The Body (2012 film)

The Body
Theatrical release poster
SpanishEl cuerpo
Directed byOriol Paulo
Written by
  • Oriol Paulo
  • Lara Sendim
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyÓscar Faura
Edited byJoan Manel Vilaseca
Music bySergio Moure de Oteyza
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing de España
Release dates
  • 4 October 2012 (2012-10-04) (Sitges)
  • 21 December 2012 (2012-12-21) (Spain)
Running time
107 minutes
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish

The Body (Spanish: El cuerpo) is a 2012 Spanish mystery thriller film directed by Oriol Paulo, starring José Coronado, Hugo Silva and Belén Rueda. The plot unfolds the events surrounding the disappearance of a female body (Rueda) from a morgue as the widower (Silva) and an inspector (Coronado) join forces to unravel the mystery.

The screenplay was penned by Paulo alongside Lara Sendim.[1] The film was produced by Joaquín Padró, Mar Targarona, Mercedes Gamero, and Mikel Lejarza for Rodar y Rodar, Antena 3 Films, TVC and Canal+.[2]

The film has been remade in multiple countries.

Plot

Inspector Jaime Peña investigates an accident that has left the morgue's night watchman Ángel Torres in a coma. Security footage reveals Ángel fleeing from his post before being struck by a car. Peña learns that the body of a woman, Mayka Villaverde, is missing. Mayka, a wealthy middle-aged businesswoman, was married to Álex Ulloa, a younger man, and suffered a heart attack following a business trip.

Álex hears the news while with his mistress, Carla Miller, and assures her that Mayka is dead. At the morgue, Álex tells the coroner about Mayka's medical history. Peña is convinced someone stole the body to avoid an autopsy and is suspicious of Álex, who Peña feels too easily speaks of his wife in the past tense. Peña, conversely, still speaks of his wife Ruth, who died 10 years ago in a car accident, in the present tense.

Álex hears a loud noise and discovers a busted locker containing a bottle labeled TH–16. It is revealed he put the contents of the exact bottle into Mayka's wine earlier in the day. Peña informs Álex that Mayka's cell phone is missing. Caught with the bottle, Álex admits it is a toxin manufactured by Mayka's pharmaceutical company, but denies knowing what it does.

More strange events occur at the morgue that seems to target Álex and Carla, convincing Álex that Mayka is still alive and seeking revenge for his affair and murder plot. Álex discovers Mayka hired a private investigator, as she suspected his affair, and had also heard him plotting death. Álex started confessing to Peña. He admits lacing her wine with TH–16, which causes a heart attack after eight hours and leaves no trace in the blood. He is convinced Mayka did not drink the wine and faked her death with a tranquilizer.

The police discover incriminating evidence at Álex and Mayka's house, including a map of the morgue. Ángel wakes up from his coma and reveals that after hearing a noise, he saw Mayka's body in the elevator before a figure in a balaclava fired a gun at him, sending him running into the street. Álex insists Mayka is alive and has the means to disappear and that Carla is in danger. Peña informs him they have no evidence Carla Miller exists and that the address he gave for Carla's apartment has been empty for years.

While transporting Álex, the police discover a body in the woods, which turns out to be Mayka's. Álex flees into the woods and collapses, as Peña closes in on him. Peña tells Álex his wife could have been saved if the other driver, who caused the collision, had called for help instead of fleeing. Peña recalls him and his daughter Eva watching helplessly as Ruth died. Following clues that Eva recalls, Peña learned it was Álex and Mayka who had fled the scene and left Ruth to die.

Peña then shows Álex a photo of his daughter Eva: Carla Miller. It was Peña and Eva who had taken Mayka's body and conspired to frame him. Eva initially wasn't convinced of their guilt until Álex himself confided to her that he caused the hit-and-run. Álex, now gasping to breathe, learns that eight hours earlier, Eva had dosed him with TH–16, and his death will be explained as a heart attack brought on by stress.

Cast

Release

The film was presented as the opening film of the 45th Sitges Film Festival in October 2012.[5] Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing de España,[6] it was released theatrically in Spain on 21 December 2012.[7]

Critical reception

Roger Moore of Movie Nation gave it 3 out of 4 and called it "A lean, moody and superior horror thriller from Spain."[8]

Accolades

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2013
 27th Goya Awards Best New Director Oriol Paulo Nominated [9]
2014
 19th Forqué Awards Best Film Nominated
[10]
6th Gaudí Awards Best Non-Catalan Language Film Nominated [11][12]
Best Sound Albert Manera, Oriol Tarragó, David Calleja Nominated
Best Special/Visual Effects Lluís Castells, Lluís Rivera, David Martí, Montse Ribé Nominated

Remakes

The film was unofficially remade into a Tamil-Kannada bilingual movie Game in 2016.[13] A Korean remake titled The Vanished was released on March 7, 2018.[14] The film was remade in 2019 in Hindi under the same title by Jeethu Joseph, in his directorial debut in Hindi, with Rishi Kapoor, Emraan Hashmi, and Sobhita Dhulipala in the lead.[15][16] An Italian remake, called "Il corpo", was released in Italian cinemas on November 28, 2024,[17] and in Indonesia, the remake version with the title Dendam Malam Kelam will be released on May 2025, featuring Indonesian actors Arya Saloka and Marissa Anita as well as Malaysian actor Bront Palarae.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Encontrar 'El cuerpo' de Belén Rueda, la obsesión de José Coronado y Hugo Silva". Diez Minutos. 18 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Empieza el rodaje de 'El cuerpo'". Fotogramas. 16 January 2012.
  3. ^ Barbieri, Candela (3 April 2025). "El Cuerpo: estreno en HBO Max, reparto y sinopsis del thriller". Marie Claire.
  4. ^ Costa, Jordi (21 December 2012). "El caso del cadáver inquieto". El País.
  5. ^ "[Crónica Sitges 2012] Otro susto de muerte para Belén Rueda". Cinemanía. 5 October 2012 – via 20minutos.es.
  6. ^ "'El cuerpo' – estreno en cines 21 de diciembre". Audiovisual451. 17 December 2012.
  7. ^ Zorrilla, Mikel (23 December 2012). "'El cuerpo', Hitchcock se revuelve en su tumba". Espinof.
  8. ^ Roger Moore (20 July 2013). "Movie Review: Spanish chills served up in "The Body"". Movie Nation.
  9. ^ "La lista de los Goya: todos los premios... y los premiados". Valencia Plaza. 18 February 2013.
  10. ^ "Marián Álvarez, Eduard Fernández y 'La Herida' triunfan en los Premios José María Forqué 2014". ecartelera. 14 January 2014.
  11. ^ "'Los últimos días' lidera las nominaciones de los Premios Gaudí". Fotogramas. 3 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Lista de ganadores de los Premios Gaudí 2014". ecartelera. 3 February 2014.
  13. ^ "Game movie review: A game around 'the body'". Deccan Chronicle. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  14. ^ "In 'Vanished,' search for a corpse takes a turn". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  15. ^ "Jeethu Joseph starts shooting his Bollywood debut with Rishi Kapoor". Times of India. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Jeethu Joseph's Bollywood thriller with Rishi Kapoor, Emraan Hashmi starts rolling". indianexpress.com. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  17. ^ Alessio Zuccari (19 September 2024). "Il corpo: trailer del nuovo film thriller di Vincenzo Alfieri" (in Italian). Retrieved 19 September 2024.
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