‘The Autopsy Of Jane Doe’ review [LFF 2016]

The Autopsy Of Jane Doe review: Simplistic in its approach, André Øvredal’s film is an enjoyable, if often intensely grotesque thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat.

The Autopsy Of Jane Doe review, Paul Heath, LFF 2016.

It has been nearly six years since he garnered international attention with his break-out cult hit Troll Hunter, director André Øvredal delivers his first mainstream English language effort, a suspenseful thriller The Autopsy Of Jane Doe.

The film opens with Roman Osin‘s camera tracking through a crime scene, bodies scattered everywhere. While the blood-splatted interior of the suburban house where a hideous event has taken place, leaves a horrific mess and a trail of bodies, the exterior shows no signs of forced entry. When investigators discover the naked, preserved body of a young women in the basement, they deliver her to the local morgue, operated by Tommy (Brian Cox) and his son Austin (Emile Hirsch). Austin is about to wrap up for the day and head to the local multiplex with his attractive girlfriend (Ophelia Lovibond) when country sheriff Sheldon delivers the body of the young woman for an immediate autopsy. Reluctant to stay, Austin relents and offers his assistance to his father and the two set about investigating the young Jane Doe’s cause of death. What follows is 80 minutes of suspense, intrigue and sheer terror as things don’t quite turn out what they first seemed to be.

Øvredal’s debut film Troll Hunter was ambitious in scale for a small independent, though his English-language debut is a lot more simplistic in its approach. Set largely in one location, the film starts off decently with the viewer taken on an intriguing journey focusing completely on this mysterious body. One doesn’t quite know the direction the filmmakers are taking us, which actually makes it really rather engrossing and enjoyable. Øvredal’s direction is solid and while he employs every single trick in the horror movie-making handbook, he does manage to put his own mark on proceedings.

The cast is as limited as the scale of the production, Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch carrying the entire movie, which they do adequately. The film, and they, are at their best before the big reveal of the origins of the body start to reveal themselves about two-thirds in. When Jane Doe’s terrifying secrets are unveiled, the film starts to lose a little of its edge – however, The Autopsy Of Jane Doe is intriguing, genuinely frightening and always engaging.

A tight running time of around 85 minutes (which plays out in near real-time) ensures that it never lags and always entertains, and while some of its beats are familiar and a touch predictable, there’s enough originality in here to warrant its existence.  I genuinely liked it and was left wanting more as the final credits rolled.

The Autopsy Of Jane Doe review by Paul Heath, October 2016.

The Autopsy Of Jane Doe makes its UK debut at the BFI London Film Festival, 2016 and will be released in the United States in December. It is currently awaiting a UK street date.