I watched The Autopsy of Jane Doe knowing next to nothing about it other than it was a horror movie, it was supposed to be good and that there was a decent likelihood there’d be boobs in it, even if they were dead boobs. All three presumptions turned out to be true, as the movie proves to be an entertaining, semi-unique horror thriller.
Featuring a surprisingly reputable cast of Brian Cox, Emile “amazed he got a role after nearly strangling a studio executive to death in a drunken rage, but hey horror movies don’t discriminate” Hirsch and, to a lesser capacity, Michael “Roose Bolton” McElhatton, The Autopsy of Jane Doe is a well-acted, creepy film about a father-and-son team who become trapped in their morgue while conducting an autopsy on a mysterious dead body that appears to have been tortured beyond belief despite showing no outward signs of damage (dead boobs!).
What ensues is your pretty typical creepy-things-happen-in-the-shadows horror film wrapped in new packaging, which, in the horror genre, is good enough to qualify as “unique.” Elevated by strong performances, a decent screenplay and solid direction by André Øvredal (who made the impressive Trollhunter a few years back), The Autopsy of Jane Doe keeps you guessing as to what direction it will go.
Ultimately, it succumbs to its genre trappings, going in the direction that you’d expect and ending in a rather forgettable way. It would have been great to see the movie shake free of its shackles and do something a little less conventional, but hey, few horror movies—especially those with any kind of legitimate cast—are willing to truly cut loose.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe isn’t the freakiest or most memorable of horror movies, but it is good enough to continue a two-year streak of quality horror films. Watch it, enjoy it, then forget about it.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.