User reviews

Only the second film by the former editor of the legendary German movie fanzine X-TRO, Antibodies (aka: Antikörper) is an assured and suspenseful work which, while it willingly acknowledges its obvious indebtedness to Hollywood models, still manages to strikes out convincingly on its own. The most obvious inspiration behind Christian Alvart's film is The Silence Of The Lambs (1991), to which explicit and grimly affectionate allusion ("What did you expect? Hannibal Lecter?") is made by killer Gabriel Engel (André Hennicke) at one point early on during his captivity. Restrained in conditions which recall those featuring in Jonathan Demme's movie, visited too by a similarly awed and repelled police investigator, Engel actually gives a performance less self-conscious than the much-imitated Anthony Hopkins'. And, because of the latitude of German cinema, where the precise detailing of paedophilic lust rape is more permissible as a drama demands, it is all the more disturbing in the telling. Watching this film, where the principal and community are wracked equally with guilt and blame, one easily recalls that this is the national cinema which earlier produced another monstrous child murderer, that of Fritz Lang's M, and indeed is a country where communal guilt is never very far below the surface.

Just as Clarice Starling needs her Lecter, so Schmizt needs his Engel to help solve a case. Having already killed 14, most of whom were young boys, Engel offers his own tantalising clues and hints as to where the other killer may be found. But, as he says, "Evil... is infectious," and soon Schmizt begins to question his own moral certainties, before ultimately basing his judgement on the only firm foundation he knows - the Old Testament, a process which involves a particularly painful scene of self mutilation by way of penance, as well as providing doctrinal justification for the suspenseful final scenes.

Antibodies is a film which never slackens its tension, and which avoids completely the flabby sentimentalising or overcooked heroics which often mars the American thriller product. Silence Of The Lambs contained more certainties than we are provided with here. Even though it gave its audience an extreme form of serial killer, in the form of 'Buffalo Bill', one both flamboyant and rock inspired, it instantly made a stereotype of itself, and it was this 'respect' of sorts by the audience that the director has said he was keen to avoid. Like Silence Of The Lambs, Se7en and the rest of their bloodline, Antibodies parades a notable killer's lair of its own as well, although any artefacts on show are less disturbing than the ultimate meaning of the 14 red squares drawn by Engel on the wall, or the spare, clean white tiles of his torture room.

At the centre of such films is inevitably a duel between killer and cop, and here the two main parts receive terrific performances, Hennicke mightily disturbing as the gloating and manipulative serial killer, writing his books of blood, and Reedus drawn and haunted as the cop on the edge. As is often the case in this sort of film, a troubled parallel is drawn between them, a process highlighted in the first instance by a change in Reedus' lovemaking, as one whose psyche is increasingly affected by the killer's manipulative mind games. And when the depressed cop buys a suit on impulse, from a shop woman with whom he later sleeps in aggressive fashion, we are reminded of how moral codes can be put and 'worn' almost as one would clothes, until one "can't tell where the suit ends and the man begins." But by the same mark are never the less separate, and can be peeled back to reveal the real creature underneath, or changed at will.

The signs that accompany the disturbed personality are more than just at that mundane level however. We are reminded in this film of the "'Holy Trinity' of serial killers: playing with fire, tormenting animals and bed-wetting" - some signs of which the tortured cop discovers, with growing alarm, occurring within his own family. As mentioned above, a strong religious thread runs through the film, of which this is only another aspect. Schmizt's family are devoted church-going folk, bible quotations play an especial significance and at one point the cop seeks to make his confession. But God's benign influence is ultimately conspicuous by its absence rather than influence, the final resolution less due to any supernatural grace than human doubt. In fact, in interview, director Alvart has expressed his serial killer in terms of the criminal representing 'total doubt', whilst drawing a parallel between religious fanaticism and the extremes of criminal behaviour, each with their respective compulsions.

In short, Antibodies is well worth seeking out, as a serial killer film that's both thought provoking and reasonably gripping - and can also be taken as a possible antidote to Hannibal Rising. Alvart is clearly a talent to watch (his previous, and first film, Curiosity And The Cat (1999) was a little seen - at least in the UK - but well thought of suspense flick, that also featuring corroding suspicion and sadomasochistic overtones). One hopes to see more of his work.

