Anatomie (2000)

Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky [Other horror films: Anatomie 2 (2003), Patient Zero (2018)]

I’ve always enjoyed this German film, provided it’s in German with English subtitles. Anatomie (or Anatomy) has a pretty decent story, some good suspense at times, and quality brutality here and there.

Of course, the brutality is more sterile in nature. During the opening, an individual wakes up on a mortuary table, and finds, among other things, that the fingers on one of his hands are stripped to the bone, as you might see on some anatomical models. A few people are stabbed with a chemical that sort of hardens their blood, and that doesn’t lead to great things. This movie isn’t at all gory save a few scenes, but those scenes are quite solid when they come up.

Another important note: I’ve always been a subtitles guy. I can watch dubbed movies if I have to, and often I do, but if I have the choice, I’ll always go with subtitles. I think this movie a good demonstration why – I tried watching this dubbed (I rented it off Amazon Prime for $3.99), but quit after five minutes, because I’ve seen the movie before in German with English subs, and I knew if I revisited the film in a dubbed version, it wouldn’t do the movie justice. Unable to find it online through less reputable sites, I just bought the DVD, and was then happy.

I’m a big fan of the story, dealing with a medical student (Franka Potente) who discovers the existence of an ancient cult of doctors called the Anti-Hippocratic Society, an organization focused on research and discovery, no matter the harm that may come to a few patients. It’s a fun idea, dealing with doctors and medical students who ignore commonly-accepted ethics, and when you throw in some members who are maybe a bit too extreme for the base group, it adds an extra element.

Germany used to be the largest exporter of horror films. Between 1913 and 1925 or so, they were the kings of the genre, and obviously, the first who dominated the genre. A bunch of krimis popped up throughout the 1960’s, some of which are horror, but their output has been inconsistent for a long while (sorry, but as fun as some Andreas Schnaas movies are, they don’t cut it), Because of that, it’s nice to see a more modern-day German horror film, which is one of the reasons I appreciate this film.

I thought Franka Potente made for a great lead, and I quite loved how she cared far more about actually learning something as opposed to sleeping with every guy possible (Anna Loos’ character, for instance). Sebastian Blomberg had some strong moments, and Traugott Buhre was solid. Benno Fürmann didn’t stand out at first, but I grew to enjoy him, and Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey was fun for the little bit he appeared.

Over the course of the film, we see different characters attacked, so I do think the pacing was pretty decent. The finale felt maybe a little long, but it was pretty suspenseful (despite some obvious red herrings), and we also got a somewhat interesting mid-credit scene, which was a nice extra.

When it comes down to it, I really liked Potente as the star here – I really liked her character, and I thought it was a lot of fun seeing her try to uncover some secret medical society. Anatomie is a pretty solid German horror film, though not a great one, and if you want a fun foreign time, check it out.

7.5/10