The Human Centipede 3 Final Sequence As Horrible As You D Expect

The Human Centipede franchise is one for which I’ve never quite understood the appeal – assuming “appeal” is even the correct word. The first film had a creepy leading performance from Dieter Laser, and I suppose the premise was something we hadn’t seen before, but for all the hype, the shock horror just wasn’t all that good, and it got dull really quick. The second one, filmed in black and white, went for a more meta approach, but basically copied the first film’s plot and was even duller – yes, even though the titular human centipede was larger. Now, we have a third film in this trilogy, and it’s just as bad, if not worse, than the previous chapters, except this time with a more annoying protagonist and a more self-indulgent, self-congratulatory tone. The plot of The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence) will not surprise those of you who had the misfortune of sitting through the previous two films. A man – in this case, a racist and homophobic prison warden named Bill Boss (Dieter Laser; yes, the lead of the first film) – after much meandering around, winds up building a human centipede, which consists of joining the digestive tracks of multiple human beings and sewing them together anus-to-mouth. The idea this time around is conceived by the warden’s accountant, Dwight (Laurence R. Harvey, lead of the second film), who is a big fan of the first two Human Centipede movies, much like the protagonist of the second film was a fan of the first film. The meta is strong in this one. Dieter Laser was the highlight of the first Human Centipede film, turning in an incredibly creepy performance in the leading role. He could make your skin crawl every moment he was on-screen. Here, he’s too hammy and over-the-top to do that, even though he tries really, really hard. There isn’t a politically incorrect phrase he doesn’t use as Bill Boss, and there’s no action he won’t take in hopes of getting a rise out of an audience. It’s tiresome, much like the entire movie – and much like the entire franchise. Laurence R. Harvey was also creepy when he was the lead of the second film. This time around, he’s just kind of there. Eric Roberts, who many years ago was nominated for an Oscar – something that Academy probably regrets at this point – shows up for a couple of scenes as a Governor who’s not exactly fond of Boss and his prison. Bree Olson probably turns in the “best” performance, even if that isn’t saying much. Everything is just awful. Bottom Line: We didn’t need a new Human Centipede, particularly one that’s as dull and self-congratulatory as this one. Recommendation: Shock horror fans have hopefully already moved on, but if you haven’t, now’s the time to do so. [rating=0.5]