GAH I FORGOT ANOTHER ONE.
Okay, The Mist. Based off a Stephen King book The Mist is actually quite surprising in that the supernatural oddities are there pretty much from the get-go and are completely visible. This turns it from the normal kind of supernatural thriller King is used to producing into a movie with an almost survival horror bent to it. Does that make it better?
The Mist takes place in a small town where before you can say "uh oh" a mass of mist is rolling down the mountainside from the general direction of an army base, trapping a father, son, and his neighbor along with several others inside a grocery store. They then proceed to discover just what kind of threat they're dealing with, both on the outside, and eventually inside as well from a woman preaching about the end of days.
The cast are really all surprisingly good, especially Marcia Gay Harden as the religious zealot. While there are some stars here (including the man now immortalized as Starkiller in The Force Unleashed video games), you really get the sense that this is an ensemble cast in an ensemble setting and they all make each other look good as any ensemble should.
The creatures themselves are really cool looking, though they also ratchet up the suspense as it seems like each new encounter brings with it a new and terrifying creature. Each person's foray into the mist keeps you on the edge of your toes, just like everyone in that store.
Yet with all that being said, the story itself seemed a little unremarkable to me. The whole thing, while effective, still felt like it was lacking a little originality. It felt like any other suspenseful monster movie. People stick together to survive, bad things happen, and there is an inevitable trip into danger to try and get supplies that goes predictably wrong. There's a kind of "twist" that is a big no brainer (SPOILER It's all a military experiment that went wrong, DUH. END SPOILER) .
However, this movie deserves to be watched just for the ending. It doesn't really matter if you watch the rest of the film. You can get by on knowing that monsters attack, a lot of people die, and there's pretty much no hope of living for anyone. The ending, though...the ending needs to be seen. It is one of the most original and completely horrifying endings to a movie I think I've ever seen. It strikes deep, and it strikes hard. It takes a surprisingly bold move that I believe most movies would shy away from, and that's all I'm going to say about it except WATCH IT.
The Mist as a whole may not have much originality going for it, but the tight acting and highly unconventional ending make it a very worthwhile view.
The Mist gets an 8/10 (the ending bumped it by a point).
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Paranormal Activity 2
So my bad, I actually watched this movie several weeks ago and then completely forgot to write anything down about it. Which unfortunately means I'll be going off of what I remember from when I viewed it, which while I think I can still provide a good analysis, it may not be as good as when it was fresh in my head. Nonetheless...
We quickly learn that this sequel is actually a prequel, following the story of the sister of the main girl from the first one, her husband, her daughter, her little baby, and their dog. The beginning actually starts off rather confusingly as we get from a very quick transition with almost no explanation that we've suddenly jumped forward a couple weeks that their house was broken into, thus necessitating a security system that watches over the house. From that point on most of the scary footage comes from those cameras, with snippets of handheld in-between.
As in the first one, weird things start happening on a low level. The pool cleaner mysteriously ends up out of the pool each morning, seemingly on its own. There are thumps in the night. And then as time goes on and the family starts getting more and more freaked out, scarier and scarier crap keeps happening. Oddly enough though, I thought it started out much more strongly than the first, which was almost to its detriment as from that point on they had to try and get scarier than that. And while at some points they certainly managed it, it was odd to start the foray into madness with such a big event.
Underneath all the hubbub, however, are some rather interesting revelations about why the things that happened in the first movie happened and why this demon is terrorizing them all. I won't spoil anything here, because I think this was worth viewing, but the ending in particular I thought was a really great ending. It's unexpected, different, and yet totally makes sense within the context of the story they've presented. In the first one there was the infamous change from the kinda boring but very interesting original ending to the Spielberg scary as hell but really cliche ending (a change they're sticking with in this one), neither of which really felt right. The second, however, hits it right on the head.
In terms of the rest of the production, the actors are once again average though certainly good at acting scared, the choppiness we get in the timeline from one handicam shot to the next is a little jarring and makes it hard to keep up with what's going on, and the scares themselves while bigger are not necessarily better. That isn't to say it wasn't scary, it just wasn't as effective as the first one since for this one you basically know you're going to hear footsteps in the night and watch people get dragged. And yet, I liked it better than the first, particularly because it made up for those faults by having an actually interesting story, and an ending that just plain worked.
