My record for On Demand-ing movies in a single weekend stands at 11. I'm told by people with social lives that for someone who wasn't sick or otherwise housebound that that's a pretty impressive figure. It was during one such Saturday-into-Sunday loaf back in early May that I discovered a small IFC Film that, since its initial limited release on April 30th, is slowly gaining momentum to be the most disturbing horror movie of the year, maybe even the decade. It's called The Human Centipede, and don't think too hard—the title tells you exactly what you're in for. And as my friend who watched it with me a second time this past Sunday astutely observed when he said, "It's 10 minutes in, and I'm already in the crazy man's house watching him do crazy things," Dutch director Tom Six (who also wrote the script) takes this same economical, to-the-point approach with the plot development as well. Fortunately for us, the filmmaker was willing to answer some questions about his first foray into horror, and explain just how the hell a nice guy with a great sense of humor—and a filmography of mostly satires—came up with such a twisted concept.

Enjoy?

Please describe the moment you first thought of the concept for The Human Centipede. Was it one of those lightbulb ideas that crept up on you when you least expected it?

The basic idea for the film came from when my friends and I saw a news story about a child molester. I said they should stitch his mouth to the back of a very fat truck-driver as punishment. Everybody thought that idea was so horrific. Eventually, it came to me that it was a great concept for a horror film!

How critical was casting the right Dr. Heiter? How far along in the casting process before you found Dieter Laser? (pictured above left)

I saw the incredible Dieter Laser in a film when I was writing the script, and he was my only choice for the part. I absolutely loved his on-screen charisma and intensity. So Ilona, my sister (and a co-producer) and I flew to Berlin, showed the script to him, and luckily he loved it. The deal was done in a few hours.

As far as mad scientists go, where do you think Dr. Heiter ranks, cinematically? Were there any horror film villains or real-life criminals you looked to when developing his character?

There are some great iconic mad doctors/scientists in film—Frankenstein, as an obvious example. But I didn't develop him with any of these characters in mind. Dr. Heiter was more influenced by the scary German Nazi doctors during World War II. People say he is a new horror icon, and I've heard him be compared with Hannibal Lecter. That makes me of course very proud.

What is Laser, the actor, really like?

I absolutely love Dieter. He's a great person and very sweet—

Sweet?

Yes! On first sight, his face makes you think otherwise, and I have to laugh when audiences compare his face with a dehydrated Christopher Walken's or an evil turtle's, but the truth is, no one could have played Dr.Heiter better than he did. He was born to play that part.

Why was the film set in Germany? Why were the victims American and Japanese?

When I first had the Human Centipede concept, I knew the surgeon had to be German. My nightmares were always about Nazi doctors, and so it made sense to set the film in Germany. For the victims, I had seen so many American horror films from the `80s with naïve American teens getting themselves into trouble—and I liked that idea—so I cast two pretty American girls. As for the Japanese part, I really love Japan's horror films, and I wanted the "head" of the centipede not to be able to communicate with the doctor or the girls and vice versa.

So, from the beginning, you knew you wanted psychological horror as well as graphic horror?

Yes, both, because for me, the fun as a filmmaker is to create for people a film they'll remember for a long time. There are so many movies now that, from the moment you see them you forget about them. I hope this film gave people something so weird, so beyond their day-to-day life and the clichéd films they have seen that they'll want to think and talk and argue about it afterwards.

What has the general audience reaction been like so far?

Some people are absolutely shocked about it, while others had the time of their life laughing so hard! It's a pretty personal experience, I think.

Before The Human Centipede, your films were all comedies. What led you to try horror?

I have a real love for horror. In Holland, we made two dark comedies and a children's film, so to make a Dutch language horror film didn't feel right. This would be my first international film, and I wanted it to be horror. I always have some pretty crazy and controversial horror film ideas in the making in my head.

But this isn't all you, right? There must have been some medical consulting required for the script.

Yes. I consulted a Dutch surgeon, because I wanted the centipede construction to be 100% medically accurate. At first, the doctor thought the idea was too crazy, but later (and I think because he is a movie fan) he helped me out and crafted a very precise report on how this operation could be done. He told me he could actually make a human centipede in a hospital—the reality of that makes the film much scarier for the audience.

What was the atmosphere like on-set? As scary as the movie was, some of the scenes—especially when the three victims were connected to one other—had to get a silly after a while.

Aki, Ashlynn and Ashley were very brave and very good actors. To play such an emotionally and physically intense part as this...it was very surreal, both for them and the crew. The three of them actually invented a hilarious human centipede dance to release the tension on the set. We'll include that on the DVD.

Word is, you're already starting on the sequel. Since much of the first film's success comes from its shock value, how do you plan to match it now that the concept is out of the bag?

I had a lot of crazy ideas, some of them I couldn't fit into the first film. So now that people are used to the centipede idea, I can now go "full force" in the sequel. The film will have a 12-person centipede and the storyline will be just as original. The first film will be like My Little Pony compared to the second one!

You've received some pretty strongly-worded reviews for this film. Which has been your favorite so far?

I think I like Roger Ebert's the best. The man is a legend, and I am very honored he even watched my film. In his career, I don't think he's ever given a film no stars. He wrote that it belonged "in a place where the stars don't shine." I take that as a compliment.

—Johanna Cox

Photo: Courtesy of IFC Films

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