Tom Six (born 29 August 1973) is a Dutch filmmaker, writer, and actor. He is best known for his trilogy of
body horror
Body horror or biological horror is a subgenre of horror that intentionally showcases grotesque or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body. These violations may manifest through aberrant sex, mutations, mutilation, zombification, ...
films; ''
The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
''The Human Centipede (First Sequence)'' is a 2009 Dutch body horror film written, directed and co-produced by Tom Six. The film tells the story of a deranged German surgeon who kidnaps three tourists and joins them surgically, mouth to anus, ...
'', ''
The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)
''The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)'' is a 2011 exploitation body horror film written, directed, and co-produced by Tom Six. An international co-production of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and the sequel to Six's 2009 film ''The ...
,'' and ''
The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)
''The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)'' is a 2015 English-language Dutch black comedy body horror film written and directed by Tom Six. It is the conclusion to Six's ''The Human Centipede'' trilogy.
Starring Dieter Laser and Laurence R. Ha ...
''. Six was an original director of Dutch
reality TV
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
series
''Big Brother'', which has since become an
international franchise.
Early life
Tom Six was born in
Alkmaar
Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...
,
North Holland
North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...
, in the Netherlands on 29 August 1973.
Career
Six started a film production company with his sister Ilona called ''Six Entertainment'', where he wrote and directed such films as ''Gay in Amsterdam'', ''Honeyz'' and ''I Love Dries'' (later retitled ''What the F**k?!''), about the aspiring Dutch singer
Dries Roelvink
Dries Roelvink (born 1 January 1959 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch singer of the ''Levenslied'' genre. He was born in the Jordaan and was raised in the folkish tradition of the ''Jordaanlied'' ( en, Jordaan song).
In 2007 he tried to perform at the Ro ...
.
Six had success with the film ''
The Human Centipede
''The Human Centipede (First Sequence)'' is a 2009 Dutch body horror film written, directed and co-produced by Tom Six. The film tells the story of a deranged German surgeon who kidnaps three tourists and joins them surgically, mouth to human a ...
''. Although it met with mixed reviews and reactions, ''The Human Centipede'' garnered widespread attention. The first film's success gave Six the flexibility he needed to work on a sequel, ''
The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)
''The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)'' is a 2011 exploitation body horror film written, directed, and co-produced by Tom Six. An international co-production of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and the sequel to Six's 2009 film ''The ...
'', eventually leading to a trilogy. He made the first film to get viewers comfortable with the idea of the Human Centipede. Both the controversial content of the first film and the second's brutal depictions of sexual violence have generated controversy. In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, the
BBFC
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
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".
Six then submitted a new
cut
Cut may refer to:
Common uses
* The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force
** A type of wound
** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past
** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment
** Cut (ea ...
with two minutes and 37 seconds removed and received the 18 certificate. Six responded with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was devastated that he had to cut his film, and on the other, the decision of the BBFC gained much press and notoriety. He has said, "In the UK, censors cut many minutes from ''The Human Centipede 2'' by law. It feels like I made a comedy and they cut out all the good jokes. It’s appalling. Nobody is forced to see a movie."
The final film in the ''Human Centipede'' series, ''
The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)
''The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)'' is a 2015 English-language Dutch black comedy body horror film written and directed by Tom Six. It is the conclusion to Six's ''The Human Centipede'' trilogy.
Starring Dieter Laser and Laurence R. Ha ...
'', was released on 22 May 2015. Tom Six's idea was that each of the three sequences of ''The Human Centipede'' can stand on their own as a self-contained film, or they can be connected into a single 4.5 hour-long movie. ''The Human Centipede 2'' begins where the original ends, while ''The Human Centipede 3'' begins where ''The Human Centipede 2'' ends; therefore, the three films together make a "movie centipede" titled ''The Human Centipede (Complete Sequence)''.
Six is currently trying to distribute the satirical psychological horror film ''The Onania Club'', originally due in 2017, but later delayed to 2019, and now with no release date. He previously commented on the matter, saying that "great art takes time." However, in 2021, Six admitted there have been issues getting it released after the distributor decided not to release it, which led to Six asking fans for support to get it released.
Filmography
Notes
References
External links
*
*
Interview with Tom Six*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Six, Tom
1973 births
Living people
Dutch film directors
Dutch screenwriters
Dutch male screenwriters
People from Alkmaar
Horror film directors