Nordling here.
I've got no problem with horror films, but I know my own personal threshold when it comes to onscreen violence, and although I'm not one to cry out "Think of the children!", if a movie crosses that threshold, I simply won't see it. But I'm never going to be in favor of banning a film. It looks like the British Board of Film Classification has taken that step, however, banning Tom Six's sequel to THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE, according to Movieline, titled THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE II (FULL SEQUENCE). What that means is that the film cannot be distributed publically in the UK, although I'm sure more enterprising people will figure out a way to get it.
Spoilers for the sequel follow: apparently what got the BBFC's goat is that the film, which is a sort of meta commentary on the first, features a character who sees the original film, becomes aroused by the premise, and decides to reenact it in real life. Among the horrific things the character does in the film, well, I'll let the BBFC explain:
The principal focus of The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) is the sexual arousal of the central character at both the idea and the spectacle of the total degradation, humiliation, mutilation, torture, and murder of his naked victims. Examples of this include a scene early in the film in which he masturbates whilst he watches a DVD of the original Human Centipede film, with sandpaper wrapped around his penis, and a sequence later in the film in which he becomes aroused at the sight of the members of the ‘centipede’ being forced to defecate into one another’s mouths, culminating in sight of the man wrapping barbed wire around his penis and raping the woman at the rear of the ‘centipede’. There is little attempt to portray any of the victims in the film as anything other than objects to be brutalised, degraded and mutilated for the amusement and arousal of the central character, as well as for the pleasure of the audience. There is a strong focus throughout on the link between sexual arousal and sexual violence and a clear association between pain, perversity and sexual pleasure. It is the Board’s conclusion that the explicit presentation of the central character’s obsessive sexually violent fantasies is in breach of its Classification Guidelines and poses a real, as opposed to a fanciful, risk that harm is likely to be caused to potential viewers.
Sandpaper around his crank. Okay...
The concept of the first film has, in a way, entered the public consciousness - it was even spoofed on SOUTH PARK's opening season episode. I'd imagine that the sequel could become more successful, box office wise, than the original film. That's if it doesn't get stapled with an NC-17 (and it probably will), but I'm assuming Six will just release it unrated for midnight shows. The BBFC has banned such films as FREAKS, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and THE EXORCIST. I won't assume that THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2 is in that austere company, quality wise, but now the BBFC has assured that kids all over Britain will figure out a way to find this film and see it for themselves.
In the meantime, the line for the Home Depot starts to the right...
Nordling, out.