Basically, this sequel/prequel retained many of the problems of the first, yet also improved upon it. From where this one ended I doubt there will be a third, but who knows, maybe they'll finally strike the right balance between small, unpredictable scares that build tension and big scares that can only have a big impact for a short period of time. The first favored the small at the expense of the large except for the end, while the second favored the big at the expense of those small moments that really hammer in the suspense. I suppose it's a balance that all good horror must find, and the second did better at it than the first, but still had its share of problems. In the end...
Paranormal Activity 2 gets a 7.5/10
We quickly learn that this sequel is actually a prequel, following the story of the sister of the main girl from the first one, her husband, her daughter, her little baby, and their dog. The beginning actually starts off rather confusingly as we get from a very quick transition with almost no explanation that we've suddenly jumped forward a couple weeks that their house was broken into, thus necessitating a security system that watches over the house. From that point on most of the scary footage comes from those cameras, with snippets of handheld in-between.
As in the first one, weird things start happening on a low level. The pool cleaner mysteriously ends up out of the pool each morning, seemingly on its own. There are thumps in the night. And then as time goes on and the family starts getting more and more freaked out, scarier and scarier crap keeps happening. Oddly enough though, I thought it started out much more strongly than the first, which was almost to its detriment as from that point on they had to try and get scarier than that. And while at some points they certainly managed it, it was odd to start the foray into madness with such a big event.
Underneath all the hubbub, however, are some rather interesting revelations about why the things that happened in the first movie happened and why this demon is terrorizing them all. I won't spoil anything here, because I think this was worth viewing, but the ending in particular I thought was a really great ending. It's unexpected, different, and yet totally makes sense within the context of the story they've presented. In the first one there was the infamous change from the kinda boring but very interesting original ending to the Spielberg scary as hell but really cliche ending (a change they're sticking with in this one), neither of which really felt right. The second, however, hits it right on the head.
In terms of the rest of the production, the actors are once again average though certainly good at acting scared, the choppiness we get in the timeline from one handicam shot to the next is a little jarring and makes it hard to keep up with what's going on, and the scares themselves while bigger are not necessarily better. That isn't to say it wasn't scary, it just wasn't as effective as the first one since for this one you basically know you're going to hear footsteps in the night and watch people get dragged. And yet, I liked it better than the first, particularly because it made up for those faults by having an actually interesting story, and an ending that just plain worked.
Basically, this sequel/prequel retained many of the problems of the first, yet also improved upon it. From where this one ended I doubt there will be a third, but who knows, maybe they'll finally strike the right balance between small, unpredictable scares that build tension and big scares that can only have a big impact for a short period of time. The first favored the small at the expense of the large except for the end, while the second favored the big at the expense of those small moments that really hammer in the suspense. I suppose it's a balance that all good horror must find, and the second did better at it than the first, but still had its share of problems. In the end...
Paranormal Activity 2 gets a 7.5/10
Every Little Step
Despite an inherent love for musicals, I haven't really been around them. I've seen a couple performed, and watched a couple movie adaptations, but I've never been in one or exposed to more than the most popular ones like Phantom and Les Mis. So having received the recommendation from my more musically inclined girlfriend I turned on Every Little Step, a documentary about the casting of the revival of A Chorus Line, which is a musical that I had never heard of nor heard songs from. Thankfully, however, I am an actor, and this is an actor's movie.
A Chorus Line is the rather brilliant brainchild of Michael Bennett, who sat down with several fellow Broadway actors for 12 hours, talking about what it was like to be in showbusiness. He then took those stories and turned it into a musical about a bunch of actors auditioning for a Broadway show. So Every Little Step then chronicles the stories of some of the 3,000 people who showed up to audition for the revival, making it a documentary about a bunch of actors auditioning for a show about a bunch of actors auditioning for a show. Very meta.
