Reel Review Roundup

The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

Rated: Banned in Australia

Directed by: Tom Six

Starring: Laurence R. Harvey, Ashlynn Yennie, Bill Hutchens

Three stars

Review by: Julian Wright

While always on the lookout for films that are willing to push the boundaries to terrify or explore the dark side of human nature, The Human Centipede appeared to be the perfect candidate to fulfill my twisted curiosities. A nutty surgeon who fulfills his acts out his dream experiment of  joining three people, mouth to … well, you know. While I admired its originality and audacity, I could not get past the snail’s pace of the proceedings.

Sure it was sick and twisted and rivaled the entire Saw series in its ability to gross out its audience, but once it established that Dr Heiter (Dieter Laser) was a nutcase (which it did fairly early on) and the horrendous concept explained, it was little more than three poor souls grotesquely stitched together. Bit of a yawner, ultimately.

Creator Tom Six does the unimaginable by not only putting the unimaginable on the screen for us to witness (some of the visuals are real humdingers), but to build on the original concept and take the story further with a little post-modern twist. Rather than just a cheap and quick rehash of the first film (or bringing the surgeon back to life, like some absurd soapie cliffhanger rug pull), Six introduces us to another sick individual, one who is obsessed with the original film.

Martin (Laurence R Harvey) is an overweight, abused, ridiculed and disturbed car park security guard. His dungeon-like workplace mirrors his dungeon-like home where he lives with his hateful mother. His only escape (and disturbingly, only inspiration) is the controversial film The Human Centipede which he has on DVD and watches often.

Martin’s sick fascination with the movie leads him to emulate the movie. But he wants to not only copy, but one-up his favourite film by joining 12 individuals instead of just three. Including a heavily pregnant woman. Unfortunately, Martin doesn’t have the tools or the know-how that the fictional Dr Heiter had, so this is more like a down and dirty DIY version.

The Human Centipede films are by no means masterpieces of artistic film making and Six has never intended them to be. Some dismiss them as pointless, envelope pushing trash. Others see them as satirical. They are, however, explorations of obsession – with very extreme examples.

But what is more astounding than the content of this sequel, is the audience reactions at a recent Perth screening – ear shattering applause in some of the most grizzly moments. Maybe instead of debating the content, maybe we should be analysing the reaction. And any movie that prompts intellectual discussion should not be easily dismissed.

Having said that, this was one of the most memorable cinema going experiences I have had. The moans, groans, yelps, cringes and uproarious belly laughs – what a hoot. The movie went so far over the top it became comical, the audience recognised this and were able to have one hell of a ghoulish time. Too bad no one else will have the opportunity to have that experience with this film.

Restless (M)

Directed by: Gus Van Sant

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Henry Hopper, Jane Adams

One star

Review by: Julian Wright

It would be interesting to see Gus Van Sant’s career tracked in graph form. The peaks and valleys would be fascinating to see. After gaining street cred for indie films such as Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho (gradual incline), he hit a mainstream home run with Good Will Hunting (peak) only to follow it up with the critically derided shot for shot remake of Psycho (valley).

His career recovered with the Cannes Film Festival favourite Elephant before he hit it out of the park again with Milk. Only for it all to come crashing down again with the mind numbingly ordinary Restless. This guy either gets some of the worst career advice or he is a sucker for self sabotage. Maybe  he just likes a challenge.

Van Sant plays it the safest he ever has by bringing us the nauseating story of two offbeat teenagers in love. Going down the checklist of how to make a quirky indie comedy/drama, we are introduced to strangely named Enoch Brae (Henry Hopper) who gate crashes funerals and talks to the ghost of dead pilot Hiroshi Takahashi (Ryo Kase). Instantly loveable, right? Not so much, unfortunately.

This outsider finds his soul mate in the equally strange Annabel Cotton (Mia Wasikoska) who also gate crashes funerals. The pair bond over their mutual fascination with death. But as if life isn’t hard enough being an outcast, Annabel has cancer and only three months to live. No spoiler alert required here , this is clearly telegraphed with her extra short hair and some story she makes up about time spent volunteering in the cancer ward. And if you hadn’t connected the dots in the first few minutes, it is spelled out fairly early on anyway.

This could have been a sweet and passable piece of indie fluff about two young kooks and their unconditional love and acceptance of each other, but instead it appears more interested in sending its audience to sleep. The charmless cast have little chemistry or spark and despite the occasional bright moments (which are very few and very far between), are mostly unremarkable. When things start to get heavy in the final scenes, Hopper clearly struggles.

Apparently, Van Sant didn’t catch the fun and frothy Submarine earlier this year, which shot a much-needed jolt of freshness into this indie exploration of the angst suffered by off the wall teens sub genre. Restless really could have benefited by taking a page out of Submarine’s book.

After watching this misfire, one might be inclined to double-check the credits (if you make it that far) to make sure that really was Van Sant listed as director. He may not have always pleased his audience or critics, and he may have made some bonehead moves in his career, but you cannot deny he has always had balls; until now. Hopefully his career survives this valley and we are treated to another peak soon.