The Autopsy of Jane Doe

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

Starring Emile Hirsch, Brian Cox, Ophelia Lovibond, Olwen Kelly

Directed by Andre Ovredal

The Story:
Police respond to a house of murder, several people are dead, and there's a naked dead woman (Olwen Kelly) half-buried under the house.  No one knows who she is, or how she died, because her body is in pristine condition.  They send the body to father-son coroners Tommy (Brian Cox) and Austin (Emile Hirsch) Tilden, and as they try to uncover the truth, they put their lives in danger and leads to a series of tragic events.

The Synopsis:
Andre Ovredal is best known for his masterpiece of found footage films, "Trollhunter," which was a fantastical mix of fantasy, horror, and drama.  He set out to prove that he wasn't a one-trick pony with "Jane Doe," and proved that he's definitely got staying power, and offers a unique, thoughtful addition to the horror genre that's been severely lacking of late.

Along with great horror like "The Witch," "It Follows," "It Comes at Night," and "The Babadook," "Jane Doe" is a thoughtful, dramatic, character-driven horror film that doesn't pander to the least common denominator, but rather goes all out in every aspect.  There's a lot of different aspects that makes "Jane Doe" a great horror film, one that even Stephen King said, "Visceral horror to rival 'Alien' and early Cronenberg.  Watch it, but not alone."  That's the setting, the story, the characters, and of course the gore.

The setting of the film takes place 95% in the Tilen's coroner's office, which is in the basement of their house (the other 5% is in the house where the body was found).  The office is a series of small, claustrophobic, dimly-lit hallways and corridors, and while the office itself is moreso inviting (lighter blue walls, music on the radio), it's still a very uncomfortable setting, just for the fact that no one really likes a coroner's office, because that usually means they're dead and being opened up like a Christmas present.

The story is intriguing and fascinating, and plays off the best episodes of "CSI" or "Forensic Files," as the Tildens slowly piece together the amazing story Jane Doe's body has to offer.  As each puzzle piece gets put into place, it slowly forms a terrifying picture of her secrets, how she died, why, and how it's affecting the father-son duo both in their psyches as well as their physical tolls.  The film does a great job at building tension and suspense, like any classic Hitchcock noir, and while I often fault horror films for following old tropes (jump scares, obvious set-up dialogue), I can forgive it here, because they really add to the suspense instead of compensating for a lack of it.  When Tommy mentions to Austin's girlfriend that the bell on the foot of the corpses have existed for centuries because doctors in the olden times couldn't tell if a person was dead or in a coma, you know you're gonna hear that ringing later on, but it's still unnerving nonetheless.  The film kind of falls a bit near the end, but by then we're already invested in what's happening and it's not as bad as many other horror films out there.

"Jane Doe" is essentially a play with four characters - Austin and Tommy, Austin's girlfriend Emma, and Jane Doe herself.  There's a few other characters scattered here and there, but its these four people who make up the entirety of the film, and they play very well off each other.  Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox have a loving, father/son bond that's fiercely expressed, especially during a particularly emotional scene where Tommy shares losing his wife and Austin's mother.  The two take care of one another as any true family members would when it all hits the fan, and it adds to the suspense and feelings of dread.  Ophelia Lovibond plays Emma, Austin's girlfriend, who has the least amount to work with here, but what small part she has, she plays it to the tilt.

The standout star here, though, is Olwen Kelly as Jane Doe.  She has absolutely no lines of dialogue, and never moves - she's a corpse after all - but she has this ethereal beauty about her that you really want to know what caused this beautiful young woman to die so young, and it speaks volumes for an actress to be able to lay perfectly still and not show any reactions to what's happening around her.  She hasn't appeared in much, but I hope to see her pursuing other filming avenues in the future.

Finally what makes this film great is the gore.  Taking place in a coroner's office, you'd expect it, but it's still terrifying, especially thinking that this is something that could happen to your body someday.  The first person they operate on was a man severely burnt, and it's gross to say the least.  With Jane Doe, they do the full autopsy, with chest opening, rib breaking, skull removing, everything - in pure unadulterated, unedited fashion.  Hearing the whizz of the saw, the cracking of the ribs, the handling of the organs, is just unrelenting.

So when you mix all those aspects, you get a top notch horror/thriller that will keep you up, and linger with you long after it ends.

The Summary:
Combining an intriguing story, an A-list cast, a claustrophobic setting and unrelenting gore, "The Autopsy of Jane Doe" has every aspect together to make for a great small-budget horror film.

The Score: A