Frankly it's a fascinating process, and the movie captures it very well. You see these rooms filled with dancers who all get turned away, then another roomful where you can see who is on their game and who just doesn't have it. Even towards the very end to watch these people who have put their livelihoods on the line for this job go so far, only to fall after 8 MONTHS of waiting. It's intense.
The only problem I have is that I wanted more. It felt like it all went by so quickly, and some final people ended up in that cast that were barely even mentioned. At the final callback there were still about 10 people we knew nothing about. I understand it would take a long time to do each and every person's story, and some of them might not have an interesting story to tell, but I would've gladly stuck around for another 30 minutes of material (it runs 1.5 hours). I know this is one of those situations where you just have to make some sacrifices so that the movie can still tell a story and end in a reasonable amount of time, but damn it, it was so interesting I couldn't help but feel the lack of depth.
For any actors or those who are involved in theater, this is a brilliant movie to see as you feel like you can really understand what these people are going through which makes the emotional impact strike all the harder. For everyone else, it's a rarely seen and very interesting look into just what it takes to make it to Broadway. In any case, it's a worthwhile view.
Every Little Step gets a 9/10.
A Chorus Line is the rather brilliant brainchild of Michael Bennett, who sat down with several fellow Broadway actors for 12 hours, talking about what it was like to be in showbusiness. He then took those stories and turned it into a musical about a bunch of actors auditioning for a Broadway show. So Every Little Step then chronicles the stories of some of the 3,000 people who showed up to audition for the revival, making it a documentary about a bunch of actors auditioning for a show about a bunch of actors auditioning for a show. Very meta.
Frankly it's a fascinating process, and the movie captures it very well. You see these rooms filled with dancers who all get turned away, then another roomful where you can see who is on their game and who just doesn't have it. Even towards the very end to watch these people who have put their livelihoods on the line for this job go so far, only to fall after 8 MONTHS of waiting. It's intense.
The only problem I have is that I wanted more. It felt like it all went by so quickly, and some final people ended up in that cast that were barely even mentioned. At the final callback there were still about 10 people we knew nothing about. I understand it would take a long time to do each and every person's story, and some of them might not have an interesting story to tell, but I would've gladly stuck around for another 30 minutes of material (it runs 1.5 hours). I know this is one of those situations where you just have to make some sacrifices so that the movie can still tell a story and end in a reasonable amount of time, but damn it, it was so interesting I couldn't help but feel the lack of depth.
For any actors or those who are involved in theater, this is a brilliant movie to see as you feel like you can really understand what these people are going through which makes the emotional impact strike all the harder. For everyone else, it's a rarely seen and very interesting look into just what it takes to make it to Broadway. In any case, it's a worthwhile view.
Every Little Step gets a 9/10.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The Road
This movie has me torn. On one hand I found the setting of an America devastated by some kind of massive destructive event, leaving the last remnants of humanity to wander a dead world absolutely fascinating. The struggle to survive turning most into cannibals, with only a few keeping the fire of their humanity alive. On the other hand, I feel like the story never made a point, besides saying things are bleak. We follow around this father and son as they go south towards the ocean, bad things happen along the way, and they both grapple with what it means to be the good guys in a bad world. Every single shot looks stark and gray, practically every location is burned or broken down, and by the end you're just left sitting there thinking "Well that was depressing."
Basically it makes me want to go and read the book, because I can tell there's something beneath this drudge of grayness that is actually an interesting story. Unfortunately, instead of exploring the depths of morality and metaphor littered throughout, the movie just takes us along on this very slow paced journey where they're either running/hiding from cannibals, walking/scavenging/sleeping, or showing how the father is pretty much a failure. He preaches about carrying the fire, being the good guy, yet when the opportunity presents itself he always looks out only for himself while his son tries desperately to make him change his mind. And that's the movie. Running, resting, scavenging, and morality. There's certainly a message to be found in it, a deeper resonance the movie was trying to achieve, but unfortunately it just came off dull. And then there's the ending...
