“It’s like finding a bullet in the brain but no entry wound.”
While almost the entire film takes place within the four walls that comprise the Tilden Morgue and Crematorium, André Øvredal’s The Autopsy of Jane Doe expands tremendously within your mind. Utilizing your inner conscious to stir up the inevitable as you find yourself perplexed by what is real, what isn’t, and what lies somewhere in-between, the film heavily engrosses your every thought, putting you on your heels as you begin to wonder just what the fuck is going on.
The film stars Brian Cox and Emilie Hirsch as a father/son team of pathologists who have a late, unexpected case come through their door. The unidentified Jane Doe arrives, needing immediate processing so that the city can make some sort of announcement the next morning regarding her placement within a rather complex murder investigation. While the corpse looks simple enough, we quickly discover that she is hiding quite a bit under the skin.
The film is the true definition of a slow burn. Building slowly, those patient enough to wait for the coveted third act are in for a treat as Tony and Austin Tilden slowly piece together the clues to ultimately answer the question as to the cause of death. But don’t be fooled. While the clues are slow to surface, the terror is not, and what meets the eye isn’t necessarily a mark of fact either.
The film occasionally falters, succumbing to the genre’s generic formula in an effort to generate cheat scares. Though the situation works on occasion, Jane Doe soars when it ventures outside of the box and presents an uncommon course of action, of which establishes an underlying fear of the unknown.
Ophelia Lovibond adds to the formula as Emma, Austin’s somewhat serious girlfriend who finds herself caught in the midst of the horror when she returns to the crematorium in the middle of the autopsy. Her presence is hardly felt as her screen time is limited, though she does provide an adequate connection to the outside world.
As the rain continues to come down outside and the power refuses to cooperate, the story that lies behind the highly improbably corpse only grows more complex. From burnt lungs to gushing blood, the autopsy is proving to be anything but routine. Though there is a scientific explanation for each event that goes against the grain, it is still deemed unusual for a single case to present so many absurdities.
Thankfully the pieces slowly begin to fit into place, creating a larger, more consumable image. We quickly begin to realize that no detail is left to chance and that each moment within the film’s first hour has proved instrumental in regard to the final outcome. Øvredal did not waste a second as he crafted his horror thriller, exploiting his characters to the brink of death as he plays on every detail to present an authentic, pulse-pounding mind fuck that will leave you searching for answers. Just attempting to process the inventive film will likely give you a headache, especially once you realize just how simple and straightforward the entire experience truly is.
