| Tom Six | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 29, 1973 Alkmaar, Noord-Holland, Netherlands |
| Other names | "Tommy Six-shooter",[1] "The Amsterdam Slam"[2] |
| Occupation | Television director, filmmaker, artist |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Height | 1.83 m[3] |
| Weight | Welterweight[4] |
Tom Six is a Dutch filmmaker best known for his body horror films, The Human Centipede (First Sequence) and The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence).
Contents |
"Tom Six" was born in Alkmaar, Noord-Holland, in the Netherlands on August, 29, 1973. He has stated that his love of film began at an early age, when he would run around with his grandfather's camera, recording the world around him. His birth name is actually Tom Six. Six was heavily influenced by a number of horror films released during his upbringing, such as the 1975 Italian "drama" film Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom and the 1979 Canadian horror film The Brood. Six has stated that Salò is the sickest film he has ever seen.[5] Six married his wife Kate Jones in early 2009. Tom Six's trademark outfit consists of a cowboy hat and sunglasses. He is also an AK-47 enthusiast, a painter and a "curryholic" (a person with an affinity for spicy curries). He owns a pug named Nigel.[6]
Tom Six began his directoral career in television, at Endemol, a Dutch production company notable for creating Big Brother. As a result of Six's integral role in Big Brother and its universal success, he traveled the world teaching other directors about the concept of 24-hour surveillance. However, citing a desire to make his own films, Six eventually started a company with his sister, where he wrote and directed such films as Gay in Amsterdam, Honeyz and I Love Dries (about the aspiring Dutch singer Dries Roelvink).[7]
Tom Six is best known for his involvement in The Human Centipede franchise. Although met with mixed reactions, ranging from praises of genius to cries of dementia, The Human Centipede garnered universal recognition. The first film's success gave Six the flexibility he needed to work on a sequel, The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence). Six has stated numerous times that he always wanted to create a sequel, and used the first film to get viewers comfortable with the psychological aspect of their subject matter. Both the controversial content of the first film and the second's brutal depictions of sexual violence have generated a firestorm of controversy. Six has found himself on the receiving end of numerous death threats and directly personal attacks as a result of the potentially "dangerous" implications of his work. Most recently, in the United Kingdom, the BBFC declined to issue an 18 certificate for The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence), highlighting the antagonist's "total degradation, humiliation, mutilation, torture, and murder of his naked victims".[8] Six then submitted a new cut with two minutes and 37 seconds removed and received the 18 certificate.
Six is currently working on The Human Centipede 3, which he claims will make the second installment "look like a Disney movie".[9]
Tom Six makes a point of meticulously researching and thinking through his various projects. While working on the concept for The Human Centipede, Six purportedly contacted a Dutch surgeon in order to ensure that the film was truly "100% medically accurate". Although resistant at first, the surgeon eventually agreed to discuss the matter with Six, even going so far as to produce a detailed medical report on the viability of a human centipede.[10] Six consistently claims that there is an intellectual and artistic method to his madness. Ever aware of the fact that he is pushing cinematic boundaries, Six has proven himself fascinated by the notion of visual debauchery as art. He has stated that he always intended to create more than one Centipede film, and used the first one as a tool to get viewers accustomed to the idea. The meta elements entrenched within Centipede 2 act as a metaphorical reminder that Six's films are ultimately was he describes as "works of art", rather than the reality that they portray. The division between fantasy and reality is present in both his filmography and interview rhetoric.[11]