The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

Lore & Background

The plot follows Martin Lomax, a short, obese, asthmatic, and mentally challenged man living in a council flat with his emotionally abusive mother. He watches The Human Centipede (First Sequence) obsessively and decides to replicate the procedure with twelve victims. Martin acquires a warehouse after killing the owner, abducts people including a pregnant woman and actress Ashlynn Yennie, and assembles his centipede using a staple gun, duct tape, and a hammer to knock out teeth. He force-feeds the front victim, tears out her tongue, injects laxatives to cause forced defecation, and wraps his genitals in barbed wire to rape the back victim. The pregnant woman escapes, gives birth, and accidentally crushes her baby's skull. Martin kills most victims when the centipede breaks apart, and is ultimately stabbed by Ashlynn Yennie's character after she shoves a funnel and his pet centipede into his rectum.

Reader's Guide

The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) received substantial attention and controversy for its graphic depictions of violence, sexual violence, forced defecation, and overall body horror. It was subject to heavy censorship worldwide, often edited or banned. Critically panned, it was criticized for acting, plot, editing, and violence, though Laurence R. Harvey's performance received some praise. Tom Six made the film a metafilm after reporters asked about copycat crimes; he intentionally made it more graphic than the first, shooting in color but editing in black and white. The film's US premiere at Fantastic Fest included complimentary barf bags and an ambulance as a gimmick; one audience member became physically ill. The film was released unrated with only midnight showings, and a full-color version debuted in 2015.

Did You Know?

• Mark Hamill was offered an undisclosed role but turned it down, saying he was 'disgusted' by the premise.
• Tom Six stated the sequel would be much more graphic, making the first film seem like 'My Little Pony compared with part two.'
• The film's tagline was '100% medically inaccurate', contrasting with the first film's '100% medically accurate' claim.
• A Tennessee high school teacher was suspended in April 2016 after playing the film during class.

Narrative Premise and Character Architecture

The film centers on Martin Lomax, a short, obese, asthmatic, and mentally challenged man in East London who becomes fixated on the first Human Centipede film after watching it on his laptop in a parking garage tollbooth. His domestic life is defined by an emotionally abusive mother who blames him for his father's imprisonment, and a psychiatrist, Dr. Sebring, who inappropriately touches him and dismisses his fixation on building a twelve-person centipede as a passing phase tied to his childhood sexual abuse. Martin's obsession escalates from keeping a pet centipede and maintaining a scrapbook of notes to the violent acquisition of a warehouse, the killing of its owner, and the systematic abduction of his intended victims. The narrative is structured around his methodical, if crude, construction of the centipede, his disturbing experiments with the assembled chain, and the eventual collapse of his project when one victim frees himself and the chain breaks apart, triggering Martin's rage and the killing of the remaining victims.

Production Vision and Sequel Context

Tom Six announced in 2010 that he was developing a sequel, describing it as significantly more graphic than the original—comparing the first film to My Little Pony relative to the second. The planned tagline, 100% medically inaccurate, deliberately inverted the 100% medically accurate claim of the 2009 predecessor. The sequel expanded the centipede from three victims to twelve, and Six indicated a possible third installment contingent on the film's success. Casting connections to the first film were woven directly into the narrative: Ashlynn Yennie, who played Jenny in the original, appears as a victim lured under false pretenses of being a Quentin Tarantino casting agent. At the Weekend of Horrors convention in May 2010, Yennie and co-star Akihiro Kitamura hinted their characters might return despite their on-screen deaths, while Ashley C. Williams confirmed she was shooting a horror film in Britain, fueling speculation she would reprise her role as Lindsay. The production was an international co-production between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Critical Reception and Global Censorship

The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) was overwhelmingly panned by critics, with particular criticism directed at its acting, plot construction, editing, and the sheer volume of its violent content. Despite the broad negative consensus, Laurence R. Harvey's portrayal of Martin Lomax drew some favorable attention from reviewers, suggesting that even within a widely derided production, individual performances could register. Beyond critical response, the film encountered substantial censorship worldwide. In various territories, distributors were required to edit out objectionable material—particularly the graphic depictions of sexual violence, forced defecation, and body horror—or face outright bans. The film's international co-production status between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom meant it navigated multiple regulatory frameworks, each with different thresholds for acceptable content. The combination of critical dismissal and regulatory suppression made the film a case study in how extreme body horror is received and restricted across different cultural and legal contexts.

The Centipede's Assembly and Thematic Function

Martin's construction of the twelve-person centipede is the film's central set piece, executed with deliberately crude methods that underscore his intellectual limitations. Following sketches and notes derived from the first film, he severs the ligaments in each victim's knees to immobilize them and knocks out their teeth with a hammer. When his attempt to surgically mutilate a victim's buttocks results in her bleeding to death, he abandons surgical tools in favor of a staple gun and duct tape to attach each person's lips to the next person's buttocks. The pregnant woman, originally intended for the front position out of sympathy, is presumed dead and set aside, leaving a ten-person chain with Ashlynn Yennie at the head. Martin then force-feeds the chain, injects laxatives to trigger a cascading defecation, and wraps barbed wire around his genitals before raping the woman at the rear. The centipede's eventual separation—when one victim frees his lips—destroys Martin's project and precipitates his killing of the remaining victims.

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