SPOILER ALERT...I really couldn't understand the point of the ending. We've just spent almost 2 hours with this father and son, with the father trying the entire time to teach what he can. His dying request is that the son be cautious, and voila the first person he comes across, who instills no confidence whatsoever, he almost immediately trusts. Not only that, but he admits to there being others with him. And then, he admits that they've been following him the entire time. But...then it turns out to be okay. It's actually a family. It's the good guys they were searching for. Possibly. It just seemed like a very odd ending, to immediately forget his father's wishes but don't worry it's okay they're actually nice. I guess the fire lives on? END SPOILERS
To me it just felt like despite the good acting and interesting direction, what fell flat was simply the screenplay itself. It turned what could've been a fascinating philosophical study amid the backdrop of this strange alternate reality into an odd, slightly muddled post-apocalyptic journey movie where the journey didn't really have a solid beginning or end. With any luck I'll get to reading the book, and will hopefully have a much better impression.
The Road gets a 5/10.
Basically it makes me want to go and read the book, because I can tell there's something beneath this drudge of grayness that is actually an interesting story. Unfortunately, instead of exploring the depths of morality and metaphor littered throughout, the movie just takes us along on this very slow paced journey where they're either running/hiding from cannibals, walking/scavenging/sleeping, or showing how the father is pretty much a failure. He preaches about carrying the fire, being the good guy, yet when the opportunity presents itself he always looks out only for himself while his son tries desperately to make him change his mind. And that's the movie. Running, resting, scavenging, and morality. There's certainly a message to be found in it, a deeper resonance the movie was trying to achieve, but unfortunately it just came off dull. And then there's the ending...
SPOILER ALERT...I really couldn't understand the point of the ending. We've just spent almost 2 hours with this father and son, with the father trying the entire time to teach what he can. His dying request is that the son be cautious, and voila the first person he comes across, who instills no confidence whatsoever, he almost immediately trusts. Not only that, but he admits to there being others with him. And then, he admits that they've been following him the entire time. But...then it turns out to be okay. It's actually a family. It's the good guys they were searching for. Possibly. It just seemed like a very odd ending, to immediately forget his father's wishes but don't worry it's okay they're actually nice. I guess the fire lives on? END SPOILERS
To me it just felt like despite the good acting and interesting direction, what fell flat was simply the screenplay itself. It turned what could've been a fascinating philosophical study amid the backdrop of this strange alternate reality into an odd, slightly muddled post-apocalyptic journey movie where the journey didn't really have a solid beginning or end. With any luck I'll get to reading the book, and will hopefully have a much better impression.
The Road gets a 5/10.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
The title really says it all. Do I even need to provide a review? Much like movies such as "Piranha" or "Anaconda" you pretty much know exactly what you're signing up for when you press play. However, there's something special about Killer Klowns that I think at least deserves some words written about it.
The concept of Killer Klowns is rather simple. Aliens who just happen to look like clowns, use cotton candy and popcorn as weapons, and whose spaceship is coincidentally shaped like a circus tent, land for an unknown reason in this small town and proceed to capture or kill every single person there in clown-like fashion. There's your stereotypical hero, maiden, powerful ally (cop), supposed comic relief (ice cream brothers), and stick-in-the-mud who doesn't believe a damn thing until he's dead (other cop), all with acting skills developed at whatever place casting directors went to for every actor from every bad horror movie made in the 80s (the mall?). So after stumbling on the big secret that this circus tent, which mysteriously appeared in the woods right where a meteor they watched fall should've crashed down, is actually a spaceship filled with deadly klowns, our heroes spend the movie running from death and trying to warn everyone before they all get turned into cotton candy cocoons.
If you really need it...SPOILER ALERT...everyone but the kinda hero, maiden in distress, powerfully ally and supposed comic relief end up dead. Somehow during the entire movie, the cop is the only one who figured out how to kill the klowns (shoot their noses off), and is able to kill the big boss klown, subsequently blowing up their ship and killing any other possible survivors from the town. Miraculously, he survives the explosion by locking himself in the klown car, and the comic relief escapes the previous explosion they were in AND the destruction of the ship by hiding in their ice cream truck's freezer. The cavalry, in the form of police from a neighboring town, show up just in time to see the ship explode. And just as the movie ends, with our heroes asking if it's finally all over, they get pied in the face, setting up a sequel if they ever chose to do one. END SPOILERS
It's ridiculous. It's all pure and utter failure in pretty much every sense. The acting, direction, script, sets, just about damn near everything is just plain BAD. The only redeeming thing is that the klowns were at some points pretty darn scary looking. So why even give this film a mention?
