Human Centipede: Full Sequence denied release in UK

I'll let the British Board of Film Classification's release speak for itself.

June 6th, 2011

The BBFC has rejected the sexually violent, and potentially obscene DVD, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) This means that it cannot be legally supplied anywhere in the UK. The decision was taken by the Director, David Cooke and the Presidential Team of Sir Quentin Thomas, Alison Hastings and Gerard Lemos.

The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) is a sequel to the film The Human Centipede (First Sequence), which was classified ‘18’ uncut for cinema and DVD release by the BBFC in 2010. The first film dealt with a mad doctor who sews together three kidnapped people in order to produce the ‘human centipede’of the title. Although the concept of the film was undoubtedly tasteless and disgusting it was a relatively traditional and conventional horror film and the Board concluded that it was not in breach of our Guidelines at ‘18’. This new work, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), tells the story of a man who becomes sexually obsessed with a DVD recording of the first film and who imagines putting the ‘centipede’ idea into practice. Unlike the first film, the sequel presents graphic images of sexual violence, forced defecation, and mutilation, and the viewer is invited to witness events from the perspective of the protagonist. Whereas in the first film the ‘centipede’ idea is presented as a revolting medical experiment, with the focus on whether the victims will be able to escape, this sequel presents the ‘centipede’ idea as the object of the protagonist’s depraved sexual fantasy.

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 Centipedefilm, 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.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:

“It is the Board’s carefully considered view that to issue a certificate to this work, even if confined to adults, would be inconsistent with the Board’s Guidelines, would risk potential harm within the terms of the VRA, and would be unacceptable to the public.

“The Board also seeks to avoid classifying material that may be in breach of the Obscene Publications Acts 1959 and 1964 (OPA) or any other relevant legislation. The OPA prohibits the publication of works that have a tendency to deprave or corrupt a significant proportion of those likely to see them. In order to avoid classifying potentially obscene material, the Board engages in regular discussions with the relevant enforcement agencies, including the CPS, the police, and the Ministry of Justice. It is the Board’s view that there is a genuine risk that this video work, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), may be considered obscene within the terms of the OPA, for the reasons given above.

“The Board considered whether its concerns could be dealt with through cuts. However, given that the unacceptable content runs throughout the work, cuts are not a viable option in this case and the work is therefore refused a classification.”

Note to Editors

1. Under the terms of the Video Recordings Act, the distributor has the right to appeal to the Video Appeals Committee against this decision within six weeks.
2. The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) has not been submitted for cinema release.

Public Enquiries: 020 7440 1570
Press Enquiries Sue Clark: 020 7440 3285
Out of Hours Mobile: 07946 423719

-30-

I don't know if I will be able to watch this film. I was almost ruined sexually by watching A Serbian Film, to the extent that I have not even reviewed it on here because I never want to think about it again.

Maybe though, I will review it, just to get it all out of my head.

Anyways, that's not on topic. But Full Sequence just sounds so horrid. I don't know what to think.

XOXO

D-bag

Big screen adaptation of novel Horns in the works...

So, Mandalay Pictures is set to adapt Joe Hill's genre novel Horns--the darkly humorous and unsettling tale of hometown pariah Ig Perrish, who after a drunken night awakes to find he has spontaneously grown a pair of horns out of his forehead.

These horns compel those around Ig to confess their deepest, most awful truths and desires to him and at the same time, allow Ig to coax and manipulate those he encounters into realizing these sordid ideas.

Interesting concept and quite the enjoyable novel.

Shia LaBeouf is set to play Ig and is apparently going to be closely involved in the film's production.

I must say I am actually quite pleased with the casting here, LaBeouf fits my mental schema of Ig quite well. And though I've yet to see him really act to any extent that makes me believe he is capable of realizing the dramatic weight required for this role, as seen in the delightful LAPD mugshot above, he is quite attractive. Not exactly the same thing but hey, what can you expect from me?

The novel itself is full of black humour and some interesting plot points. And though it's not nearly as frightening as Hill's debut novel Heart Shaped Box, it is still quite a good read and a very well written addition to the world of literary pseudo-horror.

The book is as much a love story as it is anything else, so a lot rests on the casting of Ig's love, Merrin Williams. As I was reading it, I always kind of pictured Merrin as a Bryce Dallas Howard type, but Howard is a little old now, so I'm going to go ahead and say we can expect someone like Emma Roberts, or even Emma Stone to get cast here. Check back for more details on this as they emerge.

And I suppose I can't complete this post without briefly talking about Joe Hill. For those who don't know, as I didn't until I had finished reading both Horns and Heart Shaped Box, Hill is the son of horror master Stephen King.

As petty as this sounds, I had been so excited to have discovered a new and exciting horror author in Hill that I was disappointed to find out about the father-son connection. I don't know, I suppose I felt cheated in a way just because Hill had been marinating in blood and writing since he was a child.

And I suppose too that the struggling horror writer in myself resented him a little bit for undoubtedly having such a privileged upbringing so as to allow him to realize his dreams of following in his father's footsteps perhaps more easily and with fewer obstacles than people like myself encounter.

I think this is probably why Hill adopted a pen name rather than just putting the whole King factor out there, because he wanted to make things happen on his own and didn't want people to think these very kinds of things about him.

Anyways, this has no bearing on his work. Hill is an excellent writer. And I hope that this will be an excellent film. 

