Antibodies
This review was written for the theatrical screening of "Antibodies". Films about serial killers have become so ubiquitous that they now form a subgenre of the crime movie. Even so, "Antibodies" (Antikorper), a new German film by Christian Alvart, has a bracingly original take on the matter. Make no mistake, it's a creepy thriller that will unsettle many. Nor will every viewer go along with the writer-director's decision to make a philosophical foray into Catholic theology in light of this battle between good and evil. But Alvart does put the viewer through a gripping experience with a final twist few will see coming.
Hard to imagine this film existing without Thomas Harris' book (and later movie) series about Hannibal Lecter. Indeed, the film acknowledges this debt when its serial killer makes a snide reference to the character. For, like Lecter, Gabriel Engel (Andre Hennicke) is an appalling monster. Captured by police in a slam-bang opening, he immediately confesses to the rape and murder of 13 boys.
Michael Martens (Wotan Wilke Mohring) is an uptight and somewhat priggish part-time cop and farmer in a tight-knit Catholic village where a local girl was brutally murdered. His determined investigation has alienated many townspeople, including his hateful father-in-law. It also has brought a chill to his relations with his wife (Ulrike Krumbiegel) and son (Hauke Diekamp), who is in constant trouble.
Michael travels to the city in hopes of bringing his case to a close. Surprisingly, Engel is quite chatty with the hick cop. He denies killing the girl but mischievously suggests he knows who did. A verbal and psychological cat-and-mouse game between the two ensues that exposes a host of psychosexual issues and an overwhelming sense of guilt within the cop.
A big-city police detective (Heinz Hoenig) encourages Michael's involvement in the case as Gabriel won't open up to any other cop. Alvart pushes his characters - especially Michael - and the situations to extremes, all of which pays off in the final 15 minutes. At times, one feels the heavy hand of fiction. But then, the same was true of "The Silence of the Lambs".
Hard to imagine this film existing without Thomas Harris' book (and later movie) series about Hannibal Lecter. Indeed, the film acknowledges this debt when its serial killer makes a snide reference to the character. For, like Lecter, Gabriel Engel (Andre Hennicke) is an appalling monster. Captured by police in a slam-bang opening, he immediately confesses to the rape and murder of 13 boys.
Michael Martens (Wotan Wilke Mohring) is an uptight and somewhat priggish part-time cop and farmer in a tight-knit Catholic village where a local girl was brutally murdered. His determined investigation has alienated many townspeople, including his hateful father-in-law. It also has brought a chill to his relations with his wife (Ulrike Krumbiegel) and son (Hauke Diekamp), who is in constant trouble.
Michael travels to the city in hopes of bringing his case to a close. Surprisingly, Engel is quite chatty with the hick cop. He denies killing the girl but mischievously suggests he knows who did. A verbal and psychological cat-and-mouse game between the two ensues that exposes a host of psychosexual issues and an overwhelming sense of guilt within the cop.
A big-city police detective (Heinz Hoenig) encourages Michael's involvement in the case as Gabriel won't open up to any other cop. Alvart pushes his characters - especially Michael - and the situations to extremes, all of which pays off in the final 15 minutes. At times, one feels the heavy hand of fiction. But then, the same was true of "The Silence of the Lambs".
- 11/9/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Antibodies
Films about serial killers have become so ubiquitous that they now form a subgenre of the crime movie. Even so, "Antibodies" (Antikorper), a new German film by Christian Alvart, has a bracingly original take on the matter. Make no mistake, it's a creepy thriller that will unsettle many. Nor will every viewer go along with the writer-director's decision to make a philosophical foray into Catholic theology in light of this battle between good and evil. But Alvart does put the viewer through a gripping experience with a final twist few will see coming.
Hard to imagine this film existing without Thomas Harris' book (and later movie) series about Hannibal Lecter. Indeed, the film acknowledges this debt when its serial killer makes a snide reference to the character. For, like Lecter, Gabriel Engel (Andre Hennicke) is an appalling monster. Captured by police in a slam-bang opening, he immediately confesses to the rape and murder of 13 boys.
Michael Martens (Wotan Wilke Mohring) is an uptight and somewhat priggish part-time cop and farmer in a tight-knit Catholic village where a local girl was brutally murdered. His determined investigation has alienated many townspeople, including his hateful father-in-law. It also has brought a chill to his relations with his wife (Ulrike Krumbiegel) and son (Hauke Diekamp), who is in constant trouble.
Michael travels to the city in hopes of bringing his case to a close. Surprisingly, Engel is quite chatty with the hick cop. He denies killing the girl but mischievously suggests he knows who did. A verbal and psychological cat-and-mouse game between the two ensues that exposes a host of psychosexual issues and an overwhelming sense of guilt within the cop.
A big-city police detective (Heinz Hoenig) encourages Michael's involvement in the case as Gabriel won't open up to any other cop. Alvart pushes his characters -- especially Michael -- and the situations to extremes, all of which pays off in the final 15 minutes. At times, one feels the heavy hand of fiction. But then, the same was true of "The Silence of the Lambs".
Hard to imagine this film existing without Thomas Harris' book (and later movie) series about Hannibal Lecter. Indeed, the film acknowledges this debt when its serial killer makes a snide reference to the character. For, like Lecter, Gabriel Engel (Andre Hennicke) is an appalling monster. Captured by police in a slam-bang opening, he immediately confesses to the rape and murder of 13 boys.
Michael Martens (Wotan Wilke Mohring) is an uptight and somewhat priggish part-time cop and farmer in a tight-knit Catholic village where a local girl was brutally murdered. His determined investigation has alienated many townspeople, including his hateful father-in-law. It also has brought a chill to his relations with his wife (Ulrike Krumbiegel) and son (Hauke Diekamp), who is in constant trouble.
Michael travels to the city in hopes of bringing his case to a close. Surprisingly, Engel is quite chatty with the hick cop. He denies killing the girl but mischievously suggests he knows who did. A verbal and psychological cat-and-mouse game between the two ensues that exposes a host of psychosexual issues and an overwhelming sense of guilt within the cop.
A big-city police detective (Heinz Hoenig) encourages Michael's involvement in the case as Gabriel won't open up to any other cop. Alvart pushes his characters -- especially Michael -- and the situations to extremes, all of which pays off in the final 15 minutes. At times, one feels the heavy hand of fiction. But then, the same was true of "The Silence of the Lambs".
- 11/8/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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