THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (FIRST SEQUENCE)

THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (FIRST SEQUENCE) is a horror film about an insane German surgeon who kidnaps three tourists and surgically attaches them to each other to form a 'human centipede'. The film was classified '18' for strong bloody violence, threat and horror.

The central conceit, in which three people are surgically attached anus to mouth to share a single gastrointestinal tract, provides the film's elements of horror and threat as the victims are chained up, drugged and left terrified by the surgeon's explanations of what he plans to do to them. The actual surgical process is not shown in any significant detail. Instead, the nature of the procedure is hinted at by two short scenes. In one, the surgeon removes one of the women's teeth with pliers, resulting in a lot of blood but with the actual process of removal hidden by the positioning of the characters' bodies. In the other, a scalpel is seen cutting into the flesh of a woman's buttocks before a bloody flap of skin is lifted. These bloody scenes, plus the later shooting of several characters with blood sprays from wounds and the stabbing of a scalpel into a man's legs, breach the BBFC's Guidelines at '15' which state that 'violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or

injury'. Once the surgery is completed, no detail is shown of the contact between the faces and anuses of the victims, because the attachments between them are covered in bandages. Although the central idea of the film is undoubtedly grotesque and revolting, the Guidelines state that 'works should be allowed to reach the widest audience that is appropriate for their theme and treatment' and that 'adults should, as far as possible, be free to choose what they see, provided that it remains within the law and is not potentially harmful'. The Board has taken legal advice which indicates that THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE is not in breach of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 or any other relevant legislation. In terms of harm, the scenario is so far fetched and bizarre that there is no plausible risk of emulation.

The film also contains multiple uses of strong language, some strong verbal sex references as a man talks about women being 'wet between the legs', and infrequent non-sexualised nudity as the female victims crawl around with their breasts partially exposed.