The Human Centipede 3

“It’s too much,” mutters Governor Hughes (Eric Roberts). He is inspecting the giant human centipede that coils round the exercise yard of his state’s prison. To be frank, the governor’s assessment is a laughable understatement. 

Tom Six’s The Human Centipede 3 is the final part of his infamous trilogy, which began in 2009 with The Human Centipede. The third movie takes the same initial format to its predecessor, with heat-crazed prison warden Bill Boss (Dieter Laser) seen watching the final credits of Six’s previous part of the sequence in the opening scene. From this, Boss and his subordinate accountant Dwight (Laurence R. Harvey) eventually get the idea to control their 500 ill-disciplined prisoners by sewing them into a giant human centipede. 

Though Bill Boss’s mad, sadistic rants provide the occasional chuckle within the first half hour thanks to some childish and inconsistent acting, his general behaviour rapidly crosses the line from impressively shocking to completely deplorable. Whether sexually assaulting his buxom blonde receptionist, or racially abusing several preposterously ethnically stereotyped prisoners, the warden depicts the lowest of all lows in humanity. That is, until Bill Boss’s various torture methods are shown, including graphic scenes of castration and water-boarding, culminating in the nauseating mouth-to-anus sewing process. An eye-shielding popcorn box is required at this point.

The script and storyline is littered with self-reference, clearly an attempt to self-mock and mitigate the negative reactions to these films: “We are not in a movie playing some idiots,” snaps Bill Boss at one stage. The effect, however, is to underline the lack of any creativity or craftsmanship in the filmmaking process. The acting is often pitiful (Dwight’s accent regularly changes from Texan to English mid-sentence), the narrative is non-existent and the script is repetitive, making the experience not only revolting but also dull. One might be as likely to walk out from boredom as disgust.

Most importantly, though, The Human Centipede 3 is not just sending up political correctness or admirably depicting the depths of human perversity. Rather, it is simply unacceptable. And even, dare it be said, unscreenable.

TJ Jordan 

The Human Centipede 3 is released nationwide on 10^th July 2015 

Watch the trailer for The Human Centipede 3 here: