20 Fantastic German Horror Films You Must See Before You Die
15. Antibodies (2005)
Long wanted serial killer Gabriel Engel (André Hennicke) gets arrested in a spectacular police strike. Small town cop Michael Martens (Wotan Wilke Möhring) travels to the big city to interrogate him. He associates a brutal murder case with the killer's method and hopes to close the case by getting a confession from Engel. Instead the clash of the two totally opposite characters shakes Michael's beliefs to the core, turning him into a dangerous threat, an enemy to the people around him.
While Silence Of The Lambs comparisons are understandable (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), Antibodies is a much more realistic, character-driven piece.
The film is undoubtedly a roller-coaster ride of emotions. There are some uncomfortable scenes (Engel makes Lecter look like Steve from Blue's Clues) but they rely on the viewer's imagination rather than in-your-face gore. In short, Antibodies is well worth seeking out, as a serial killer film that's both thought provoking and reasonably gripping. The line between good and evil is thoroughly analyzed and tested to the point where you're confusingly unsure of where it's located.