Reviewed By-Sean Patrick Dolan
Year: 2000
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Cast: Franka Potente, Benno Frmann, Anna Loos, Sebastian Blomberg,
Traugott Buhre
Paula Henning (Franka Potente), after achieving an exceptionally high score on a
national exam, has just been accepted to the prestigious medical program at
Hedielberg University. Her grandfather is very proud that she "is
following in his footsteps"- oddly enough, her father seems displeased.
Classes begin, under the instruction of Professor Grombek (Traugott Buhre), a
very serious man who assures the students that not more than half of them will
graduate. They are treated to a guided tour of "one of the most
comprehension collection of anatomical specimens in the world". The
specimens are very accurate, as they should be- they are the plasticized remains
of genuine human bodies.
Our heroine is not there long before she discovers that something sinister is
going on in the anatomy department of the university. One day in class,
she recognizes the body they are about to dissect. It is David, a young
man she met on the train ride from Munich just days before. David suffered
from a rare heart defect, but still should not have succumbed to it so early in
life. Besides that, his blood is unusually thick. She finds his
death suspicious and, despite Professor Grombek's admonitions to drop the
matter, is determined to investigate it. She takes blood and tissue
samples to send to a friend who has access to a laboratory in which to analyze
them. In the process, she finds the letters AAA! branded on David's foot.
Paula does some research and discovers that the letters are the symbols of the
Anti-Hippocratic Society, "a cross between Freemasons and a college
fraternity with its own lodges and rituals". The group, which was
founded in the sixteenth century and revived during the Third Reich, was
interested in advancing medical research unhindered by legal and ethical
standards- "the experimental killing of the few to ensure the survival of
the many". She realizes that David, a terminally ill patient, would
be a perfect victim. Her friend calls her with the lab report.
David's blood contained a drug called Promidal, which was originally used in
taxidermy before it was banned. When administered into the bloodstream, it
firsts restricts mobility and later causes death by hardening all the body's
cells, essentially turning it into a statue. The drug has an antidote, a
simple saline solution, but it must be injected quickly. She is now
convinced that the Anti-Hippocratic Society still exists and is conducting
illegal experiments at Heidelberg. Unfortunately, neither Professor
Grombek nor her friends believe her story.
Despite her studies and her amateur sleuthing, Paula has still found time to
make some social connections. Her roommate, Gretchen (Anna Loos), is a
nymphomaniac with a high IQ. She immediately sets to bedding each of the
eligible male students, starting with Hein (Benno Frmann) and then quickly
moving on to another student, Phil. Paula herself has a boyfriend, Caspar
(Sebastian Blomberg), but their relationship hits a snag when she is reluctant
to have sex and he responds by asking if "dead guys turn you on more than
live ones". Gretchen and her new boyfriend go out on a date.
Meanwhile, Hein comes to Paula to talk about how heartbroken he is over losing
Gretchen. That night Hein, in a jealous rage, murders Gretchen and the new
boy toy who are in the process of making love in the anatomy lab.
Several days pass and Paula begins to doubt that Gretchen and Phil have simply
gone away together on a romantic retreat. She begins to receive threats,
but continues her investigation anyway, which ultimately leads her to the
Anti-Hippocratic Society's secret lodge room and Professor Grombek. He
tells her the entire story, how the fraternal order still exists and why it must
continue to do so. Paula is shattered when he reveals that her grandfather
was once the head of the society, and the inventor of the drug Promidal.
She goes to the police, who, in
typical horror movie fashion, merely laugh at her story.
The Society learns of Hein's actions, and he is put on trial. Rather then
beg for forgiveness, he is defiant. He accuses the order of straying from
its roots, becoming soft and "corporate". While the society is
willing to overlook his unauthorized anatomical experiments, they feel he has
crossed the line with the jealousy killings of Gretchen and Phil. Grombek
announces that he is going to turn Hein in to the authorities, "no matter
what the consequences to the order". He tries to call Paula to ask
for her help in this endeavor, but he is of course murdered first by Hein.
Paula instead receives a note asking her to meet the professor at night in the
anatomy lab- a trap set by Hein. She takes the bait, and what follows is
her attempt to survive the night to reveal the truth in the morning. You
may wonder- where exactly does her ex-boyfriend Caspar fit in? Is he a
member of the Society or not? I won't spoil any more of the plot here.
