"Mad scientists never seem to follow the rules…" by Megan Seling 2. DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Mad scientists never seem to follow the rules… Human Centipede I don't want to spoil any surprises, but I will say that we have some really fantastic film recommendations lined up for Scarecrow’s Psychotronic Challenge.  Today’s entry, though, is… not that. Still, when I saw the prompt to watch a movie centered around a mad scientist, I couldn’t not make a case for The Human Centipede (First Sequence), if only for its fascinating place in cinematic and pop culture history.  When director Tom Six announced the first installment of what would become the Human Centipede trilogy in 2009, the film was an instant phenomenon. It was inescapable. Talking heads endlessly cited it as an example of how desensitized and depraved humankind had become that we could only be shocked or entertained by something as grotesque and inhumane as a “medically accurate” depiction of a Nazi doctor sewing three strangers together, mouth to asshole. There was an avalanche of unofficial merch, from T-shirts to Christmas ornaments to cat toys. There were porn parodies of it and references to it on all the big shows at the time, including SNL, Glee, and The Simpsons. Conan O’Brien featured a Human Centipede menorah on Late Night (or was it The Tonight Show?), the film’s plot was used in an episode of South Park, and then… poof. It all but disappeared from the mainstream. Hardly anyone watched it. According to IMDB.com, The Human Centipede (First Sequence) only grossed $12,424 during its opening weekend in the US and Canada and $325,113 worldwide. The sequels—The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011) and The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence) (2015)—didn’t help drum up new interest either. IMDB says they grossed $170,323 and $16,184 worldwide, respectively. Even Hawk Tuah girl was able to convert her shorter-lived virality for much more than that. There is a cult following, of course—just take a look at Six’s Twitter feed to see that die-hards are getting Human Centipede-inspired tattoos in the year of our Lord, 2024—but the film can only be considered a flop.  Is it because it was too disgusting? Or not disgusting enough? Did the *idea* of Human Centipede oversell the actual product and make the film's clinical and slow execution even more disappointing? There was a time when The Human Centipede captivated a nation. I was sure, just with that alone, it would’ve maintained a place in our stratosphere or, at the very least, become a regularly revisited cinematic time capsule like The Rocky Horror Picture Show or A Clockwork Orange or Showgirls. That it so quickly and deeply amounted to almost nothing makes it all the scarier. Best quote: “Feed her! FEED HER!” Snack suggestion: Three cupcakes “sewn” together with a single Red Vine. The Stranger is participating in Scarecrow Video’s Psychotronic Challenge all month long! Every October, Scarecrow puts together a list of cinematic themes and invites folks to follow along and watch a horror, sci-fi, or fantasy flick that meets the criteria. This year, Stranger staffers are joining the fun and we’re going to share our daily recommendations here on Slog! Read more about Scarecrow’s 2024 challenge—and get the watch list—here. And you can track our daily recommendations here! 💀