Anatomy (2000)

Movie Info

Lots of nudity…like without any skin nudity

Paula Henning (Franka Potente) is a promising young surgeon following in the path of her grandfather and attending one of the most prestigious schools in Germany.  When Paula begins noticing the bodies in the morgue are people she has seen, Paula realizes that it could be tied to an ancient order of doctors called the Antihippocratics who members have included doctors like the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele.  The murders are getting closer to Paula, and the murderer could be any of her fellow students.

Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, Anatomy is a German horror thriller.  The movie received a U.S. theatrical release with an English dubbed version.

What I’ll do for extra credit

Anatomy was one of those average pictures that just slipped under the radar.  With a badly dubbed version, the movie has a cheap feel and the style of horror that it presents also feels like a throwback to older films than something released in 2000.  The unnaturally feeling movie does have its moments but for the most part, is not very good.

The story just doesn’t flow and the characters don’t make logical choices.  People will disappear and show up in the morgue and everyone will be like “oh well”.  The movie also features a complete psycho who attacks, threatens, and claims to have committed violence and the main character almost seems to blow him off rather than take him as a threat.  The tone of the film is very strange (but it also reminds me a bit of the Vincent Price House of Wax.

I’m going to take her face…off!

The only saving grace of this film is Franka Potente.  I loved her in Run Lola Run and also enjoyed her turn in The Bourne Identity.  She isn’t very good here but she is miles above her supporting cast.  The writing and acting by the supporting cast makes everyone red herrings, but the movie gives away the killer way too soon when it should have been saved for much later.

The movie sometimes is shot nicely but overall the quality of the film looks rather poor.  The movie feels like a movie of the ’80s and often looks like a movie of the ’80s.  I do like the plastination of the bodies, but they don’t look like real versions of the dead.

Anatomy is a simple and a quick watch.  It isn’t very good, but it does have some chills and is more of a thriller at points that other horror films.  The movie was successful enough to garner a sequel and Franka Potente returned for Anatomy 2 in 2003.