Because it was funny. It was damn funny. It was all just so ridiculous that I couldn't help but enjoy it. If it hadn't been filmed in the same period as, and thus been one of, all of those terrible 80s horror films I would've said it was a wonderful spoof. You just have to think that they knew they were making a terrible terrible film and so they had fun with it. But almost better is to think that they were taking themselves absolutely seriously, just because it makes their predicament all the funnier.
Killer Klowns is by no means a good movie, and I'm sure many would not have as fun a time with it as I had. Still, if you've got several people over and have fun supplying additional commentary while a movie is going then this is a great way to waste an hour and 20 minutes.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space gets a 4/10.
The concept of Killer Klowns is rather simple. Aliens who just happen to look like clowns, use cotton candy and popcorn as weapons, and whose spaceship is coincidentally shaped like a circus tent, land for an unknown reason in this small town and proceed to capture or kill every single person there in clown-like fashion. There's your stereotypical hero, maiden, powerful ally (cop), supposed comic relief (ice cream brothers), and stick-in-the-mud who doesn't believe a damn thing until he's dead (other cop), all with acting skills developed at whatever place casting directors went to for every actor from every bad horror movie made in the 80s (the mall?). So after stumbling on the big secret that this circus tent, which mysteriously appeared in the woods right where a meteor they watched fall should've crashed down, is actually a spaceship filled with deadly klowns, our heroes spend the movie running from death and trying to warn everyone before they all get turned into cotton candy cocoons.
If you really need it...SPOILER ALERT...everyone but the kinda hero, maiden in distress, powerfully ally and supposed comic relief end up dead. Somehow during the entire movie, the cop is the only one who figured out how to kill the klowns (shoot their noses off), and is able to kill the big boss klown, subsequently blowing up their ship and killing any other possible survivors from the town. Miraculously, he survives the explosion by locking himself in the klown car, and the comic relief escapes the previous explosion they were in AND the destruction of the ship by hiding in their ice cream truck's freezer. The cavalry, in the form of police from a neighboring town, show up just in time to see the ship explode. And just as the movie ends, with our heroes asking if it's finally all over, they get pied in the face, setting up a sequel if they ever chose to do one. END SPOILERS
It's ridiculous. It's all pure and utter failure in pretty much every sense. The acting, direction, script, sets, just about damn near everything is just plain BAD. The only redeeming thing is that the klowns were at some points pretty darn scary looking. So why even give this film a mention?
Because it was funny. It was damn funny. It was all just so ridiculous that I couldn't help but enjoy it. If it hadn't been filmed in the same period as, and thus been one of, all of those terrible 80s horror films I would've said it was a wonderful spoof. You just have to think that they knew they were making a terrible terrible film and so they had fun with it. But almost better is to think that they were taking themselves absolutely seriously, just because it makes their predicament all the funnier.
Killer Klowns is by no means a good movie, and I'm sure many would not have as fun a time with it as I had. Still, if you've got several people over and have fun supplying additional commentary while a movie is going then this is a great way to waste an hour and 20 minutes.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space gets a 4/10.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
In case you couldn't tell from reading the rest of this blog I'm a big video game nerd. And while I didn't really grow up with the arcade era that Scott Pilgrim hearkens back to, it doesn't mean I can't completely and utterly fall in love with this movie.
Scott Pilgrim is a 23 year old bass player in a band called the Sex Bob-Ombs, who have never known the taste of success despite a lot of heart. He starts out dating a high-schooler named Knives Chau, despite the constant flack he gets from his friends. However, one day he has a dream about a mysterious woman on roller skates, then sees her in real life at a party, learns her name is Ramona Flowers, and immediately falls for her despite her complete lack of interest in him. Yet despite that she still starts to hang out with Scott and the romance begins to bloom. But before you know it, the shit hits the fan as juggling both Knives and Ramona, Scott learns that in order to keep dating Ramona he has to battle and defeat her 7 evil exes, most of whom are conveniently in town for the battle of the bands.
