usually i'm not one for banning films, i mean that's what censorship is there for to allow adults (18s) to judge for themselves if they would find a film suitable for themselves, but this just sounds unnecessarily horrific. on the other hand i hate it when people judge something without first hand knowledge of the film/book/incident, see Life of Brian, Ross and Brand's "sachsgate" etc. but i'm pleased that the BBFC aren't indulging the filmakers in this pseudo art crap

alternatively if i didn't want to watch it i wouldn't regardless whether it was banned or not...hmmm i'm not really sure what my stance is on this

The sequel to ‘The Human Centipede’ has been refused a UK cinema release.

The imaginatively titled ‘The Human Centipede II’ was rejected by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) on the basis that it is "sexually violent and potentially obscene".

[See also: Most disturbing films ever]

This ban also means that DVDs of the film will not be allowed to be legally supplied in the UK. Although it will probably be available online in some capacity, the horror flick is destined to be shunned by regular film fans.

The original film was released, uncut, as an 18 certificate last year. The follow-up has "unacceptable material" throughout which cannot be remedied with cuts, according to the BBFC. The filmmakers have six weeks to appeal against the decision.

Other films to have been banned from the UK include ‘Freaks’, ‘The Wild One’, ‘Black Sunday’, ‘The Trip’, ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’, ‘Visions of Ecstasy’, ‘Mikey’ and ‘Grotesque’. Many of these films were eventually released so perhaps we may see ‘The Human Centipede II’ at some point in the future.

[See also: Sinister movies based on kids stories]

Full explanation from the BBFC can be seen below (contains material that may offend):

"The first film dealt with a mad doctor who sews together three kidnapped people in order to produce the ‘human centipede’ of the title. Although the concept of the film was undoubtedly tasteless and disgusting it was a relatively traditional and conventional horror film and the Board concluded that it was not in breach of our Guidelines at ‘18’. This new work, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), tells the story of a man who becomes sexually obsessed with a DVD recording of the first film and who imagines putting the ‘centipede’ idea into practice. Unlike the first film, the sequel presents graphic images of sexual violence, forced defecation, and mutilation, and the viewer is invited to witness events from the perspective of the protagonist. Whereas in the first film the ‘centipede’ idea is presented as a revolting medical experiment, with the focus on whether the victims will be able to escape, this sequel presents the ‘centipede’ idea as the object of the protagonist’s depraved sexual fantasy.

The principal focus of The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) is the sexual arousal of the central character at both the idea and the spectacle of the total degradation, humiliation, mutilation, torture, and murder of his naked victims. Examples of this include a scene early in the film in which he masturbates whilst he watches a DVD of the original Human Centipede film, with sandpaper wrapped around his penis, and a sequence later in the film in which he becomes aroused at the sight of the members of the ‘centipede’ being forced to defecate into one another’s mouths, culminating in sight of the man wrapping barbed wire around his penis and raping the woman at the rear of the ‘centipede’. There is little attempt to portray any of the victims in the film as anything other than objects to be brutalised, degraded and mutilated for the amusement and arousal of the central character, as well as for the pleasure of the audience. There is a strong focus throughout on the link between sexual arousal and sexual violence and a clear association between pain, perversity and sexual pleasure. It is the Board’s conclusion that the explicit presentation of the central character’s obsessive sexually violent fantasies is in breach of its Classification Guidelines and poses a real, as opposed to a fanciful, risk that harm is likely to be caused to potential viewers.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said: “It is the Board's carefully considered view that to issue a certificate to this work, even if confined to adults, would be inconsistent with the Board's Guidelines, would risk potential harm within the terms of the VRA, and would be unacceptable to the public.

“The Board also seeks to avoid classifying material that may be in breach of the Obscene Publications Acts 1959 and 1964 (OPA) or any other relevant legislation. The OPA prohibits the publication of works that have a tendency to deprave or corrupt a significant proportion of those likely to see them. In order to avoid classifying potentially obscene material, the Board engages in regular discussions with the relevant enforcement agencies, including the CPS, the police, and the Ministry of Justice. It is the Board’s view that there is a genuine risk that this video work, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), may be considered obscene within the terms of the OPA, for the reasons given above."