Beyond Ratings: Roger Ebert's Response to 'The Human Centipede' and Other Provocative Films
Roger Ebert, a renowned film critic, encountered a film that left him so disturbed that he refused to give it a star rating. This film was "The Human Centipede (First Sequence)," a 2009 body horror that pushed Ebert to reject his usual rating system. While Ebert typically used a four-star rating system for his written reviews, he occasionally resorted to a simple "thumbs down" for films that he found particularly objectionable. However, "The Human Centipede" fell into a category where Ebert felt that assigning a rating was futile, as it existed in a realm beyond traditional evaluation.
Ebert's refusal to rate certain films, such as "The Human Centipede," highlighted the limitations of the star rating system in capturing the essence of certain movies. In the case of "The Human Centipede," Ebert believed that the film transcended conventional notions of good or bad and instead occupied a dark and disturbing space where traditional ratings were irrelevant. This rejection of the star rating system underscored Ebert's recognition of the film's unique and unsettling nature, which defied easy categorization.
While "The Human Centipede" stood out as a film that Ebert refused to rate, it was not the only movie to elicit such a response from the critic. Other films, such as "Pink Flamingos" and "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls," also fell outside the scope of Ebert's star rating system. These films challenged traditional notions of cinema and pushed boundaries in ways that made them difficult to assess using conventional metrics. Ebert's refusal to assign ratings to these films reflected his acknowledgment of their unconventional and provocative nature.
In the case of "The Human Centipede," Ebert's refusal to rate the film underscored its extreme and disturbing content, which left a lasting impact on the critic. The film's graphic depiction of a deranged surgeon's twisted experiment shocked Ebert and led him to question the appropriateness of applying a star rating to such a disturbing work. Ultimately, Ebert's decision to forego a rating for "The Human Centipede" highlighted the film's ability to provoke strong reactions and challenge traditional notions of cinematic evaluation.