Still from “The Human Centipede” courtesy IFC Films.

Standing in line for the D.C. premiere of The Human Centipede, I was compelled to get to know a bit about my fellow moviegoers. It’s got to be a special breed that comes out at midnight to see what can be described in short as this: Three tourists are sewn together via the gastric system and made to crawl around as a reconstructed Siamese triplet by a psychotic German surgeon.

Matthew Razak of Arlington was hooked by the hype and the sneak previews. “It’s kind of like you’ve seen the trailer and now you have to see it.” Matt’s brother Mike hadn’t seen the previews, but had heard enough to pique his interest. “All I know is there’s some mouth to anus surgery which seems not only impressive but also kind of intriguing.”

And billed by the producers as “100 % medically accurate.” Whatever that means.

Reviews of the film have been exceedingly negative. To wit: “This is a movie that assaults your soul and leaves you changed.” “Guaranteed — in fact, engineered — to encourage early walkouts.” “It might draw the adventurous to test their stomachs’ strength, but ultimately ‘Human Centipede’ is really only for a (hopefully) very small community.”

Still, that didn’t stop curious locals from being drawn to the theater for a night of disturbia. Not that they necessarily wanted anyone to know they were there. The first person in line for the theater was not interested in being quoted about his interest in the film. Nor was the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th.