The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

Film Characters Images

The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)
Directed by	Tom Six
Produced by	Tom Six Ilona Six
Written by	Tom Six
Starring	Laurence R. Harvey Ashlynn Yennie
Production company	Six Entertainment Company
Release date	22 September 2011 (Fantastic Fest) 7 October 2011 (United States) 4 November 2011 (United Kingdom)
Running time	91 minutes
Language	English
Preceded by	First Sequence
Succeeded by	Final Sequence

The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) is a 2011 exploitation horror film written, directed, and co-produced by Tom Six. An international co-production of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and the second installment in the Human Centipede film trilogy, the film stars Laurence R. Harvey as a psychiatrically and intellectually impaired English man who watches and becomes obsessed with the first Human Centipede film, and decides to make his own "centipede" consisting of 12 people, including Ashlynn Yennie, an actress from the first film.

The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) received substantial attention and controversy for its graphic depictions of violence, sexual violence and body horror. It was subject to heavy censorship throughout the world, where it was sometimes edited to remove objectionable content or banned altogether. It received generally negative reviews, with much criticism focused on its acting, plot and violence.

Plot

Martin, a mentally disturbed loner that obsesses over the film The Human Centipede (First Sequence), kidnaps a group of people to create his own 'human centipede' to act out his perverse sexual fantasies.

Cast

• Laurence Harvey as Martin Lomax
• Ashlynn Yennie as herself (Centipede #1)
• Maddi Black as Candy (Centipede #2)
• Kandace Caine as Karrie (Centipede #3)
• Dominic Borrelli as Paul (Centipede #4)
• Lucas Hansen as Ian (Centipede #5)
• Lee Nicholas Harris as Dick (Centipede #6)
• Dan Burman as Greg (Centipede #7)
• Daniel Jude Gennis as Tim (Centipede #8)
• Georgia Goodrick as Valerie (Centipede #9)
• Emma Lock as Kim (Centipede #10)
• Vivien Bridson as Mrs. Lomax
• Bill Hutchens as Dr. Sebring
• Katherine Templar as Rachel
• Peter Blankenstein as Alan
• Peter Charlton as Jake

Development

Concept

Tom Six claims to have developed the idea of creating a trilogy while writing First Sequence. The filming of the first film's "Feed her!" scene reinforced Six's idea of doing sequels. The first film's success and notoriety gave Six the resources to officially produce a sequel.

When developing the Human Centipede sequel, Six had at least three ideas in mind: having a copycat killer create his own human centipede based on the first film, having Josef Heiter awaken from death after the events of First Sequence, or having Heiter's siamese twin (whom was separated from Josef at birth) become the antagonist. Six's justification for doing the copycat killer storyline came from the promotional tour for First Sequence, wherein people asked him whether or not he was scared some maniac inspired by the film would create a human centipede of his own.

For the sequel, Six was inspired to create an experience the exact opposite of the first film. While First Sequence was more psychological and left a lot to the imagination, Full Sequence would show everything in grisly detail. When First Sequence was released, Six found that while were appalled at the film's content, many felt the film didn't go far enough. These comments served as part of the inspiration for the sequel's intensity and graphic content. Six also wanted a villain to be the opposite of the first film's Doctor Heiter. According to Six, "Dr. Heiter is a lean, tall, almost handsome guy. This time I wanted a fat, small, chubby guy." Six would also have the main character for Full Sequence have zero medical experience, in diametric opposition to Dr. Heiter's precise medical expertise.

Casting

Casting for Full Sequence began in March 2010, two months before the first film would be theatrically released. While no script had been developed at the time of auditions (similar to the first film), Six had a detailed idea for the story for Full Sequence. While casting, Six held a screening of the first film so the cast would understand the controversial nature of the film. Kandace Caine, who would portray Karrie in the film, had to leave halfway through the screening and was not aware of the "centipede" aspect of the film until she received the script, which was months after she'd been cast. Emma Lock, who was cast as Kim, gave Six a small plasticine model of 3Dog to stand out from the other actresses. According to Six, "This time, because of the cult success, we got so many actors that wanted to be in the centipede. When they came in they immediately went on their hands and knees and started acting. We had actors that emailed us, they wanted to be in the centipede and they willing to eat real s—."

