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The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
2009 92 min Netherlands R 18+
★4.3
Horror
Director: Tom Six
Trailers
Description
During a stopover in Germany in the middle of a carefree road trip through Europe, two American girls find themselves alone at night when their car breaks down in the woods. Searching for help at a nearby villa, they are wooed into the clutches of a deranged retired surgeon, who has a very disturbed vision.
Budget:
$2M
US Gross:
$181,467
Worldwide:
$252,207
Starring
Dieter Laser
Actor
Winter Williams
Actor
Ashlynn Yennie
Actor
Awards
8 wins & 3 nominations total
Key opinion
The Human Centipede is widely regarded as a provocative but poorly executed experiment that relies on its grotesque premise rather than substantive storytelling. While viewers remain sharply divided on whether the film is a daring, original piece of horror or a pretentious, amateurish failure, there is a strong consensus that Dieter Laser’s performance is the project's singular saving grace.
| Acting | Dieter Laser provides a chilling, charismatic, and physically precise performance that is universally cited as the film's only credible element. | |
| Originality | The film’s central premise—a surgeon stitching people together—is frequently described as an intriguing and original concept that fails to be supported by a coherent or meaningful script. | |
| Acting | The supporting cast is widely criticized for deliverances that feel artificial, incompetent, or overly passive within their restrictive roles. | |
| Production | The production quality and visual presentation are often dismissed as dilettantish, with critics noting low-budget limitations and a lack of authentic horror or tension. | |
| Emotion | Opinions on the film's impact are deeply polarized; some find it a unique, hypnotically disturbing experience that challenges the limits of horror, while others find it a tedious, stomach-churning shock act devoid of intellectual depth. |