Some community members defended the film's creativity and the list as subjective opinion.
A group of devoted scary film fans recently learned that a controversial 2011 film was included on a widely respected outlet's list of the "best horror movies of all time." The inclusion of The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) has sparked a passionate social media outrage.
Variety Named 'The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)' One of the 'Best Horror Movies of All Time'
In October 2024, Variety published its list of "the 100 best horror movies of all time." The outlet named the 2011 body horror film The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) as the 92nd greatest scary movie ever made. Considering how controversial the movie has been since it was released, it was a shocking inclusion from an outlet that has long been seen as one of the most respected entities in entertainment journalism.
Highly scandalous from the start, a review of The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) from The Guardian noted that it was banned in the U.K. upon its release. The review also called it "one of the most disgusting films ever made" and "one of the most tedious" at the same time. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently has a 28% Tomatometer score based on 83 reviews from critics and 23% on the Popcornmeter based on more than 10,000 user ratings.
The Most Brutal Fan Reactions to the Ranking
Dead Meat is a YouTube channel with nearly 7 million subscribers that is dedicated to horror movies. It has fostered one of the most supportive and kind communities in online fandom thanks to the leadership of its hosts James A. Janisse, Chelsea Rebecca, and Zoran Gvojic. The community has its own subreddit, r/deadmeatjames. Even though it is generally kindhearted, many members didn't hold back when a user recently posted about The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) being included on Variety's list.
On April 19, a user on the subreddit posted an image of The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)'s entry on the list and asked others for their thoughts. Perhaps the most telling response came from someone who wrote a single word, "Ew." Another commenter wrote that the film should be ranked on a "top 100 worst horror films of all time" list instead. They added that remembering scenes from it makes them "feel sick."
One of the highest-upvoted responses came from someone who argued that The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) shouldn't even be considered a scary film. "That movie is just yuckslop, not even a horror movie, it's just gross. Don't even get me started on the sandpaper s**t."
While the majority of responses were strongly against the ranking, that wasn't the universal reaction. For example, one person defended the ranking as just one person's opinion and argued that saying The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) isn't a horror movie is "ignorant." Another went further by calling the film "creative," writing that "the main actor is amazingly terrifying," and praising the movie overall.
