Review – Anatomy

After the Germans pioneered horror cinema back in the days before talkies, their contribution to the genre went more than a bit downhill. However, if this effort is any indication they may be on the rebound. Here we have the tale of a medical student who gets accepted to a prestigious anatomy school in Heidelberg only to discover that the place is infested by a secret society of “anti-Hippocratics” intent on vivisecting paralyzed human subjects. Though beset by a number of boring, slasher-movie conventions (especially toward the end), there’s also some more thought-provoking stuff to be found, including questions of research-over-ethics that delve not only into the country’s Nazi past but also into the current affairs of large drug companies looking to cut corners. The visuals are also slick and stylish without being quite as pretentious as more Wenders-inspired work sometimes tends to be. Indeed, my only real gripe was that in the version I saw the dubbing was a bit awkward and some of the dialogue (particularly attempts at humor) didn’t translate especially well. Otherwise this is the best horror movie in years to make a westward trip across the Atlantic. Worth seeing