The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) Movie Review

 

The Autopsy of Jane Doe | 2016 | 1h 26m
Genre: Body Horror/Witch Horror/Horror/Mystery/Thriller | Country: UK-US
Director: André Øvredal | Writers: Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing
Cast: Brian Cox, Emile Hirsch, Ophelia Lovibond
IMDB: 6.8
My Rate: 7/10

Tommy and Austin perform an autopsy on an unidentified woman's body found buried at the site of a family massacre, leading to strange and dangerous events that threaten their lives.

Warning:

Contains disturbing images, nudity, and violence.

 
Synopsis:

A brutal murder occurs in a house, killing all the occupants. However, there are no signs of forced entry.  Furthermore, the body of an unidentified woman is found buried in the basement. This is a mystery because the corpse shows no visible wounds.

Tommy manages the autopsy and cremation business inherited from his family. Austin, his son, helps, although he dislikes it and plans to leave with his girlfriend.

After completing an autopsy, Austin plans to go to the cinema with his girlfriend, Emma. However, a police officer arrives with a serious expression, bringing a new corpse. The officer asks Tommy to perform an autopsy on the mysterious body. Austin chooses to help his father.

The female corpse, called Jane Doe, appears completely smooth without any injuries. This confuses them, especially when they discover that her wrists and ankles are broken. They also find other unusual things about her body. Suddenly, strange things happen: they hear footsteps, the autopsy room door opens by itself, and the radio station changes unexpectedly.

Austin realizes that something is strange about the corpse. However, Tommy insists on continuing the autopsy, leading to unavoidable dangerous events.

 

Review:

The Autopsy of Jane Doe has an interesting story idea. However, the execution feels less than optimal. Many parts could be improved to make the story more impressive. 

The intro scene is well-presented with a blur effect, creating a strong sense of mystery. This is enhanced by the music, songs, and sound effects.

The tension and terror are presented well. Several jump scares are shown, although the audience can predict them. However, it feels lacking in a lasting sense of fear. The story and scenes presented are not very deep.

The acting from the cast is quite good, although nothing special. It feels a little empty in terms of expression and dialogue.  Several details are also overlooked.

An overlooked detail is when Tommy asks Austin to stab him in the chest. In the initial scene, the knife is out of Tommy's reach, and Austin is in the same place as Tommy. However, suddenly Austin is holding the knife and ready to stab. There is no scene showing when Austin picked up the knife.

Spoiler: In another scene, when the police take the bodies out of the autopsy room, only two body bags are taken, while there should be three. Where is Emma's body? Why isn't it among the bodies taken by the police?

Another illogical scene is the police officer's lack of sensitivity. Tommy contacted him that night. With the unclear connection, the police should have known that something unusual was happening.

The story about the witch conspiracy should be presented better. Instead of relying only on Tommy's dialogue, it should be visualized. This could also optimize the acting of 'Jane Doe' herself. She is not just a corpse lying there. Scenes from the past, when the brutal events happened to her, could be shown. This would allow the audience to feel the emotions of the main character.

Overall, the film is quite interesting, but it should be made clearer that there are many disturbing images, such as internal organs shown in detail and close-up.  For those who cannot handle such things, this film may not be recommended.

 

Memorable Scene:

Their cat is found dying in the air vent. Seeing this, Tommy feels unable to bear its suffering. Tommy breaks the cat's neck to hasten its death and immediately cremates it.

In this scene, we see how Tommy doesn't want to see something he loves in difficulty and pain. Tommy chooses to 'help' it die quickly without pain. We can also see how Tommy has to come to terms with his loss.

 
Memorable Dialogue:

"All these mistakses, my mistakes."

 

Ending:

Cliffhanger

 

Recommendation:

Worth to Watch

 

(Aluna)