rating: ★ or ★★★★

Martin Lomax (Laurence R. Harvey) celebrates the construction of his sick, sick, so utterly sick creation.

The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) tells a tale that has become a staple of the film world: one man’s triumph over adversity.

It follows the life of Martin Lomax, a lowly, sexually-abused parking attendant, as he casts off the shackles of his dark and dreary existence and embarks on a journey to live out his dream: sewing 12 people together mouth-to-anus so that they possess a single digestive tract.

Human Centipede 2 follows the original, which made headlines and sparked controversy back in 2010. The film opens with the final minutes of the first Human Centipede being watched on a laptop by Martin. Yes, that’s right. It isn’t a direct sequel so much as it is about a copycat watching, re-enacting and vigorously masturbating to the original film. It’s terrifying to think that somewhere, someone is screwed up enough to actually attempt this.

While the last film was shot in classic thriller style, HC2 is much darker and far more graphic than the original. It was shot in colour but converted to black and white for release. This, combined with the near complete lack of dialogue, gives the whole film a rather David Lynch Eraserhead feel — although far more graphic. But don’t fret, because all the fans of the first will be pleased to see some familiar faces and themes resurface. It still has that homey feel Centipede fans expect.

Most of the film follows the trials and tribulations of Martin as he collects his centipede. However, despite the fact that he does eventually achieve his dream —  sewing 12 people together mouth-to-anus so that they possess a single digestive tract — Human Centipede 2 is hardly the feel-good picture of the year. This is possibly due to its extremely graphic and realistic portrayal of Martin sewing 12 people together mouth-to-anus so that they possess a single digestive tract. Perhaps sewing is not the appropriate term to use as his surgical skills are not as refined as his predecessor’s. He relies heavily on a staple gun.

The straight-to-DVD film, which hit the U.S. in October, is a gruelling challenge that should only be undertaken by the most stalwart of graphic movie watchers. Dutch filmmaker Tom Six said that it makes the original look like My Little Pony. He isn’t exaggerating. Six did away with the bandages and scene cuts that softened the first film in favour of directly showing you exactly what is happening. This includes a vivid depiction of Martin’s less-than-professional, chisel-based tooth extraction. If that statement grossed you out, let me stress this: You will not make it through this movie.

There is essentially a half-hour sequence where the viewer watches Martin assemble and play with his new toy. Now keep in mind that I don’t want to ruin this experience for you, so I’ll avoid going into detail and just leave it at this: everything wrong in the world is depicted in this single scene.

To give you an idea of the severity of that statement, Human Centipede 2 was initially banned in the U.K. for “revolting content” — a decision that was later repealed after several of the more horrifying scenes were removed.

But don’t fret! The U.S. release has no edits so you can enjoy the film in its full gory detail and cringe at the chillingly realistic sound effects.

However, for those few who do make it through this, keep watching the horizon. Six recently warned/cautioned/excited his audiences by stating that the already-in-production final segment of the Centipede series will make Human Centipede 2 “look like a Disney film.”

How he will do that, I honestly can’t imagine. HC2 far exceeds the combined depravities of Saw, “Two Girls One Cup” and even the curb stomping scene in American History X. If you think I’m exaggerating about the gross factor of this film, keep in mind that half the people I watched this movie with actually vomited, repeatedly.

Oh, and at one point a baby gets stepped on.

However, even after all that, I still found it to be a more pleasurable experience than Breaking Dawn: Part 1.

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Photo: Supplied (unfortunately)