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• Director: Christian Alvart
• Genre: Horror/Thriller/Crime/Drama
• Year: 2005

In the grand tradition of Silence of the Lambs and Se7en, Antikorper brings to the screen the story of a serial killer and while I would say if falls short of the well established bar that the already mentioned films set, this German take does deliver a highly watchable, interesting, if somewhat long film.

Straying away from gore for the sake of shock value, one of the best things this film manages to achieve is bring the thrill of a serial killer and his twisted plan without overdoing the corpse count. However, it should be noted that given the subject matter there is still quite a bit of disturbing imagery here, particularly during the beginning, which starts off with a powerful punch.

The story begins with two seemingly separate stories, one taking place in the city, the other out in the country, though soon enough it becomes clear that the possible unifying bond between both streams is the captured killer. Michael Martens (the chief of police in a small, catholic community) is convinced that the serial killer had something to do with the violent murder of Lucia, a young girl from the town. However, that particular murder seems to go entirely against the pattern which Gabriel Engel (the serial killer known as the crucifix) had established. What ensues is an attempt to uncover the truth, however difficult it may be for Martens to swallow, racing against time and against Martens own personal agenda even as he fights the games played with his own head.

This movie will not attract the audience so much for the twist in plots, and it merges in a good amount of drama to develop the characters. However, there are pleasant enough turns to keep the material fresh and interesting. It is not a perfectly executed movie, with a few holes in acting and with room for cutting down a bit on the fat of certain scenes that one could do without in order to speed up the pace. And while the villain here is not as frightening as Hannibal Lecter (who is referenced in the movie at one point) he still delivers a powerful enough role to keep the storyline alive. While the complexity of the puzzles could have used a bit more tinkering, this movie here is still leaps ahead of the pack and very much worth the watch, though perhaps not worth owning.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Notes: Violence, language, disturbing images, nudity, sexuality. Presented in German with English subtitles which race by a bit too fast at some points, be prepared to hit the rewind button a couple of times to catch it all.
Quote: Gabriel Engel: Evil is a virus. Highly contagious. Highly destructive.
[pause]
Gabriel Engel: You’re already infected.