What follows is brightly colored, flashy, absolutely over-the-top and more than fun. Often Scott unwittingly ends up in these battles to the death while trying to manage the ups and downs of dating Ramona or breaking up with Knives or just trying to live his day to day life. I don't even really know how to explain it, but this movie manages to strike the perfect balance between romantic comedy, action movie, and homage to the arcade. The first evil ex shatters into a thousand coins when Scott defeats him, which Scott then picks up and realizes he can use for bus money. The whole tone of the movie has this kind of hyper-surreal feel to it, and somehow it all just works really well.
Michael Cera is his usual nerdy nice self, which is fine since it just works so perfectly for the character. Really every actor and actress really hits their mark, but the stars of this show are the evil exes. Besides the twins who we literally hear nothing from, they are all hilarious. From the very first fireball throwing, demon hipster chick summoning ex all the way down to the always wonderful Jason Schwartzman as the leader of the exes, every single one stole their scenes. It was just so obvious that they themselves were having a great time that it was impossible not to enjoy it right along with them.
The only problem I have with Scott Pilgrim is that it's so flashy, fun and fast paced that it kind of forgets to have substance under it. I went through the entire movie loving every eccentric bite sized scene, but left it feeling a little hungry for more, especially after the kind of cliche ending. **SPOILER ALERT** Of course I understand why Scott ends up with Ramona. After all it's like Knives says, he's spent all this time fighting for her he should go get her. Yet, I also felt like they really pinpointed in the final battle how Scott and Knives were right for each other and Ramona was maybe not the right choice for him. Personally I just think it would've been a much more compelling ending to let Ramona go. **END SPOILER**
Scott Pilgrim is basically the epitome of style over substance, and yet the style that's there is so unique, interesting and FUN that I can't really fault it that. One thing's for sure; I'll definitely be going back and watching this one again and again.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World gets a 9/10.
Scott Pilgrim is a 23 year old bass player in a band called the Sex Bob-Ombs, who have never known the taste of success despite a lot of heart. He starts out dating a high-schooler named Knives Chau, despite the constant flack he gets from his friends. However, one day he has a dream about a mysterious woman on roller skates, then sees her in real life at a party, learns her name is Ramona Flowers, and immediately falls for her despite her complete lack of interest in him. Yet despite that she still starts to hang out with Scott and the romance begins to bloom. But before you know it, the shit hits the fan as juggling both Knives and Ramona, Scott learns that in order to keep dating Ramona he has to battle and defeat her 7 evil exes, most of whom are conveniently in town for the battle of the bands.
What follows is brightly colored, flashy, absolutely over-the-top and more than fun. Often Scott unwittingly ends up in these battles to the death while trying to manage the ups and downs of dating Ramona or breaking up with Knives or just trying to live his day to day life. I don't even really know how to explain it, but this movie manages to strike the perfect balance between romantic comedy, action movie, and homage to the arcade. The first evil ex shatters into a thousand coins when Scott defeats him, which Scott then picks up and realizes he can use for bus money. The whole tone of the movie has this kind of hyper-surreal feel to it, and somehow it all just works really well.
Michael Cera is his usual nerdy nice self, which is fine since it just works so perfectly for the character. Really every actor and actress really hits their mark, but the stars of this show are the evil exes. Besides the twins who we literally hear nothing from, they are all hilarious. From the very first fireball throwing, demon hipster chick summoning ex all the way down to the always wonderful Jason Schwartzman as the leader of the exes, every single one stole their scenes. It was just so obvious that they themselves were having a great time that it was impossible not to enjoy it right along with them.
