El cadáver de Anna Fritz

I have to admit that I was quite hesitant to see this film at the Brussels International Film Festival… After all, the title doesn't sound very cheerful and the two-line plot summary reveals absolutely nothing about the movie except for the perverted premise. The only I got beforehand was: "Imagine your best friend calls to say that he's in the same room as a famous actress and she isn't saying no to some action between the sheets… The only problem: your friend works at the morgue and the actress has recently deceased!" Okay, intriguing idea, I'll be the first to admit that. But where will it go from there? I hope it won't be a 76 minutes long-feature movie showing three guys committing necrophilia! Or will they get caught and does the whole thing turn into a courtroom drama? Or even worse, will the actress emerge from her deathbed as a zombie and shall she alternately rape and butcher her three assailants? I decided to purchase the ticket for "The Corpse of Anna Fritz" after all, and certainly didn't regret it. I won't reveal what does eventually happen (although many other people blatantly revealed it in their reviews) but writer Isaac P Creus and director Hèctor Hernández Vicens made the absolute most out of it and I'll gladly proclaim that "The Corpse of Anna Fritz" is a very suspenseful and absorbing thriller with a few unpredictable twists and a handful of notably frightening moments. The one thing you shouldn't expect, though, is gratuitous or repulsive footage. The necrophilia theme is quite controversial, of course, but the nudity and sexist sequences are kept to a minimum. The film does go quite far in showing how far people are prepared to do in order to protect their own sorry ass, like betrayal and even murder, which results in a number of brutal but nevertheless confronting and realistic sequences. Since there are only a couple of set pieces and a very limited cast of characters, "The Corpse of Anna Fritz" very much depends on the strong acting performances and the surefooted direction of Hèctor Hernández Vicens. It's a very simple yet effective shocker that occasionally makes you wonder how you would react in such a situation. Hopefully different than these guys!

Let's be clear: it is not just about beauty here, but about celebrity and what that makes people think. We have three male characters here, which all do drugs. Now that alone may be enough for some to judge them. But if you are not too close minded, you will let that one slip (no pun intended). When it comes to discovering the body of Anna Fritz and what occurs then ... that is completely different and despicable to say the least.

Now one of the three has some common sense. Not just some, but enough for all 3 of them and therefor can be excused to a degree. The things that happen do make sense. Even the really abhorent acts in it. Some are tough to watch to say the least. I know some will have the same excuse as the two characters, but if you look inside yourself you should know it is just plain wrong.

Having said that, the movie develops quite the tension and quite the suspense that does carry through to the end. Spanish thrillers have really found a niche and place for themselves and this is just another one of those. Very well made to say the least

One of the things I really love about this film is how precisely its told. At no point did I feel that the film was dragging on, nor that it was showing me something that was unnecessary to the plot. I also loved how quickly it dealt with its exposition in the beginning of the film. A lot of directors would have spent 15 minutes or more following Anna Fritz on the red carpet, showing her fans cheering at her, and then cut to her being found dead. This film deals with all exposition within the first two minutes, leaving the viewer to only have to focus on the films tension. The Corpse of Anna Fritz really shows how you get a lot out of a small budget, and is a great example of "less is more".

This film is incredibly tense, and had me on the edge of my seat throughout most of the film. This is due to a very good score, great pacing, as well as all actors performing really well, especially Alba Ribas.

The visual style is really good. I really like way its lit, and the hand-held camera increased the tension, drawing me into the film.

One of the most tense indie-thrillers I've seen in a long time.

It's a well built simple story. Nice twist at the end.

A famous actress, Anna Fritz, has died and a young man working at the hospital morgue impresses his two buddies with her fresh corpse. On a dare, the boys decide to have a little fun with the sexy but cold body. Bad choices in life go south rather quickly as trouble is ahead and trouble behind in this adventure. The lead actress makes for a fine dead body but the three guys are not exactly A list actors. The movie is mildly amusing and is only an hour and sixteen minutes. Dive in at your own risk.