New Reviews: The Human Centipede & Metropia

Bugger Down

Every year, there seems to be at least one film released that manages to divide people immensely. Those that love this particular film seem to sing the highest praises for it and attribute levels of creative thought that might have even escaped its creators. Those that aren't quite as enthusiastic about the film seem to condemn every frame as a worthless, excessive exercise in the current state of graphic horror. In terms of that genre, I'm not the biggest fan, but I have to say that for a film of this reputation, I actually thought it was quite well done.

The film begins like most of these movies tend to begin: a group of girls, in this case two (Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie) are on a cross-continental trip through Europe. Their current stop is in Germany, where luck unfortunately places them with a flat tire in the pouring rain outside a mysterious stranger's house. Dr. Joseff Heitter (Dieter Laser) takes the girls hostage, along with a Japanese man, in order to sew them together, mouth to anus, to make an abominable "Human Centipede." So if you get captured by a guy like this, make sure you get on his good side so you can be the head.

The reputation this film has built up is that its in the vein of the Saw pictures, a film that is explicit in the gruesome, nauseating violence. However, I'm here to say that the movie actually doesn't show that much. Surprisingly, writer-director Tom Six manages to conceal many of the more gruesome qualities, allowing the unnerving tension to develop in a successful way. He has a great sense of how to indulge in the genre without overdoing it. Even the straight laced, predictable opening even carries a whiff of sarcasm and self-mockery that is a nice touch all the way to the depressingly beautiful ending. The only complaint I'd give his efforts is that the human centipede creation doesn't look that frightening, and instead looks like three people on their hands and knees.

Common wisdom is that acting isn't particularly strong in a horror film, and since half the picture renders most of its characters mute, there's only so much you can get from the captured girls. They do their emotional part to pull you into the exposition and their struggle, but they are indeed standard horror movie damsels. The true standout is Laser, looking like a creepier Christopher Walken, he perfectly captures that eerie quality a good horror villain possesses, being grounded and hammy in all the right places. He more than anything sells the credibility of the film, and he's a great salesman to have.

I really liked this movie, but I want to make it clear that if you see this film based on my recommendation and end up hating it, you cannot be mad at me and say I owe you ten dollars. There is a high likelihood you may hate this film and come off feeling disgusted. However, if you're willing to give it a chance, you'll find that as far as the genre is concerned, this is one that is actually smart enough to work with some decent acting and a tone that works well to not exploit every image despite some clunkiness here and there. Despite my aversion to the genre, I have to admit that this is a pretty standout achievement.

A-

Dark City

In the review from above, I mentioned how there are certain films that can divide the opinions of people right down the middle. Well there's also a group of films that can manage to invoke an opinion that feels its contradictory. The best example I know of is when Siskel and Ebert reviewed David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch, a movie neither of them disliked immensely but couldn't bring themselves to fully recommend it either. This film, which I saw courtesy of Comcast's On Demand section of the Tribeca Film Festival, evoked a similar response from me, and I hope to figure out how I feel by the end of this review.

A Swedish import that has American names in the cast, this hypnotic, animated feature is set in the distant, bleak future in which, yet again, an oil crisis has crippled most of the world. One solution is that Europe has created a system of underground, connecting tunnels that everyone uses. The shy, reluctant hero here is Roger (Vincent Gallo) whose banal existence suddenly gets interrupted when he starts hearing voices in his head. This jumpstarts him into a conspiracy theory that involves a corporation and mind control.

I can't deny that the film is beautifully bleak, and the quirky animation and sense of humor has its strong point in getting you invested throughout most of the film. At the same time, it can also be a point of severe irritation when the animation feels like its better in short bursts, as opposed to a feature film, and the humor can miss badly. Director and co-writer Tarik Salih has a great visual sense, and makes a great promise in the future. However, he also juggles with a wildly inconsistent pace and elements that switch back and forth between well executed tension and poorly executed, dull ideas. Salih's ideas are ambitious but not in solidarity.

The voice cast is impressive, as it also includes such names as Juliette Lewis, Udo Kier and Stellan and Alexander Skarsgård. However, this cast seems wasted by everyone apparently mumbling their lines, making their deliveries hard to comprehend and eventually annoying. Some strong work from Stellan Skarsgård and Lewis manages to pierce through the dull tone that others strike, but even I don't think they have the ability to save it. At the same time, Gallo and his other company still manage to somewhat convincingly pull off the credibility of their characters, creating a love/hate relationship with their identity.

At the close of his review for Naked Lunch, Ebert stated, "I admire what [they] have done here. It is a very good job. It is a brilliant job. It is one of the most unpleasant movies I've seen, and I hated most of it...I guess I have to vote thumbs down, but at the same time with a footnote, that I admire what what he did, and I hate." I feel that accurately sums up my own feelings for this film. I admire the imagery and artistry that went into the animation, and I think the ideas are well conceived. At the same time, I grew incredibly restless with the whole thing and ended up disliking a majority of the film. I'm glad I saw it, but despite devoting an entire review, still can't decide if I like it. So fair warning, the grade I give is very superficial rating, more like a general feeling.

C+