The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) Movie Review
Written by: ML
Edited By: Grave Review Staff
Film Information
Director: André Øvredal
Producers: Fred Berger, Eric Garcia, Ben Pugh, Rory Aitken
Writers: Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing
Date Released: September 9, 2016
Cast:
Emile Hirsch as Austin
Brian Cox as Tommy
Ophelia Lovibond as Emma
Michael McElhatton as Sheriff Burke
Olwen Kelly as Jane Doe
Rating = 3.5/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
The story begins with a brutal crime scene where a strange female cadaver was discovered half buried underground. It is taken to the family-owned morgue and crematorium late into the night where a father and son take care of everything. Strange things start happening as soon as they start the autopsy. Tommy and Austin discover unexplainable internal organ wounds but no external signs of trauma. Soon enough, they uncover the truth that Jane Doe is involved in witchcraft because of the cloth found inside her stomach and the symbols inked beneath her skin. Lights explode and the corpses awaken and start terrorizing the father and son. Tommy sacrificed his life by absorbing Jane Doe’s injuries to heal her. Austin cries for help but fell to his death. It ends in another brutal crime scene and Jane Doe is taken somewhere else.
Gore Factor
Because this is an autopsy, viewers are presented with close-ups of slicing, cracking, and grinding dead body parts. It is blood and internal organs galore. The first part includes an introduction of different corpses with different causes of death. There are a few jump scares such as the attack of the corpses in the hallway. There are also some paranormal activities where an invisible force hurts them. The most notable gruesome scenes are when they keep on discovering things within Jane Doe’s body such as the thread, the flower, the internal scars, a tooth wrapped in a ritualistic cloth and the symbols tattooed just beneath her skin. Not to mention finding out she’s still alive by sawing the skull and inspecting the brain.
The Grave Review
This movie has everything from unseen forces, reanimated corpses, blood and guts, suspense, occult, family drama, and mystery.
The fact that the entire sequence of the father and son tandem shows what happened within a few hours of the night means that there are good action-packed scenes in there. Right from where they were ending the day with a burned corpse, to the son’s supposed date night, to the arrival of Jane Doe, and up until both of them died.
It would be good though to have a flashback as to what really happened to Jane Doe, such as how she got buried in the opening scene, where she came from, who cursed her, and why she was doing those horrific nightmares to people. Of course, the father and son cannot answer that through their assumptions. Since they both died at the end, nobody knows the real deal with Jane Doe.
Acting-wise, Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox did well. Aside from the creepy morgue setting, they really showed expertise in anatomy. They get to explain scientific terms as to how the different stages of autopsy are done. Every detail is important because like them, viewers also want to know more about Jane Doe.
Overall, this movie is a complete package. Good scares, good story. The only problem is the lack of proper back story and the real mystery of Jane Doe.
Because of the above reasons, Grave Reviews gives The Autopsy Of Jane Doe (2016) three and a half graves out of five graves.
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