An ugly rumor persists about a certain beautiful blonde bombshell who died in the early sixties, and the line-up of mortuary staff whom succeeded in having their wicked way with the dead superstar. There are plenty of necrophilia stories. The odds are that some of them are true. Those same odds predict, rather dismally, that there are less instances in the fictional world.
In writer/director Hèctor Hernández Vicens' first feature film, The Corpse of Anna Fritz (co-written with Isaac P. Creus), the title body encounters a rough ride - in a number of ways. Fritz (Alba Ribas) is - was a Spanish movie star, youthful and beautiful, even when inhabiting a blueish tinge, flat on her back in the basement of a hospital morgue. Some say that death is not the end. Anna Fritz' corpse however, about to undergo a thoroughly distressing ordeal, probably wishes that it was. Ah, but is it the end?
The body of Fritz, found dead in a bathroom at a private party, awaits an autopsy at a hospital where Pau (Albert Carbó), an orderly, excited by his proximity to a dead celebrity, takes a photo of her and sends it to his friends. Those friends, cocksure Ivan (Christian Valencia), whose racism, sexism and all-round bad guy persona is established in his first few moments on screen, and comparatively well-mannered nice guy Javi (Bernat Saumell), arrive at the hospital in an attempt to bring Pau, the middling sort when cast against his compadres, to a party. But, as is the way with insubordinate characters on film, a little bit of coke and booze is bound to push the proceedings in a different direction - as in the hospital morgue, where one-upmanship and morbid curiosity lead the way to the double violation of a dead star and last but not least, the reawakening of the aforementioned mid-coitus. A new predicament arises alongside Anna Fritz; what will become of her assailants now that she can talk, recall and report? Bad boy Ivan attempts to act on his villainous instincts amid begrudging and resistant company.
Ribas as Fritz emotes pain and fear noticeably well from within a character that has little to play with but for a scratchy voice and limited movement. Her sudden revival is given no explanation. The remaining three actors who, in one starkly-lit location, do their best to provide performance layers where script signals are lacking, also shy from inquiring into Fritz' reanimation. For a first time feature, this small-budget Spanish film shows promise for Vicens' future film endeavors. The Corpse of Anna Fritz, which, interestingly, has been downloaded by millions in the Philippines, lacks in a satisfactory amount of fear and thrills. Tension is low-slung and suspense jarred by loss of pace mid-way through. Vicens claims to be absorbed by human monstrosities, for his next project, he could be far more monstrous.
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