As the image above should hopefully make obvious, this is not, NOT a film for everyone. This is a very rough movie. By rough I mean it is one of the best explorations into the nature of evil I have seen put to film. Writer/Director Christian Alvart delves deep into his subject and delivers an unflinching look at the the hideousness of evil. I know this all sounds grand and I probably sound like I'm overstating things, I do not believe that I am.

The film has a very familiar foundation, a devious serial killer is captured and from his cell he plays mind games with an inexperienced cop. Alvart's plot isn't new and lifts from Silence of the Lambs and Se7en. At one point Alvart even has the murderer Gabriel Engel (André Hennicke) even directly mock his plagiarism "What did you expect? Hannibal Lecter?" Even though the music is the same, the lyrics are changed and Alvart sings a whole new tune. Unlike Silence of the Lambs, Alvart's story doesn't coddle the killer. Hannibal Lector may be one of the great film villains but he is likewise a cartoon. He is superhuman and not grounded in reality. Hennicke's Engel is as devious as Lector but far more disturbing because he is very real. It is easy to see how someone like Engel could exist in this world where Lector also feels like the stuff of fiction. This is the first of many differences that make this derivative work an equal to the film it copies.

The inexperienced cop, Michael Martens (Wotan Wilke Möhring) is haunted by a brutal murder of a young girl in his small, isolated and otherwise quiet town. When Engels is caught, Martens goes to question the killer about the murder. Engels, who has otherwise gone silent, speaks only Martens. As Martens conducts his interview Engels begins to propose that Martens, even though he is a pious and lawful man, is secretly demonic in nature. Throughout the film Alvart slips in serious questions on the roots of evil and how it develops in the hearts of good men. Martens, a strongly Catholic man, constantly warns his son that "evil begins with smallest things." If you let a lie slip through your lips you'll eventually reason that a small theft can be excused. Steal something and you can logically conclude that its acceptable to rob. It goes from there until there is no return. In his conversations Engels, fully committed to his demonic desires, infiltrates Martens thinking depositing arguments that seem logical and revealing but are really meant to expose Martens' weaknesses so he will fall. This is where the confusing title of the film comes into play. The title extends from a statement that Engels makes to Martens.

"Evil is a virus. Highly contagious. Highly destructive. You're already infected."

Engels tries to fill Martens with his diseased, soul killing evil. This puts Martens and his faith on trial. The connections between Engels and Satan and Martens and Job are clear. Engels claims to have been built by God and threatens Martens with "I am going to test you." As the evil Engels imparts in Martens begins to take root, Martens' faith is indeed tested and resolves itself in a fascinating display in the film's final act.

Again, this is a brutal film. Many people will probably be very disturbed by the subject matter. What is interesting is that there is a surprising lack of grim visuals in the movie. There are some hard moments but Alvart is very careful to avoid exploitative shots. The brutality in the film is mostly spoken. When Engels explains in detail, with in a sensual tone, the horrific crimes he has committed against small children the audience is left to imagine the crime. In a time where prolonged torture sequences are the norm, responsible choices in film making should be celebrated. There are moments of sexual intimacy that are shown in detail however. While I also thought they were handled well, they are frank and that may disturb some viewers.

I'll be honest, I am surprised to recommend this film. When I started it I thought I was going to be subjected to more mindless torture movie nonsense. What I got was a moving film with a couple of the best performances I've seen in a long time. Möhring and Hennicke both deserve great credit for giving brilliant performances in two very difficult roles. Hennicke in particular had a hard row to hoe given that he was working in the shadow of Anthony Hopkins' masterwork. The fact that Hennicke manages to make himself notable shows how strong he is as an actor.

Overall, if you're one who doesn't like psychological thrillers, the exploration of evil or just sex and violence in general, you're going to want to skip this one. If you can handle rough, adult material you will find a well written, God affirming film worth the experience.


Related Reviews:
Serial killer movies
L'Empire des loups “Empire of the Wolves” (2005)
Zodiac (2007)


Other Critic’s Reviews:
Los Angeles Times
Monsters & Critics

Labels: film, German cinema, movie review, serial killer