Fantastic Fest 2011 announced its final wave of programming today, adding the controversial body horror The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence to a long list of exciting films coming to Austin at the end of the month. Running from September 22-29, this genre film festival boasts a line-up this year that includes a slew of international horror, some bizarre shorts, Lars von Trier‘s Melancholia, and now Tom Six‘s disturbing sequel to The Human Centipede.
It is only fitting that Six’s sequel is making its world premiere at Fantastic Fest, as the original premiered there in 2009 to critical acclaim and some powerful word-of-mouth recommendation. The black and white sequel, which recently got a teaser trailer, looks to be more disturbing and twisted than the original (a fact Six is the first to brag about). The sequel has rumored sexual torture, as well as an even longer human centipede than the first.
I’m not sure I can imagine how this sequel outdoes the original, which followed a crazy German doctor and his dream to surgically create a human centipede. In case you can’t visualize that, it was three people made to share one intestinal tract; connected ass to mouth. As far as body horror goes, The Human Centipede stands out as one of the sickest films I’ve seen. I’m both eager and repulsed at the thought of viewing the sequel, which at this point sounds like an attempt by Six to out-gross the original, a possibly gratuitous and exploitative move that never makes for good cinema.
The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence will open up the festival, and Morgan Spurlock‘s (Super Size Me) documentary Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope will close the festival. Stan Lee and Joss Whedon will both be in attendance to present Comic-Con Episode IV, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Six makes an appearance at some point during the festivities.
With a tagline of “a film festival with all the boring parts cut out,” Fantastic Fest is a whirlwind of everything from the cinematically bizarre to cutting edge supernatural to old-school horror. It’s the largest genre film fest in the U.S, and takes place at Austin’s own Alamo Drafthouse Theater, a local (and now national) institution that offers movies, food, and film-themed special events.
Check out the full list of films at the Fantastic Fest official website. Also, take a look at the trailer for The Human Centipede 2 below and let us know what you think; exploitative shocker or high body horror art?
Published: Sep 7, 2011 11:52 pm