Woman of the Dead (Totenfrau) - Netflix Series Review

There have been many hit series from Money Heist to Squid Games that have entertained global audiences without a hitch. Woman of the Dead or Totenfrau in German is one such series that is an amazing watch that has everything going for it. There is breathtaking cinematography, a slightly predictable yet brilliantly executed plot device, and a great cast.

But it is not always that a non-English series is received well by global audiences equally well. There might be a lot of the references lost in translation, and the timber of the dubbed-over voice artists might be way too different, and so on.

The title Money Heist is a sad shadow of its actual Spanish name La Casa De Papel or The House of Paper. Next, the voices that are dubbed over are quite different and have less richness and gravitas than the original actor's voices.

But this didn't affect the series one bit and we all loved every season of Money Heist. Thats the case with the Woman of the Dead series where there is nothing lost in translation and everything is conveyed with great clarity.

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The Plot for Woman of the Dead

The plot at the outset seems pretty straightforward, a woman Brünhilde Blum played by Anna Maria Mühe sets out to avenge her husband's killer after he is mowed down by a truck.

Mrs. Blum runs a funeral home where she works as a Mortician and embalmer, making complete sense of the series title. Her parents used to run the business and now she takes it upon herself to continue the family enterprise.

Things however get more complex and messy as Blum investigates who killed her husband so mercilessly and for what purpose. The series is filmed in different parts of Austria from Tyrol and Vienna to Lower Austria where you get a beautiful view of the Alps. The shots where Blum uses her murdered husband's bike on the Alps are particularly beautiful.

Blum unravels one by one the twisted threads that lead to the death of her husband, uncovering inhuman things being done to hapless people. Each episode turns into an instalment of revenge which keeps escalating with time in gore and intensity. The background music adds substantially to the suspense and atmosphere and is handled masterfully throughout the episodes.

I won't hint at the movies that probably have inspired this series as it might give away major plot points. But the whole series is suspenseful, and entertaining, and has one twist that some users will probably see coming and another that none can guess.

For those of you intent on getting more of Woman of the Dead in any form, this series is based on a book named Woman of the Dead by Bernhard Aichner. The first season of this series is based on the first of the book trilogy named "Totenfrau."

Logically we would be able to expect another two seasons from the showrunner if things go smoothly. Also, rumor has it that filming for season 2 has already begun although sources for this haven't been confirmed yet.

Mrs. Blum herself has a dark past that explains a lot about how she manages to run a funeral home and still retain dregs of normalcy, at least on the outside.

The unexpected twist is also connected to the dark side of Mrs. Blum, something she did in her past that is inexplicable and leaves a lot of questions to be answered. This will probably be good source material for Season 2 if there is one.

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Update 19/07/2024 - Alpine Noir

Woman of the Dead is the latest in a set of German language series called Alpine Noir where the village-side and mountain scenery is used to contrast the darker side of murder. This series underscores the plight of migrants in mountain communities who are consistently victimized.

A series named Höllgrund has a similar plotline but is set in a town near the Black Forest. Both these shows explore criminal pathologies showcasing their uncommon tendencies such as twisted self-talk or talking to elements of one's mind knowingly.

It might be interesting to know that Austria's ORF network and Netflix have formed a co-production effort to fulfill the first and possibly the rest of the seasons of this amazing series.

Woman of the Dead Cast

I would be lying if I said I recognized a single person, especially by name in this Austrian thriller series, but each one does a fantastic job playing their part. Another thing you can notice is that each cast member is really beautiful or handsome. You can't compare this aspect with the Ragnarok series, but they are very talented and good-looking to boot.

However, there is a sense of Deja Vu when I see certain faces as they would have been day players in major movies with microscopic screen time. Day players, as explained to me by Harmeet Bhatti, the Canadian actress, is when the person has very few lines in the series.

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Should You Watch This Series? Hell Yes!

This is a well-directed, superbly cast, brilliantly filmed crime thriller series that is entertaining from the first few seconds to the end scene and leaves nagging questions in your mind. Watch it for the cinematography, production value, solid plot, and even better performances.

First published 12/02/2023 and updated 19/07/2024