This post includes a brief plot summary, an analysis, and a review of the 2015 film “The Corpse of Anna Fritz”. Beware of spoilers.
Note: Over the years, I have been losing my tolerance for horror films. It’s not because I don’t like them, but I’ve grown increasingly “allergic” to jump scares. By the way, “The Corpse of Anna Fritz” was not what I was expecting. After watching the trailer, I was sort of expecting a supernatural thriller, but what I got was so much different…
How far would you go to cover up an unspeakable act? “The Corpse of Anna Fritz” explores the darkest corners of human depravity, challenging viewers to confront their own ethical boundaries.
This unsettling Spanish thriller, directed by Hèctor Hernández Vicens, stars Alba Ribas as Anna Fritz, alongside Cristian Valencia (Ivan), Albert Carbó (Pau), and Bernat Saumell (Javi).
“The Corpse of Anna Fritz” tells the story of three men who sneak into a morgue to take a glimpse of a famous celebrity.
Pau is an auxiliary at a hospital’s morgue and he just “received” the recently deceased Anna Fritz, a famous actress, who mysteriously passed away. He is up to no good and invites two other friends, Javi and Ivan, to join the “party”.
The men rush in to see the celebrity’s naked body. And soon, things begin to escalate. The men no longer want to just stare at the body, they want to engage in necrophilia. Ivan instigates the others to follow his lead, while Pau agrees, Javi decides to stay away from it.
After Ivan finishes assaulting Anna, Pau follows. In the middle of the act, Anna suddenly opens her eyes, and she is horrified. The trio is confronted with a huge dilemma: let Anna go and possibly face jail time for what they did or “silence” her forever.
Javi urges his friends to do the right thing, but Ivan disagrees. During a heated argument, Ivan accidentally kills Javi. Meanwhile, Anna manages to escape the morgue, but she is not out of danger yet, as Ivan and Pau are after her.
The men try to smother Anna to death, for a moment, things seemed to be over. But here comes the big plot twist: Pau instructed Anna to play dead while he covered her body with a sheet. Ivan, who was on his way out, returned to the morgue to get his wallet. He finds out that Anna is alive and attacks Pau for trying to deceive him.
When Ivan was distracted, Anna sneaked behind and stabbed him to death. The film ends with Anna stabbing Ivan’s accomplice, Pau, too. She stands over him in tears while he bleeds to death.
“The Corpse of Anna Fritz” delivers an effective portrayal of celebrity worshipping and subsequent dehumanization, as well as the objectification of women.
In this story, the victim happens to be a woman and a celebrity. The way the characters treat Anna and her body is a terrifying reflection of how the media and “fans” often treat celebrities—as commodities, ready to be consumed, rather than people to be respected.
“The Corpse of Anna Fritz” is literally a woman’s worst nightmare.
Anna Fritz suffers many violations throughout the film.
First, Anna’s privacy is violated when the men strip her. Second, her dignity and right to consent are taken away when Pau and Ivan decide to rape her. Third, even though Anna is clearly the victim, the men have the audacity to blame her for putting them “in a pickle”.
The men in the film represent different human flaws that serve to illustrate the complexities of toxic masculinity.
Ivan’s is the epitome of toxic masculinity, a man who has no respect for women (dead or alive). He is always trying to test others’ moral boundaries to assert his own dominance. Even when Ivan is in the wrong, he will not hesitate to put the blame on the victim for his heinous actions.
Then, there is Javi. Of all three, he is the most “decent” one. Nevertheless, he lacked the courage and strength to stop the “train wreck”, which ended up costing his life. Although he never actively engaged in Anna’s rape, his inaction in the situation does not make him morally or legally exempt from the crime.
Last but not least, there is Pau, a very deceiving character. On a surface level, he seems to be a better human than Ivan, but he is not. First of all, he has no qualms about engaging in necrophilia, which is very unsettling, given that whoever is on the other side has no possibility to consent. Then, he acted as an accomplice to Ivan’s attempt to murder Anna.
Having said that, all of them deserved their respective demise. It’s a direct consequence of their thoughtless actions.
“The Corpse of Anna Fritz” is a provocative study on complex themes such as consent, survival, and accountability.
As mentioned before, necrophilia is not just a sexual fetish but a crime. It’s never nor will it ever be okay to do things to someone just because they are unconscious (or dead). The trio, particularly Pau and Ivan, displayed very little respect for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Everyone in the film is trying to survive whatever they are trying to escape from. Anna is trying to run away from death, while the boys, Pau and Ivan, are trying to avoid jail time for what they did.
In the process, both prey and predator do the unthinkable when backed into a corner. The film manages to illustrate pretty well how “normal people” can end up doing terrible things in the name of self-preservation.
As mentioned before, not all the men participated in the rape of Anna Fritz, but they are all complicit to some degree. Their downfall serves as a serious reminder that being a bystander can be just as bad as being an active participant in a crime. Having said that, doing the right thing should be a collective responsibility, instead of a single individual’s duty.
Final Thoughts
Let me start by saying that “The Corpse of Anna Fritz” is a good film, but I don’t necessarily like it. I guess it’s hard to like something so brutal. The film culminates with a gut-punching ending, where justice was “partially” served but in an unsatisfactory manner.
All the performances were excellent, something I did not expect given I knew very little about the ensemble cast. The director, Hèctor Hernández Vicens, chose the right pacing for the film. Despite its short runtime (less than 90 minutes), every minute was used wisely to create a tense and suspenseful atmosphere.
Before I end this review, there is one thing about “The Corpse of Anna Fritz” that kinda bothers me… “How the hell did she get there?”. The film never explains why everyone thought she was dead.
Final Rating: 🍎 (Good)