This movie grabs you from the beginning as something that is original and daring. It is not just another police/serial killer drama, but one that is well worth watching despite the fact that it is in German.

With haunting music by Michl Britsch, songs by Nadeshda Brennicke, and brilliant cinematography by Hagen Bogdanski (how can you not be brilliant when filming in Germany, one of the most beautiful countries on Earth?), you will quickly forget the language barrier and enjoy.

The acting in this film is among the finest I have seen.

You will see things during the police interrogation that you have never seen before.

The intricate cat and mouse between the rural policeman and the rapist/serial killer is captivating. The line between good and evil is thoroughly analyzed and tested to the point where you are not sure of it's location.

The last twenty minutes...what a treasure to watch!

This film lasts just over two hours, and the first hour and fifty five minutes are fine. A German serial killer, whose hobby is raping boys and using their blood to paint pictures, is apprehended but refuses to give much away under interrogation. A policeman travels to the city hoping to question the killer about the murder of a young girl in the village where he lives. The prisoner responds to him but demands to be told about the cop's family and his sex life before he'll answer questions. All good gritty stuff, but it's all ruined by an incredibly tame ending. Christian Alvart (Pandorum) wrote and directed, and I have to believe he was pressured to alter his original script. After multiple pedophile homosexual rapes and murders, the god-fearing village cop's introduction to anal sex with a friendly lady, and inflicting sodomy on his wife when he gets home, drawing blood in the process, Herr Alvart must have known that 'happily ever after' wasn't the way to go.

I would recommend not reading how IMDb bills the movie, I won't say why other than if you don't and you see this movie, it will be a richer experience for it. Basically though, the movie is about the capture of serial killer Gabriel Engel played by André Hennicke, someone the Police have been trying to catch for a very long time. A small town cop, Michael Martens played by Wotan Wilke Möhring, comes to interrogate him over the disappearance of a child from his village and makes more headway than the Detectives have. However the meeting troubles Martens, and the two characters suddenly seem not as far apart as their roles suggest.

The opening of the movie grabs you by the throat. It portrays Engel, the killer, being tracked to his apartment and captured by the Police but not without a battle first. It's dark, violent and extremely exciting cinema at this point and it shows you immediately the intelligence, cold calculation and sheer determination of the serial killer. It sets the movie perfectly, and tells you a lot about Engel. It's superbly shot and visualised, and had a fair amount of the cinema on the edge of their seats with audible excitement from the people next to me.

I have to then mention what happens after this scene, the titles. It struck me just how good these looked and I became fascinated with them. The words appear on the background and begin to move slowly across the screen. As they do so any foreground object that appears or walks across them, does so over the top and the title moves behind them. For some reason this simple effect was highly engaging and coupled with the unique angles and gentle scenes that played out, I was totally enthralled.

The good camera work follows on from the initial scenes, there are some unusual angles and shots used but they are never obtrusive. The camera is secondary and you do feel yourself pulled into the film by the strength of the story and characters, not noticing the camera moving for you.

Hennicke as the serial killer steals the show. He is utterly enthralling when he is on screen, and carries the role with complete believability and passion, I do mean that as a compliment. There is no real appeal for this character, yet he has a fascination, kind of like the scene of an accident where everyone slows down to look.

Möhring is equally as strong, and he is engaging because you identify so much with him and want him to win through. The chemistry between the two actors during their interview scenes is excellent, the power and strength of the killer against the insecurity and uncertainty of the cop are played out very well. These scenes provide for some great moments with some excellently written dialogue between them both. His slow descent and the way he is affected by the killers words is expertly handled. The way his life and his personality is slowly changed one step at a time is very strongly written.

The relationships between the cop and his wife and father-in-law are positioned early on in the movie and incredibly naturally, this is something I really liked about this movie, there's no exposition that is glaringly obvious, and even when it is made to the audience it's not always made in black and white, you have some assumptions to make. I really liked that, it means you have to do some of your own thinking rather than be spoon fed.

