The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)

Review

86min

Genre:       Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Director:    André Øvredal

Cast:         Brian Cox, Emile Hirsch, Olwen Catherine Kelly…and more

Writers:     Richard Naing and Ian B. Goldberg

-Synopsis-

When the body of an unidentified murder victim shows up at their small-town morgue, a father & son team of coroners try to unravel the mystery of her gruesome fate—only to get caught up in a frightening fight for survival themselves in this tense horror from the director of ‘Trollhunter’.

After making his solo feature directorial debut and cutting his horror teeth on 2010’s Norwegian faux documentary creature-feature ‘Trollhunter’, director André Øvredal gets his first direct crack at keeping an English-only audience on edge with this dark mystery and gruesome survival thriller—built on a solid duo of central characters and one of the stillest performance in movie history.

A European production but set in small-town Virginia; ‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’ stars screen veteran Brian Cox leading a cast of mostly British and Irish talent, alongside Emile Hirsch—the real American of the piece—as ‘Tommy & Austin Tilden’, father and son local coroners working in their claustrophobic old basement morgue. When the local sheriff (Michael McElhatton) turns up with the seemingly pristine body of an unidentified young lady (Olwen Kelly), and looking for a cause of death—their flesh-defiling investigations begin to unravel a dark mystery about her disturbing past and identity, plunging the Tildens into a life and death struggle against the unknown.

This is one of those films that it’s difficult to write about without giving away some of the main reveals, but we’ll try to be as vague as possible. ‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’ really is a film of two halves and a tale of two tones—starting off as a dark and gruesome CSI-style murder/mystery which fleshes out the two central characters while ominously building intrigue and suspense, before turning on a sixpence into a slightly clichéd and ill-conceived supernatural survival horror/thriller, with events conspiring to trap the Tildens and leave them scrambling to unravel this sinister mystery . . . and escape.

For an indie horror with a modest budget, ‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’ can certainly count on the tonal quality of the visuals to ratchet up the menace and creepiness of the story, taking full advantage of experienced cinematographer Roman Osin’s (Pride & Prejudice) talents to add layers to the single claustrophobic location and build atmosphere—plus a layered score from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans which switches between reflective and alarming.

This isn’t exactly the most original or imaginative fare, and the early narrative promise is rather squandered when the story takes a massive turn and relies on some familiar horror contrivances to build suspense and keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Yet despite its limitations, the simplicity of the film is its strength and Øvredal’s craftsmanship and execution keeps it chugging along nicely—harking back to more traditional horror and avoiding modern gimmicks like found-footage . . . even though Øvredal can’t quite resist a few pre-requisite jumpscares.

With less than a 90 minute runtime to work with and for the sake of pacing, the film relies on the talents of Cox & Hirsch and their on-screen chemistry to build a brief but passable back story and make this work as a character thriller—not to mention the brave and committed performance by Olwen Catherine Kelly as the ‘Jane Doe’ herself, lying lifeless but with intent and completely naked throughout, as she’s cut open and bares more than just her body while remaining perfectly still, being the lynchpin of the whole film.

Given the focus on the autopsy—and all the blood and guts which that entails—this is not a film for the weak-stomached, but it’s not exactly body horror either and isn’t really macabre in its sensibilities, and is frankly slightly lacking in the genuine terror stakes. Instead it works as something of a hybrid with a dark mystery core surrounded by horror, and with an uncommon medical investigation central framing. When you add the threads of ritualism, suffering, revenge and redemption which run through the narrative, Øvredal manages to just about taper over the tropes and an underwhelming conclusion, making ‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’ creepy and intriguing enough to elevate it beyond just a cold, brisk, clinical but functional little horror/thriller.

The Bottom Line . . .

An intriguing and compact little horror hybrid with twists and a major gear change; ‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’ works well as a dark and gruesome murder-mystery but less so as a genuine terror-inducing survival horror/thriller—yet thanks to strong performances and solid directorial craftsmanship manages to just about be captivating and unsettling enough throughout . . . with space for this journey to continue.

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