Movie Details
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
Director-André Øvredal
Cast-Brian Cox Emile, Hirsch,Ophelia Lovibond
Movie type- Horror Thriller
ProducerFred Berger Eric Garcia Ben Pugh Rory Aitken
Release date- 9 th September 2016
IMDB Rating-6.8
Languages-English
Duration-1 Hour26 Minutes
Trailer
Synopsis
“The Autopsy of Jane Doe” is an extremely effective horror film, focusing on what is usually the last resort for creators of this genre.
Here’s the title that says it all.
Jane Doe is, of course, our NN, a person without an identity, in this case a body discovered in the basement of the house where the massacre took place. While in the case of the remaining victims it is known who they are and how they died, the naked body of an unknown young woman arouses reasonable interest of the police. The causes of her death are to be determined by the local coroner, who, together with his son, a medical technician, forms a harmonious duo. However, as they start cutting into Jane Doe, they discover increasingly disturbing details.
André Øvredal’s new film also reveals its genre affiliation with its title. We immediately know that we are dealing with a horror film, because no movie called The Autopsy of Jane Doe could be anything else. The characters use a scalpel to try to learn about the unknown in a very factual and professional way.
The father (the always reliable Brian Cox) is not interested in the motives of the crime or any other elements unrelated to the work he does – his task is to determine why the deceased is dead and he has no intention of going beyond this knowledge. The son (the good, recently unseen Emile Hirsch) asks questions more often about the circumstances of death, assuming that they may be helpful in determining what really happened to the deceased. In other words, one focuses all his attention on “what?”, and the other tries to supplement this knowledge with “why?”. Øvredal’s film works on a similar principle, in the first half giving the older man the right to speak, and from the moment when events take a very strange and life-threatening turn, the younger man’s logic takes the initiative.
This is an extremely effective horror film, focusing on something that is usually the last resort for creators of this genre. Stephen King once distinguished three types of emotions that should be evoked in the recipient of a horror work, ranking fear and anxiety, which is difficult to specify, as the noblest ones, then short-term fear, realized using common means, and finally disgust.
Jane Doe’s autopsy begins with the latter – we see in great detail the subsequent stages of the autopsy, the body of an undoubtedly beautiful girl, which is opened before our eyes, and then, without any sentiments, emptied of its organs. Interestingly, after a certain point, these macabre, yet realistic images stop repelling the viewer and start to evoke the best type of horror experience, according to King.
In his earlier film, Trollhunters , Øvredal also built the groundwork for entering the world of generally understood fantasy based on realism, using completely different methods ( found footage aesthetics ), but ultimately saying the same thing – our reality has its secrets and discovering them can help us a lot. cost. The whole fun this time is trying to explain what all the pieces of the puzzle mean, how they fit together and whether the final image will bring salvation to the heroes. Without going into details, I will write that we receive answers to these questions and, unfortunately, they bring the most desirable of all fears described by King down to the ground floor, offering us only fear with a handful of simple jump scares and an easily predictable ending. This is what happens when we gain knowledge of the unknown.
Before that, however, we actually watch one of the best horror ideas of recent years, masterfully conducted and executed. The gentlemen’s workplace is located in the basement of an old house, probably dating back to the times of both world wars, a song from the 1950s and some diabolical verses come from the radio speakers, and minor plot elements, such as broken vials with blood seeping from the refrigerator, a dark silhouette visible only in the mirror and the presentation of the corpse lying in the refrigerator to the younger man’s girlfriend prove that the Norwegian director not only learned his lesson in classic horror cinema, but was able to combine it all elegantly. Even though the action takes place in modern times, we don’t feel it – the camera recording the autopsy is practically the only element suggesting our times (the mobile phone doesn’t work), which introduces a pleasant retro atmosphere, a bit reminiscent of Gourmet . The entire house is in darkness, except for the room where the title character’s body is being examined, suggesting that if the father and son want to find some kind of enlightenment and salvation, their only hope lies in completing the autopsy.
I like Øvredal’s consistency and choice of means with which he creates his small but unique horror film. The director surrounds the initial situation with elements that are difficult to connect with the body lying on the table, but thanks to which uncertainty and, consequently, fear are constantly present.
I won’t reveal what revelations the two ill-fated coroners find in the dead woman’s body, because the entire film is built on this mystery. Let me just say that the punchline, although disappointing, does not dot the i’s – the conclusions drawn do not have to be true. Ultimately, what’s best about The Autopsy of Jane Doe comes down to the thinking of Cox’s character, who focuses on meticulous and thorough examination, leaving the rest to those smarter than he is. If only the filmmakers were as principled.
PS. This is not a film that requires the largest possible screen, and in fact I think that it could slightly spoil the effect that the director has created. This intimate horror film deserves equally intimate conditions, so I recommend finding a small cinema whose atmosphere will match the somewhat closed nature of Autopsy .
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