From Spanish director Oriol Paulo comes a taut thriller, The Body (El Cuerpo), one of the most original thrillers in recent times. This is a riveting movie that keeps its audience engaged from the first scene to its explosive climax.
The movie’s inimitable success prompted unofficial remakes in Kannada and Tamil (Game / Oru Mellia Kodu), an official remake in Hindi (The Body), and an official remake in Korean (The Vanished). There are even plans to remake it in Hollywood.
The movie opens with a man running in mortal fear through the woods. Dressed in black and holding a baton, he scurries through the darkness until he bursts onto the highway, directly into the path of a moving car.
In the following scene, a senior police officer, Inspector Peña (José Coronado), receives a call summoning him to the morgue immediately. It is revealed that a morgue security officer killed himself by running into a moving car after witnessing something that terrified him. Moreover, the body of a middle-aged, successful, and powerful businesswoman, Mayka Villaverde, is missing from the morgue.
Peña arrives at the morgue and meets a colleague. As the two exchange banter while walking in, it is revealed that Peña has a daughter in Berlin, whom he has not seen in two years.
Meanwhile, Mayka’s grieving widower, Álex Ulloa (Hugo Silva), is at their mansion, overcome with grief. Mayka’s two sisters try to console him, but he tells them he wishes to be alone. Once they leave, Álex suddenly springs out of bed with newfound energy. He gets on his motorcycle and rides through the night, arriving at the house of his mistress, Carla Miller (Aura Garrido).
At Carla’s house, Álex fixes himself a drink, showing no signs of the sorrow he displayed earlier. Suddenly, he receives a call summoning him to the police station and informing him that his wife’s body is missing from the morgue. When he shares this strange news with Carla, she asks if it’s possible that Mayka is still alive. Álex dismisses the idea, insisting that she is definitely “gone.”
At the station, Álex meets Peña, and the interrogation begins. It is revealed that Mayka had returned from a business trip to Los Angeles and had died of a heart attack. Peña and Álex discuss how the body could have disappeared from the morgue.
Peña asks Álex if either he or Mayka had any enemies. Peña theorizes that if vandals were responsible, the entire place would have been wrecked. However, in this case, only a single body is missing. He also speculates that it could be the work of a Satanic cult.
Next, the coroner, an old friend of Peña, arrives on the scene. She tells Álex that Mayka may have suffered cardiovascular issues from flying or possibly died from catalepsy caused by medication.
During a private conversation, Peña and the coroner discuss Peña’s past. It is revealed that Peña’s wife, Ruth, died in a car accident years ago when another vehicle ran a red light and crashed into their car. Peña and his daughter survived the crash, but Ruth was not so fortunate. The incident left Peña struggling with alcoholism and anger issues. Although he is now sober and working on controlling his temper, the trauma lingers.
The interrogation continues as Peña asks Álex about his whereabouts earlier that night. When Peña claims he heard a phone ringing during his call to Álex, Álex says he had gone out for a ride to buy painkillers. Peña grows suspicious when Álex cannot produce the medication he supposedly bought.
It is revealed through further questioning that Álex met Mayka in California when he was much younger than her. He was a professor, while she was the owner of a large pharmaceutical conglomerate. After their marriage, Álex began working in her lab. However, throughout their marriage, Mayka was domineering and often threatened him with divorce, financial ruin, or termination from his job.
Back in the present, during a break in the interrogation, Álex is left alone in another room. He finds a bottle of TH-16, a drug manufactured by Mayka’s company. It is revealed that Álex murdered Mayka by secretly adding TH-16 to her wine glass. In large doses, TH-16 induces a heart attack and leaves no detectable traces. Álex pockets the bottle but is caught by Peña and his team, who accuse him of murdering his wife.
One significant flaw in the plot is that Álex never asks for a lawyer, even when being accused of murder. Perhaps legal procedures are different in Spain, but this detail might need to be adjusted if the film is remade in Hollywood. In this version, Álex isn’t even read his rights.
After this, strange events begin to unfold. Álex asks to use the restroom, leading to one of the most intense scenes in the movie, which I won’t spoil for viewers. In another chilling moment, Álex is locked in a room full of corpses. He finds a series of clues suggesting that Mayka may still be alive and is tormenting him psychologically.
In a flashback, it is shown that Álex met Carla while teaching a class. She was one of his students, and they began a relationship. Carla eventually gave him an ultimatum: leave Mayka or end their relationship. Desperate, Álex devised his plan, leading to Mayka’s death.
The twists and turns intensify from this point, culminating in an unpredictable and explosive ending. The superb acting of the entire cast, combined with a strong screenplay, elevates this psychological thriller into a classic, despite its minor flaws.
Bay Area Bloke 