Another interesting triangle of relationships is that between the two cops and the killer, all have different personalities at the beginning of the movie but as it progresses Martens grows closer to them both. Again well written and visualised characters with strong and believable dialogue.

The movie looks at the effect of strong faith and belief on a person and the family unit. The lead begins as a staunch religious believer and good all round character, and it's later in the film where his faith and belief are eroded and the doubt enters his mind. During the Q&A after the movie, Christian Alvart the Writer and Director said that the role of the killer is that of the doubting voice, of total doubt. The idea being that the two characters are the extremes, and it's from these extremes at either end of the spectrum that people can leap to becoming a fanatic. A fanatic as in the killer, or a religious fanatic. It's this that he wanted to show in the movie. It's only when the reconcile the extremes that they become a person and not a fanatical creature.

There are some shades of comparison with The Silence of the Lambs and the superior Manhunter, but these are inevitable considering the interviewing of a serial killer. There's also comparison with another movie that people will make, and I shan't tell you which, this is something Alvart himself acknowledges, but didn't realise until after he had filmed it. There's no negative aspect to this and the connections are quite superficial, the power and strength of this movie are in the many other layers, not the top glossy layer, but deeper in the characters, family life and fanaticism.

The ending is extremely well crafted, if not entirely well hidden. It's strong, suspenseful and the closing fifteen or so minutes are probably the most suspenseful and exciting I've watched in a long, long time, the audience gasped during these last moments. I thoroughly recommend this movie, especially before the deal is made for a US remake, and it will be, Alvart said as much during the Q&A. So see it now, it's a superb movie with some excellent performances and a very strong script. This was undoubtedly the best movie of the Edinburgh Film Festival 2005 for me.

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?

"Antikörper" is a tremendously entertaining, gripping and chilling serial killer movie directed by relative newcomer Christian Alvart. From the superb, edge-of-the-seat introduction and the inventive use of credits, the film is imaginative, brave and unpredictable.

While there are shades of "Silence of the Lambs" in this film (interestingly, there's even a throw-away comment about Hannibal Lecter as if the director was aware of the similarities in storyline and decided to confront this matter head-on), "Antikörper" is a much more realistic, character-driven piece. André Hennicke is genuinely frightening as the paedophile serial killer, Engel, who embarks on psychological mind games with the likable, country-based policeman, Wotan Wilke Möhring. Möhring's portrayal of a man who is driven to the edge of his wits is brilliant stuff and riveting viewing.

The film is undoubtedly a roller-coaster ride of emotions. There are some uncomfortable scenes (Engel makes Lecter look like Father Christmas in comparison) but they rely on the viewer's imagination rather than in-your-face gore. There are also some brief but realistic sex scenes that drive the plot along rather than serve as mere titillation. The film's strength is in its intelligence. This is not your average serial killer movie by a long way. It raises interesting moral questions such as "Just how good is a 'good man?'" I was surprised to see Norman Reedus appear in a small role in this film. Why Reedus was brought in for such a small part is puzzling but it was good to see this distinctive American actor nonetheless.

A highly recommended movie and one I'm glad to have stumbled across by accident. This is one of those film you may never have heard of but which you'll be very glad you watched.

The great thing about this movie is that it is not a true horror film. The director said in the Q&A after the movie that he didn't want his killer to be respected, like Hannibal, who he says "looks like the cool guy in the movie". He says that since he is locked up the whole time the audience can be sure that there will be no more murders and so most of the movie is talking and trying to create closure. The movie is very much a focus on the minds of normal people versus what happens to the make a normal person turn into a serial killer. Alvart did a lot of research for the movie on serial killers, Catholocism (spending months working in a church), and being a father, there is a lot on parent-child relationships. There are so many levels that are covered in this movie and that is why it is so engrossing and watchable. It is a totally intellectual film that makes you think about social issues as well as completely scaring and creeping you out. The ending was so amazing. It is the best thriller I have ever seen and no one would ever think that Alvart was the most skeptical of this script ever being produced.Alvart said this film is the most personal out of the many scripts he proposed to producers.

