Antibodies
Antibodies is a German horror film in the same vein as Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs. The film follows the travails of a country cop trying to solve the case of a murdered child. A sick and demented serial killer is arrested and the cop decides to interrogate the killer to see if he is responsible for the murder in his town. The characters enter into a decidedly unhealthy relationship that directly references the relationship between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter. On one hand, the cop wants to know if the killer is the same person that killed the little girl in his town, but on the other hand the murderer is so clever and diabolical that the whole situation is a calculated risk… like jacking off with a handful of glass. The story is compelling, and despite the slow feel of the movie, it never loses its intriguing properties as every scene feels significant.
The film is directed by relative newcomer Christian Alvart. Alvart’s direction is the strongest facet of the movie as every shot that Alvart chooses is magnificent. Visually the film is a constantly bubbling pot of energy and the visuals carry what could have easily been a dull film. Just when things start to get bogged down by moral dilemmas and bible quotes, Alvart will pick up the movie with an amazing tracking shot or some fantastic imagery. Antibodies is a gritty looking film that looks unflinchingly at the life of a serial killer and the juxtaposition of beautiful imagery and heinous acts of violence is hard to digest, but also very effective.
The acting in the film is good from what I could tell, as the movie is in German. Andre Hennicke is fantastic as the sadistically twisted Gabriel Engle, a notorious child molester and murderer that has a boner for a particular cop. Hennicke’s performance is impressive and he lends a genuine sense of feel of terror and disgust to the repulsive character that he plays. The sar of the movie is Wotan Wilke Mohring, who plays the tortured cop who just wants to close his case so he can get on with his life. Unfortunately, he must talk to Gabriel Engle to find out the information that he needs and it is the interaction between the two character that provides the juiciest scenes.
The majority of the film is actually pretty boring. Horror fans and thriller fans will find themselves yawning if they if they aren’t used to slower stories, but for those that are willing to sit through some talky scenes, the film is fairly satisfying. The opening apprehension scene is amazing and worth viewing on its own.
The film, at first glance, is derivative as hell, but thanks to the brilliant execution of Director Alvart, Antibodies stands on its own in the intelligent psychopath subgenre. The director was so confident that this would be the case, that he even references Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs in the middle of his film.
The film could use a little thematic subtlety as it is replete with an excessive amount of Bible quotes that are vaguely related to the story, but for the most part they do nothing but distract. The story is strong enough that it doesn’t need the quotes, so maybe it’s just a question of director vanity, but the end result if that it feels like the director doesn’t trust the audience enough to believe that they will understand what he is trying to say.
Final Synopsis: Antibodies is a quality film that some may find lacking in originality and overpreachy, but the visuals and performances more than make up for these shortcomings. If you liked The Silence of the Lambs or Se7en, then you’ll have a good time with Antibodies. If you’re looking for a gorefest, you might want to look somewhere else.
Points Lost: -1 for being too preachy, -1 for not being very original, -1 for a slow pace
Lesson Learned: Don’t listen to serial killers… they’re full of shit.
Burning Question: What do you think about when you fuck your wife? Or, for the ladies, your husband.
Antibodies
7/10
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