Six wanted Ashlynn Yennie, who portrayed Jenny in the first film, to return and play herself. According to Yennie, "Tom wanted this tongue-in-check, almost campy, approach to a typical Hollywood actress. They used my original name, which I gave them permission to do, but it’s not actually me."

Laurence R. Harvey's agents had received word from Six Entertainment Company that they wanted Harvey to audition for the film. His agents were under the impression that the role was for a porn film, which confused Harvey as to why they wanted him. As soon as he discovered it was for The Human Centipede sequel, he had them get in touch with Six. Harvey's first time watching The Human Centipede was hours before his audition for the role.

Six was initially disappointed with the auditions for the character of Martin, but as soon as he saw Harvey, he was impressed by the actor's physical presence and removed most of the dialogue that had been written for the character. During the audition, which lasted roughly fifty minutes, Six gave a scene-by-scene description of how the film would go down, as well as a background on the character of Martin. According to Harvey, "We were trying out different scenes, like when Martin has to deal with a bad customer in the car park. And then it was, 'We would like to see how you would approach the rape scene.' I just looked around the room — coming from a performance artist background you use objects in ways that they’re not meant to be used — so I just flipped the chair straight over and went for it. With such extreme material, you can’t hold back, really."

Six worked on finalizing the script for Full Sequence during the summer. The final script was delivered to the actors less than a month before filming began. According to Harvey, "In the first draft, there was one thing I didn’t want to do, and Tom got rid of it. I’ll let what exactly that was remain a mystery — but Human Centipede II could have been a lot worse."

Filming

Filming for The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) began in August 2010. The first scenes to be shot were the scenes in the Lomax flat, followed by the scenes at the car park, followed by the scenes at the warehouse. Because Maddi Black, who portrayed Candy, was vegan, she was tasked with providing the "feces" used in the film. It was a combination of coconut milk, cacao, and crumbled biscuits. The concoction was so delicious that members of the cast and crew were snacking on it on set.

The filming experience at the warehouse was grueling at times, according to the actors who were in the centipede formation. Because the warehouse location was a former car repair shop, the setting was originally as dingy as it appeared in the film. According to Harvey, "For the guys in the segments, it must have been tough. They’re going around with all this liquid and the liquid’s rubbing the dirt out of the wooden floor, because it’s an unvarnished floor." The actors and actresses in the centipede had fake buttocks' on to create the simulation of their "mouth-to-anus" connection. However, for one shot, the crew had no time to put the actors fake buttocks' on, and in need of the shot, Six pleaded with the cast to agree to do it without the fake buttocks. The cast agreed and said shot occurred.

According to Emma Lock, the film's original ending was all of the people in the centipede in a pile in the middle of the warehouse and set on fire. However, the city of London refused to grant them the license to film the scene. When it came to how the film would end, Six wanted an ambiguous ending for the movie, claiming "if you finish a story, it’s over and done and out of your system. Instead this helps the movie stay in you mind for a much longer time." The nature of the film's ending led many to believe that it was all a dream in Martin's head, while others suggested he got away with all of it. According to Harvey, "I’ve heard six different interpretations of how the movie ends. None of them are happy." Harvey also said that his favorite interpretation of the ending was that Martin had died after having the centipede inserted in his rectum, and that the brief scene of him at the car park is what he was imagining in his last moments of life.

Post-production

There have been many rumors as to why the film is in black and white. Some have suggested that it is because of the film's extremely graphic nature, that having it be in black and white would be the only way the film could be shown. However, Six said he believed the black and white made the film scarier and that, for a film that shows gore and violence to such a degree, he wanted something to be left to the audience's imagination. According to Lock, it was Ilona Six's idea to have the film be in black and white.

To achieve the sound of bodies being beaten and mutilated, the London sound design company Six hired used a dead pig. "They were jamming out the teeth and they were cutting into the meat. So that after the Foley, the pig was gone," said Six.

Release

United States

In the United States, the film premiered at Fantastic Fest (Austin, Texas) in September 2011. The film received a limited theatrical release in October 2011, followed by a home video release of the uncut version in February 2012.

Classification refusal and obscenity controversy

"In the UK, censors cut many minutes from The Human Centipede 2 by law. It feels like I made a comedy and they cut out all the good jokes. It’s appalling. Nobody is forced to see a movie."

