trilogy, this is the only one that actually has some bite to it.
We also get to enjoy enjoy the not-very-subtle commentary on film and violence. While I disagree with the premise, it is an interesting thesis that the film carries the entire way through. Sure, it is trash, but it is epic trash.
The most surprising thing is that the film is shot quite well. The angles, lighting, and everything just work. The sound is nice, and it just looks like a quality movie. That is possibly the oddest thing I have written on this blog… Anyway, for all the absurdity and seeming need to one up each scene, this movie actually works pretty well. In the final act, when everything descends into complete chaos (because why wouldn’t it?) it seems a fitting end rather than a cheap way to end it all. This is a true exploitative, pornographic, ridiculous, grindhouse, and overall interesting experience. I have to recommend this one to extreme horror fans. It is just a fun mess. It would also be a great film to show someone who is squeamish. 7/10
Haha. I can’t believe I like this film so much.
Jay Hates Movies 