This German film, directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, is both a very entertaining, at
times even conventional, modern horror film, but it is an above average entry
due to both its intriguing plot and its execution. While more
sophisticated than the slashers of the eighties and the "second wave"
of the late nineties, this film nonetheless involves young people and the
inevitable shenanigans which though often amusing, try your patience when you
would rather see the plot move forward. Upper classroom rig a corpse in
the anatomy lab with electrodes to scare the new students. The coeds
engage each other in sexual banter in throwaway scenes in a bar and on campus.
However, Gretchen's character is hilarious. In one scene, her date with
Phil, she disgusts the other patrons of a fancy restaurant while loudly
discussing details of autopsy procedures while at the same time slurping down
oysters. In the anatomy lab sex scene, she nearly ruins the mood by
discussing penile dissections during foreplay. Hein himself is a stock
character- he is completely insane and Frmann portrays him in a suitable over
the top fashion. I consider all of these elements typical of the modern
slasher genre, and I suppose whether they are a plus or a minus is a matter of
personal taste- to me they are a mixed bag. I would most likely have found
the students' antics more easily digestible if the film were not dubbed into
English- I have always preferred subtitles. It isn't just the mouths
moving at the wrong times that bothers me, it's more the imprecise translation
that makes dialogue seem choppy and awkward. However, I will say that
during the second half of the film, which is much more plot and action driven,
the dubbing ceased to be an issue as the film drew me in.
This is not a gory film- it does not take advantage of the anatomy class setting
to show explicit details of autopsy procedures. There is one very well
done scene, near the beginning of the film, in which a victim, under the effects
of Promidal, awakes on the operating table to witness his own vivisection while
unable to move or defend himself. The special effects department also
provided very lifelike anatomical models in the university's archive, including
that of Gretchen after Hein has "preserved" her. I think the
film might have benefited from more scenes of this nature, but the director
chose to focus mostly on the plot instead.
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!
The plot is tight and moves fast, and like most great horror films, is highly
political. Gromek spells it all out while confirming Paula's worst fears.
The professor has no qualms in justifying the Society's purpose and its
practices- it has always existed to further medical research, and "doesn't
restrict itself to narrow-minded traditions"- meaning current ethical and
legal norms. The Society exists to further Heidelberg's leading role in
the medical field. At stake are potential Nobel prize winners, government
funds for research, commissions from the pharmaceutical industry, and finances
to educate "the elite". Gromek admits that during the Nazi era,
people like Josef Mengel "went awry", but he still feels their
scientific achievements, specifically in the field of anatomy, have not been
given proper recognition. He admits that they "play God" while
experimenting with terminal patients, but states that the patients usually don't
even notice what is going on. He describes the Society's work as
"unremarkable" in this modern age, and stands behind it. It is
interesting to note that Hein, who causes all the trouble at Heidelberg, has
taken the groups origins and purpose far more seriously than the elder board of
directors such as Gromek. He calls them to task for merely toadying,
"selling out" to drug companies instead of engaging in more important
research, such as the vivisection of human patients and the anatomical knowledge
it provides. The Society itself has progressed in a more restrained and
humane fashion, but its doctrine still appeals and foments fanaticism in its
young convert Hein- forgive me but I must draw a comparison between this and
Islam- not all members of a group are fundamentalists or murderers, but
sometimes the very language which defines a movement can be twisted and
exploited to that end.
The plot is fast paced and full of action as well as suspense and plot twists.
Caspar is an obvious suspect, from his introduction as a character, but turns
out to be the "red herring"- he is a history major going undercover to
research the Anti-Hippocratic Society for his thesis. Despite their
misunderstandings, he ultimately teams up with Paula to defeat Hein. The
final scenes are full of dramatic tension as Caspar and Paula are captured,
injected with Promital, but still narrowly escape the final bloody
battles. The acting is more than competent, despite the unfortunate dubbed
voices, especially in the case of Potente (Run Lola Run), Loos, Frmann, and
Blomberg, the students, as well as Buhre as Professor Gromek. There are
some classics lines which imbue the film with additional humor- Paula to
Professor Gromek- "You have psychopaths running around with knives
terrorizing people". His response- "Only loudmouthed little boys
trying to frighten little girls". Hein to Paula, discussing
Gretchen's murder and her ultimate fate as an anatomical model- "Her face
was meant for me, sometimes when I am alone I put it on". All in all a
great film, whether viewed for pure entertainment value or for its political
content. I reviewed the 2001 Trimark Home Entertainment VHS release.