Director: André Øvredal
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Brian Cox, Ophelia Lovibond, Michael McElhatton, Parker Swayers, Olwen Catherine Kelly, Jane Perry.
So, we've had a good run of Japanese horrors and now it looks like there's some great horrors coming from Scandinavia, with Swedish David F. Sandberg's Lights Out and now, Norwegian Troll Hunter, director André Øvredal giving us the Autopsy of Jane Doe.
It's a prefect premise though doesn't feel entirely original, I think even borrowing the same suburban house from The Bye Bye Man. It a tarts off as a murder mystery, several mutilated bodies found in a house, no survivors, with the local authorities scratching their heads in bemusement. One of these bodies is unidentifiable, a Jane Doe, and is delivered to the local, family coroners to find her cause of death.
It's here the mystery deepens and we're lead on a trail of disturbing discovery as the father and son pair start to investigate the beautiful cadaver. You quickly figure out what's happening and some parts might even be very predictable, but that doesn't weaken the tense atmosphere one little bit. You know what's coming, but the suspense is cranked up to full effect leaving you on tender hooks throughout almost wanting the film to hurry up just to get it over with.
What really helps this film is the great chemistry between Hirsch and Cox. Both being equally supportive and loyal to one another, their relationship anchors the story to the basement. But the film is almost solely dependable on these two characters and of course the dead cat in the room, the Jane Doe, with Olwen Catherine Kelly doing a convincing job of playing dead.
It's terrifying, jumpy and quite graphic that would upset some of the strongest stomachs. Øvredal, like he did with Troll Hunter, uses light and sound incredibly well, intensifying the horror that awaits. Every good horror has to have a sound now, television static from The Ring, that guttural noise from The Grudge and now a bell! I would probably be a petrified wreak if I hear a bell tingle at home.
It's a great horror with brilliant use of typical horror elements, even though predictable, to shows great understanding of the genre. Certainly one of the better ones I've seen in recent months.
Running Time: 10
The Cast: 8
Performance: 9
Direction: 9
Story: 6
Script: 7
Creativity: 9
Soundtrack: 6
Job Description: 10
The Extra Bonus Point: 0
Would I buy the Blu-ray?: I might be too scared to.
74% 7/10