The only problem I have with Scott Pilgrim is that it's so flashy, fun and fast paced that it kind of forgets to have substance under it. I went through the entire movie loving every eccentric bite sized scene, but left it feeling a little hungry for more, especially after the kind of cliche ending. **SPOILER ALERT** Of course I understand why Scott ends up with Ramona. After all it's like Knives says, he's spent all this time fighting for her he should go get her. Yet, I also felt like they really pinpointed in the final battle how Scott and Knives were right for each other and Ramona was maybe not the right choice for him. Personally I just think it would've been a much more compelling ending to let Ramona go. **END SPOILER**
Scott Pilgrim is basically the epitome of style over substance, and yet the style that's there is so unique, interesting and FUN that I can't really fault it that. One thing's for sure; I'll definitely be going back and watching this one again and again.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World gets a 9/10.
The Human Centipede
Watching this travesty of a film I couldn't help but be reminded of the first time I watched Hostel, years after its release. When it first came out, everyone was thoroughly disgusted and grossed out by the completely over-the-top gore, violence, and nudity, marking it as probably the best example at that time of the "torture porn" genre. I vowed never to see it since there really was no need. Then, one day, in a moment of weakness I figured what the hell and I watched it. Honestly, I didn't find it to be so bad. Maybe I'm just jaded or immune to graphic violence in movies these days but the rather obviously fake torture in Hostel didn't effect me. And while the plot of the movie was reeeally stupid, I still couldn't help hating myself for actually enjoying the kind of Grindhouse sentimentality this movie held.
So sure enough, years later another movie comes out trying to top all others as the most disgusting movie ever released. However, unlike Hostel, the Human Centipede falls flat in just about every way, including the gross out factor. Once you've heard what the Human Centipede is actually about, you've pretty much already gotten through the worst of it. In some ways, hearing about and imagining it is actually far worse than what they actually show. Though there are still certainly some very cringe worthy moments.
So yes, it was disgusting. But frankly, it's no worse than Saw or Hostel or any other entry in the torture porn genre. It certainly has a different concept to it which makes it more revolting, but I was actually shocked when I realized that the bandages covering the really disgusting parts of the centipede weren't going away. I really expected them to go that far from what I had heard, but thankfully it spared us the really gruesome bits.
As to the rest of the movie beyond its shock value, there's really nothing there. Dieter Laser is genuinely terrifying as the doctor, and the asian man at the front has his moments (though most are surprisingly humorous). But the two "actresses" really do seem like they were just hired out of a porno, along with the cops. The story itself is expectedly very poorly written, with very bad dialogue, many many so bad it's funny moments, and enough head-desk moments to give you a concussion without a desk.
In short, there is nothing redeeming about this movie besides Dieter Laser, and that's only because he has one of the most terrifying faces I've ever seen on a person. If your own sensibilities didn't tell you already to stay far far away from this movie, and you're even a little curious about seeing it, just walk away. This movie is all about the shock value, and if you already know what it's about, then the shock is gone.
The Human Centipede gets a 1/10.
So sure enough, years later another movie comes out trying to top all others as the most disgusting movie ever released. However, unlike Hostel, the Human Centipede falls flat in just about every way, including the gross out factor. Once you've heard what the Human Centipede is actually about, you've pretty much already gotten through the worst of it. In some ways, hearing about and imagining it is actually far worse than what they actually show. Though there are still certainly some very cringe worthy moments.
So yes, it was disgusting. But frankly, it's no worse than Saw or Hostel or any other entry in the torture porn genre. It certainly has a different concept to it which makes it more revolting, but I was actually shocked when I realized that the bandages covering the really disgusting parts of the centipede weren't going away. I really expected them to go that far from what I had heard, but thankfully it spared us the really gruesome bits.
As to the rest of the movie beyond its shock value, there's really nothing there. Dieter Laser is genuinely terrifying as the doctor, and the asian man at the front has his moments (though most are surprisingly humorous). But the two "actresses" really do seem like they were just hired out of a porno, along with the cops. The story itself is expectedly very poorly written, with very bad dialogue, many many so bad it's funny moments, and enough head-desk moments to give you a concussion without a desk.
In short, there is nothing redeeming about this movie besides Dieter Laser, and that's only because he has one of the most terrifying faces I've ever seen on a person. If your own sensibilities didn't tell you already to stay far far away from this movie, and you're even a little curious about seeing it, just walk away. This movie is all about the shock value, and if you already know what it's about, then the shock is gone.
The Human Centipede gets a 1/10.
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