Antibodies (2005)

Producers tried to promote this as the German answer to „Silence of the Lambs" and every second, the film tries so very hard at fulfilling this premise – but in the end it's just wishful thinking and trying (unsuccessfully) to emulate the original.So where did "Antikörper" go wrong? Well, "Silence of the Lambs" had many things going for it: a brilliant cast, an excellent director and was based on a very successful, poignant novel. Neither of this can be said about the crew and premise of "Antikörper".The story itself is simple: a brutal yet brilliant serial killer is comprehended, jailed and (dying from Aids) interrogated by a troubled countryside cop. The naïve cop, intellectually no match for the killer, is soon absorbed by the twists of a psychopathic mind.Nothing new or non-predictable in ways of the story. The film comes across like a overblown episode of German crime series "Tatort" (and I mean the recent, filmed with video "Tatort"), which is clearly the fault of a director more at home with TV than cinema. Indeed, director Christian Alvart would go on to direct "Tatort" and similar minded TV-products.Secondarily, the acting is generally dreadful. Wotan Wilke Möhring, playing the investigating cop, is fondly remembered as Tourette syndrome-plagued stoner in the cult comedy "Lammbock" but has neither skill nor charisma to carry a film like "Antikörper". Flat is the best word to describe his performance. Same goes for Möhrings antagonist, André Hennicke, the semi-demonic Gabriel Engel (and, yes, naming your serial killer "Gabriel Angel" would have classified most other screenwriters as a hack): he tries his best to come across as Anthony Hopkins-like super-serial killer but remains throughout a pale caricature of the original Hannibal; good enough for the TV- but by no means good enough for the big-screen.Since the film is relatively gore-free (the German word is "sauber"), it relies on a couple of explicit scenes, involving anal intercourse and teenage masturbation. Those scenes are awkward (saying it kindly) and, again, Möhring makes as good a passionate lover as he does an inspector.There is an infinite number of "Silence of the Lambs" rip-offs and interpretations being produced internationally – save yourself "Antikörper" because in this two hours you could watch a better one anytime.3 out of 10 – and that's called 'generous'.

This was a pretty good police thriller. Someone recommended it as a horror, but really, there is nothing to promote horror in the film. It is, though, promoting all kind of nasty feelings.The story is pretty complex, but shortened to extreme, it is about a small village cop who goes to meet a captured serial killer in order to determine if the (only) sexual murder that took place in their small catholic community is the murderer's doing or not. You see, as an outstandingly nice person, he needs to know that none of the people in his village are the authors of such a heinous crime.From then on, it's pretty much Silence of the Lambs, only a lot better, since German killers are clearly more scary than American ones, albeit not so flashy. There is even a jab when the killer first meets the cop he says "who did you expect? Hannibal Lecter?". And it was something very creepy about such a nice guy that is surrounded by assholes and still kept his cool all the time. I would have tortured and killed someone that would kill my dog, accidentally or not.For a German film, I thought it was very well done with top notch performances, production quality and overall feeling. I do have some issues with it, though. Firstly, the name is so misleading. I was rooting for a biological horror film and I got this. Then it was really long for a slow thriller, two hours long. Shorter would have been better, I say. And lastly the Bible quoting ending. Was that truly necessary?Bottom line: a nice thriller, with great performances. André Hennicke, interpreting the killer, is like a German Robert Knepper. So, if you can imagine a Silence of the Lambs with no girls, with Robert Knepper as the killer and probably Nicholas Cage as the cop (replaying his Wicker Man role) you would get a pretty similar US remake.

Look what came out of Germany this time. Normally we get hold of those gory splatters or even their xxx gory ones. But i noticed in my Fangoria vault and on the web that there was more and better coming a few years ago. Antibodies. First of all, again like most German flicks they speak, you guessed it, German. Mostly without subs but this one does have them. So the language is never a problem. It's a slow movie that clocks in over more than 2 hours but don't worry, you will never be bored. The difference between the "Holy"wood movies and this one is that they dare to have a serial killer killing children and what he did with them is all told in an explicit way. For some it will be disturbing, and that's the main difference with the US movies. Se7en and Silence of the Lambs were never disturbing except for the killers. But here we have more, it tells a story about a serial killer who only wants to talk to a small cop meaning nothing in Berlin. What he has to do with killer will be explained further on in the movie. But the guys who are playing the killer and the cop are sublime. The way the cop becomes victim of the killer and how he translate that in his belief in Christ. A must see. I must admit that you will get the plot halfway into the movie but you want to be sure that it is correct that's the reason to watch it until the end. Strange for this kind of flicks but no gore is added, you will see some blood but I can tell it get you by the throat due the child abuse and killings done by him. For me as a horror geek I surely advise people to see this underrated movie, and yes, in 2010 or dearest American folks are making a remake. Do I need to say more?

The first and second acts were solid, with great tension and conflict, but Act III faltered miserably and ultimately destroyed the story of the film and its impact. The acting and photography were amazing, and painted a strong tale of "doing the right thing", "revenge" and "maintaining one's beliefs". The three main characters represented the good (farmer), the evil (serial killer) and the one in the middle (city cop). Though the outrageous fall and escape of the serial killer from the police seemed a bit over the top, at least he was battered and cut-up pretty severely, so I let that go since the rest of the story, initially at least, was solid. But why did the serial killer wonder if his every word was being recorded? He was too smart to think otherwise and I found that notion to be completely unrealistic.But Act III unraveled quickly as if the writer lost his senses. Somehow, someway this killer, who had everything absconded by police, seemed to have 50,000 Euros stashed somewhere to bribe a police technician. That technician smuggled the killer's diary out to a publisher and he got the murderer an un-named poison that would kill him in two days.If that wasn't far-fetched, to see such poorly animated deer rally around the farmer and his son, as if a message from God, was ludicrous and took the story out of the hands of the characters. Deus ex machina is a pathetic ploy as well as a needless cliché.What a shame. It's as if all that tremendous acting, tension and phenomenal cinematography was wasted - annihilating a brutal and poignant story with trickery and absurdity.