—Tom Six [1]

In June 2011, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) refused to classify The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) for a direct-to-video release, effectively meaning that the film cannot legally be supplied in any format in the UK. The BBFC had given the preceding First Sequence title an 18 certificate. The board stated that they had considered First Sequence to be "undoubtedly tasteless and disgusting," but deemed it acceptable for release because the "centipede" was the product of a "revolting medical experiment." They had also taken legal advice that First Sequence was not in breach of the Obscene Publications Act.

Director Tom Six responded to the BBFC's decision in a statement released the next day to Empire magazine. Six criticised the BBFC for including film spoilers in their report, and stated that the film was "...fictional. Not real. It is all make-belief. It is art..." and that viewers should be able to choose for themselves whether or not they decided to view the film. Six also referred to the BBFC's refusal to classify the film as "exceptional." The film was eventually released in the United Kingdom on 4 November 2011, with two minutes and thirty seven seconds removed.

The uncut version of the film originally passed in Australia with a R18+ rating, but was called for reclassification after an outcry from religious groups, and was subsequently banned in Australia for its "gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of violence." An edited version of the film was released with thirty seconds removed, which was made available on home video as of 23 February 2016.

The uncut version of Full Sequence was made available digitally in both Australia and the United Kingdom for the first time via Bountyfilms.com.

In April 2016, Full Sequence was met with further outrage when it became known that an American school teacher had allowed her class of underage students to watch the film, despite its depiction of graphic violence. As a result, the teacher was suspended by the school's staff. A letter from the school's principal was later sent to the student's parents, stating that "I understand that on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, your student may have inadvertently viewed inappropriate content in a JCM classroom. This occurrence is inconsistent with our Mission and Vision at Jackson Central Merry. I have investigated the situation and talked to those involved. Immediate action has been taken to assure that there will be no further occurrences." Writer/Director Tom Six made light of the situation, joking that "It should be mandatory to watch [Full Sequence] in school classes. It deals with a character that is bullied and what to do!"

Colour version

Martin Lomax, as he appears in the coloured version of Full Sequence.

In September 2014, Tom Six released a full colour still from Full Sequence for the first time. In June 2015, Tom Six released a second full colour still from the film. The following day, the horror news site Bloody Disgusting criticised Tom Six for releasing Full Sequence in black and white, believing that a colour version of the film could've been a cult classic. In October 2015, a colour version of the film was finally made available as a bonus feature in a box set containing all three of the Human Centipede films. In 2016, the coloured version of Full Sequence was included yet again as a bonus feature in the home video release of the compilation film The Human Centipede (Complete Sequence) - The Movie Centipede. The coloured version will be released on DVD in the United Kingdom as a bonus disc to a Steelbook set featuring all three of the Human Centipede films on Blu-Ray. The set will be released by Zavvi on 26 December 2016.

Reception

Critical

The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) received mostly negative reviews from film critics. Review aggravator Rotten Tomatoes surveyed that 30% of the 77 critics listed gave the film a positive review. Full Sequence received a Metacritic rating of 17, indicating overwhelming dislike based on 22 critics.

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly claimed that Full Sequence "Would have the Marquis de Sade gagging into his popcorn... could be the sickest B-Movie ever made." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter said that the film is "Strictly for fans of the original, and you know who you are." R.L. Shaffer of IGN gave the film a rating of 4/10, stating that "This second chapter takes all the mayhem, gore and general nastiness of the first film, and tosses it into a blender. The film is repulsive, repugnant, lifeless and even ugly to look at."

Robert Koehler of Variety gave the film a negative review, calling it "More boring than stomach-churning." In contrast, Kim Newman of Empire rated it 3/5 stars, opining that "It's a shame this has become known for censorship woes, which mean trims to its wilder atrocities, because Tom Six’s follow-up is a stronger, stranger, more interesting picture than the first." Roger Ebert accused Full Sequence of being "Reprehensible, dismaying, ugly, artless and an affront to any notion, however remote, of human decency."

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone believes that "Masochists will give the movie a thumbs-up, as long as their thumb isn't already up their ass." Keith Phipps of A.V. Club assessed that "Any sick wit gets drowned by Six’s oppressive approach, which piles on one 'Can you take it?' gross-out moment atop another. Even those who can take it will be left wondering why."

Sequel

Main article: The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)