"Antibodies" tips it hand far too early and closes with an inexplicable third act, but succeeds in creating an unsettling atmosphere with a palpable sense of terror throughout. Slick and sadistic, this German serial killer thriller delivers some chills respectively, but it's not nearly as clever or as compelling as it thinks it is.

Serial killer Gabriel Engels (Andre Hennicke) is captured while fleeing from his apartment, because he is the prime suspect in the killing a young girl several years earlier. Small-town cop Michael Martens (Wotan Wilke Möhring) has been investigating the 18-month-old unsolved murder, and may now have his big break in the case. Michael must go to the big city to interrogate the suspect, in the hopes that he'll get a confession. His decision unexpectedly pays dividends, and details slowly begin to surface. Möhring's deeply conflicted performance anchors the movie, as the confession from Engels and his mind games slowly push Michael back towards his own hometown. But soon, as Martens comes under the influence of Engels, he finds himself in a dark place and questions his own faith, as well as his entire existence.

The plot twists and mind games that should shock and surprise are transparent and obvious, while director Christian Alvart tips his hand too early in a film where the run time clocks in at two plus hours. The third act of "Antibodies" shifts its primary focus to Michael and his son, and it creates one of the strangest biblical allusions I've ever seen. The story shifts from the profile of a serial killer to that of a man's existential identity crisis, and then to his redemption, when he didn't seem to deserve it in the first place. Desperately attempting to create the illusion of something profound, it backfires and comes across as absolutely absurd. In comparison to other films in the serial killer genre, this one hovers somewhere just above middle of the pack at best.

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.

That is one question you could be asked by a friend or a shrink...being asked that by a serial killer sitting in a cage behind bars is a different thing. I just watched the movie and I am still in it. It was the highest tension I have experienced for a long time. When I read about the movie and it being compared to Silence of the Lambs I thought that no German director could create the perfect nightmare...but I thought wrong. I especially liked the fact that the officer from a very small village...389 souls aren't that much...has to deal with a killer who has been caught in the big city. The movie contains very interesting characters and is a technical masterpiece. I liked the beginning very much and was happy with the killer. He is evil and very clever! Madames en monsieurs...10 points go to Germany for the Best Thriller of the Year: Antikörper

A musthaveseen!

A serial killer story that brings Silence of the Lambs to mind. To create such a complicated story well is no mean feat and this flick is well crafted, absorbing and tricky. I found it gripping, to the end. A country cop is asked to come to the big city to help cops there talk to a serial killer suspect who has requested him and him only to speak with. At home our country cop hero has his own problems in his son (his father-in-law ain't no walk in the park either). Many different strings; will they come together to make a discernible pattern?

When i a friend of mine told me, that Antikörper would be a cheap reproduction of "Silence of the Lambs", i didn't believe in him. After watching it, i know, that i was right. The basic structure of the two films are quite the same, but the rest of the two movies differ in each way.

The shocking and fascinating story of "Antikörper", which contains a lot of psychological aspects, is very great and very exciting. It's basically about the evil in each other, but i don't want to tell you too much... Then, the performance of the actors is excellent, and so give the advise to everyone who likes fastidious, thrilling and all in all well-done masterpieces, to watch it! (10/10)

Storywise "Antikörper" isn't the most original movie around. It has been called the German "Silence of the Lambs" for some good reasons and the movie also has different elements from other similar type of successful movies in it, such as for instance Davind Fincher's "Se7en".

It's a rather well directed movie, with a good style but yet the execution of it isn't what it could had been. This again has some to do with the fact that the movie isn't always being original enough of its own. Also the storytelling is a bit lacking at times, which perhaps can be blamed on it that the movie at times tries to be overly artistic and deep with its intentions. It doesn't always make the story believable enough.

Those are the downsides of "Antikörper", an otherwise good movie to watch, from young German director Christian Alvart. For a €1,900,000 budget movie this one is a real great accomplishment and it's rather low budget can be seen nowhere back in the movie. Yet the movie didn't do very well at the box office at its native country for some reason.

It's a well cast movie with actors that already had plenty of experience under their belts. Wotan Wilke Möhring and André Hennicke play the most important characters of the movie and they do this well. They are part of the reason why the movie overall has a realistic and gritty look and feeling over it.

