Totenfrau

Summary

A very Austrian thriller that goes from black humor to moments of enormous violence and others that border on terror, with a charismatic protagonist who reactivates her dark facets. An interesting look at the genesis of certain adult criminal behaviors resulting from impunity.

Review

Brünhilde Blum (the very German Anna Maria Mühe) is the owner of a funeral home in a tourist town in the Austrian Tyrol. After the death of her policeman's husband in an alleged accident, the widow begins a relentless search for those she considers guilty.

Several common topics in Central European police officers reappear in this thriller: trafficking in women, pornography, powerful businessmen linked to tourist interests, police corruption, lodges.

But the strength of the series is its protagonist: Blum does not follow the "correct" path to clarify the death of her husband, but one that reactivates dark facets that were already part of her, with an attitude that is also related to someone accustomed to dealing with with corpses. Brünhilde is an investigative force and an amateur and for this reason she progresses somewhat stumbling (and with few concessions from the script), but always with enormous audacity, in a very Austrian story that goes from black humor to moments of enormous violence and others. Bordering on terror. And all with the beautiful winter setting of the Austrian Alps.

On the other hand, and last but not least, the series is an interesting example of the genesis of certain adult criminal behaviors resulting from impunity.

Great mystery thriller series from Austria!

What a ride! Fast paced and never boring from start to the last episiode. I would watch it again.

Better than I have expected. I have read in a cinema news papers about this murder series and woooow. Wonderful pictures from Austrian alps and all the intriguing story is happening on high attitude. Great performance from Anna Maria Mühe who was top but also the other characters delivered all respectable work.

Director Nicolai Rohde did a good job too creating Hollywoodian moments. This was top entertaining and so congratulations again to all the staff. Don't miss these series if you like this kind of movies with revenge feelings. 7/10.

25.3.25:Season 2 sequel was again full of suspense and intriguing. Never boring and great performances from all the main actors.

7/10.

Totenfrau is a worthwhile series, but why so many strange mistakes in such a series? In the first episode, a Ducati is hit at high speed, killing the rider. The car, which would normally have been badly damaged by a collision with a motorcycle weighing more than 200 kilos, drives away as if nothing had happened. The motorcycle can be repaired and will be picked up by the victim's wife. We see the woman in her fashionable tweed jacket, which flutters open in the wind, without gloves on, riding off on the Ducati through a snowy landscape. Normally, as a motorcyclist, you stop in this situation after 5 kilometers because your fingers are frozen off and your throat is swollen. Otherwise reasonable series.

A surprisingly remarkable Austrian film. I've watched revenge movies before but this one is something new to offer by way of an intriguing storyline.

It's a great character study. Brunhilde Blum's journey from a quiet, contented wife and mortician to a remorseless avenger is compelling. You feel her quiet rage as she proceeds to hunt down, one by one, those respectable people responsible for the murder of her dear husband. All this taking place while she cares for her children and managing her funeral home. And the revenge is spectacular.

That she's able to talk to dead people as sounding board, whilst not a unique plot device, is darkly humorous as done here.

Quite competent actors. And the mountainscape as captured in film is short of mesmerizing.

Moralists might be disturbed by the message of the film as it seems to glorify impunity. But life is never easy; never black or white. Each is answerable ultimately for his/her actions.

I liked the main character and binge watched the whole series, I wasn't disappointed. There's many layers to the plot and I don't think I could have predicted where it went. It's not just about revenge but also about a woman who is hell bent on revenge trying to juggle her family at the same time. She has her own personal issues too. I'd love to see another series in the future, I would certainly watch it. It's probably not aimed at the younger generation but an older one. It's more like midsummer murders on steroids. The scenery is beautiful and all the characters play their parts well. I enjoyed it.