I am excited. Hornsy, even.

xoxo

D-bag

Red Riding Hood...

  

As many of you know, there's a part of me that will probably never evolve beyond the mentality of a fourteen year old girl. And right now, that teenage girl inside me is quivering with excitement. 

Here's the trailer for Red Riding Hood:

Granted this looks like it could actually be a slight retuning of Twilight. Some of the shots look like they were lifted right out of that movie. Same director, so why not stick with what gets tweens wet, right? It worked on me.

And ever since Mean Girls, that teenage girl inside me has loved Amanda Seyfried, and that love only grew deeper with her delightful turn in the hugely underrated Jennifer's Body. She has dramatic chops, and though I have nothing against Kristen Stewart, she ain't no Amanda, that's for sure.

The trailer is quite nicely put together, and the shots suggest a nice aesthetic to me, so my hopes are pretty high right now.

Not too mention the near timelessness of the subject matter. This story has been passed down for hundreds of years and a fresh take with a bunch of fresh faces just might prove to be good. Also, depending on who's telling the story, the grotesquery of the tale varies, with some versions even having our little Red unwittingly cannibalizing her own grandmother.

So, they could take this in any number of directions. I do hope the love story elements don't drag the thing down though, but we'll see.

What this trailer looks like to me is a little bit of Twilight with a dash of Sleepy Hollow thrown in. Intriguing to say the least.

I just hope I don't cream my little red tween panties before March!

XOXO

D-bag

Zone 261...

So, here's a trailer for an upcoming Swedish zombie film.


ZONE 261 - Trailer from ZON 261 on Vimeo.

Interesting to say the least. The zombies seem to be a cross between the runners pioneered in the wake of 28 Days Later and the intelligent pseudo zombies of the later Resident Evil games, as they seem to be able to wield weapons.

Apparently, the film is as much about xenophobia and immigrant-native tensions as it is about zombies. I didn't see any of that here, but hey, who knows!

The effects are obviously digitally painted on, but they look good enough. The fact that there are four survivors and the circling camera angle is very reminiscent of the trailers for the Left 4 Dead series, particularly the second entry--which is an amazing game by the way.



All similarities aside, I really love me some melee action. And from the pipes and bars the characters grab here, I hope we can at least look forward to some good old fashioned zombie clobbering.

Side note, when the zombie apocalypse happens, always have a good melee weapon with you. Meaning something to beat things off with. Like a crow bar, for example. No real need to aim, just swing batter-batter and you're likely to hit something and force those teeth away from you. Also, if you're in a hurry, you can always just use your melee weapon to cripple the zombies and make it so they can't pursue you.

With stabbing weapons there's a greater risk of blood splatter, which means a greater risk of contamination. Humans are fleshy and full of bones, so there's also a chance your bladed weapon will get stuck in the zombie and you won't be able to get it back out. Not that bladed weapons aren't useful, but make sure to keep a melee weapon too. Bash and run, that's what I always say!

Back to the trailer. As many of you know, I am a sucker for strong female characters and the look on the lead girl's face here when the horde shows up leads me to believe she is just the kind of hard bitch I like.


Also, how quickly is the little zombie girl becoming a cliché? I mean really, they're popping up everywhere these days.

xoxo

D-bag

Project begins filming in Ottawa...

So, a film called The Day began filming here in town today. It sounds kind of like a rip off of TV's 24, but the film follows an ensemble cast for twenty four hours as they face an apocalyptic type threat.

Keep an eye out for genre veterans, including:

Lost's Dominic Monaghan:



Shannyn Sossaman (Catacombs, One Missed Call)

Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism)

and Canada's own Shawn Ashmore (The Ruins, Frozen)

Be vigilant, Ottawans! I want to hear about sightings!

XOXO

D-bag

Getting even more excited for Black Swan...

Because of this throwback promotional artwork. Very retro.

Black Swan follows newly minted prima ballerina Nina (Natalie Portman) as she prepares for an upcoming production of Swan Lake. With the mounting pressure and the appearance of rival ballerina Lilly (Mila Kunis), Nina's grip on reality may just start becoming little loose.

I have very high expectations of this film. The first two posters are definitely my favourite.

Black Swan doesn't open in Ottawa until December. It's generating huge buzz already though.

XOXO

D-bag

Seven Minutes in Heaven...

Some really intriguing news about an upcoming genre project was broken by The Hollywood Reporter yesterday.

It seems that J.J. Abrams (who seems to bleed money whenever he touches a project) is developing something called Seven Minutes in Heaven, a film based on the game high school kids play where two of them go into the closet to make out/do whatever for seven minutes.

Except here, "While plot details are being suppressed, it is known to focus on two teens who go into a closet as part of the titular game and find all their friends dead when they come back out."

Abrams is set to produce, while a long time collaborator of his named Jack Bender, who most recently directed the series finale of Lost, will direct the project. They're currently shopping around for a screen writer.

I'm not sure why exactly, but I find this premise super interesting. I really liked both Cloverfield and the Star Trek reboot, and at points early on in the series, followed Alias and Lost. All of those are Abrams projects and he seems to have a really good understanding of where things are in the industry and of what will captivate audiences .

I also remember playing our own variation of that game in middle school even (shudder) with my friends, and have a strong fondness for teen horror projects when they're done well. So, I am very excited for this project. and will keep all of you loyal readers abreast (tee hee) of new goings on about it.

XOXO

D-Bag