This movie is not just a German Krimi, it's an overall effective thriller that is perhaps not always being original but it's all done good nevertheless.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I heard a lot about this German movie, but since I tend to be majorly disappointed by my countries movie efforts I skipped it. After the directors recent movie "Case 39" which I really liked although a lot of it was obviously ripped off from recent movies I though I'd also give "Antikörper" a try. But wow.... the movie has the look and feel of a ordinary German TV production and the general problem many German productions... it copies Hollywood styles in a redundant fashion and spices it up with inferior acting and ordinary pictures.

The basic plot of "Antikörper" is such an incredibly blunt rip-off from what you at first parallel to "Silence of the lambs" but you can smell the ending after about 20 Minutes and all that is a plain and dumb "Seven" rip-off, which (fasten your seat belts" even dares changing it to a happy end.

You get the smart serial killer, the insecure cop and those interrogation sequences Hopkins made so famous. I guess they know how flat out plagiarized their movie is, so they even includes some smug jokes about "Silence of the lambs". The interrogation sequence (like many other scenes) is edited choppy and uneven. The movie looks as German as it gets and then even switches to unnecessary and wiggly helicopter-scenes like in "Silence...". Ridiculous. The acting of the cops son is bad and hints are dropped in so obviously that you know whats coming up as soon as you see red squares in this movie and the other red herrings get really boring.

A lot of the dialog is painfully uneven, the tough cop and everything around him is as cheap as it gets. The script is a complete rip-off and even the cheesy "twist" in the end which refers back to the regular religious comments felt like I saw the ending in another movie... at least they stole from a third one here. Anyway, it feels like someone just edited in a scene to show off that they can do some decent CGI after a lot before looked fake.

I don't get why this movie was so well received. I think its really lame and can't understand why someone would plagiarize such famous movies with such an inferior clone. I have to admit that if you look close the later movies of Alvart suffer an equal lack of core inspiration but neither the disappointing and disjointed Pandorum nor "Case 39" the hundredth "Evil Children Movie" alone in the last year come near the flat-out plagiarism of "Antikörper".

I watched the DVD last night and thought it to be one of the best movies I've seen this year. The acting from the leads was excellent - never overdone and highly believable. The opening sequence gripped me and from thereon in I couldn't wait to see what happened next. The story develops at a great pace with some lovely twists and red herrings. Yes - some may see them coming but even so, it doesn't detract from a hugely enjoyable and often disturbing story. The direction and cinematography was also were superb - some great camera work and use of (sometimes washed out and grainy) colour and slow-motion. Highly recommended viewing before the inevitable Hollywood treatment. (CGI deer - ouch - 'nuff said!)

The opening moments of this movie are extremely well done, and the moment of grace at the ending was surprisingly well- earned . Surprising because what comes in the middle is at once unformed, lumpy, and all too obvious- albeit with some very fine acting. It was said elsewhere by some commentators that fine performances were given by the actors who played the serial killer and the senior detective who takes a liking to the rural cop because he sees the good in him: this is true. The emotional bond between the senior detective and the younger country cop he called 'Farmer" was well portrayed, indeed.

Unfortunately, the fine beginning and ending and the fine performances- oh, and also the scenes set in the small village, which were atmospheric- bookended a story that was sloppily told. The payoff at the end comes in spite of, and not because of the bulk of the film. But that payoff was, for me, affecting. I was on the edge of my seat, hoping for all the "right" (this is after all a film which commits itself to a belief in right and wrong) things to happen. Definitely a movie worth watching, and dare I hope that it can be improved upon (probably not, OK) when it is remade...

Anyone who has seen the film "Pandorum" by the German newcomer Christian Alvarts will certainly also want to watch "Antikörper". What Pandorum built up with a lot of horror and tension, antibodies succeed only too seldom. The story seems much too confused and indecisive. The viewer always remains at a distance from the action, the story does not manage to put us under its spell. The first work by Christian Alvarts is therefore a bit disappointing. Jack ther Ripper in Germany, but a little more confusing.