The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) - Review
Originally published February 2019A mystery in a horror film is a double-edged sword. When there is a mystery for characters to unravel, it helps make the film move a lot faster and the story seems inherently more interesting. However, a common mistake in storytelling when it comes to horror films is explaining too much. If you're a fan of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes stories, you know that part of the schtick with mystery stories is that everything needs to be explained. The Autopsy of Jane Doe makes a valiant attempt at having its cake and eating it too, but is it good enough to do it?
At the very least it makes this attempt at providing a compelling mystery using a perspective that isn't so commonly used in horror films. A coroner is a common character in crime scene investigation shows and in horror films, and sometimes they're the main characters. However, it's rare for the coroners to spend the entirety of the movie doing their job on a single body to try to solve a mystery. The Autopsy of Jane Doe gives some insight into this profession and shines a light on the role enough to create a movie that is probably a coroner's worst nightmare.
Image: Lionsgate
Pros
Small cast does a good job
Dialogue around the practice and profession seems well-written and accurate
Mystery of the Jane Doe is inherently interesting along with the clues they find as to who she is and how she died
Characters aren't [always] stupid horror characters; they're more fleshed out and behave logically [most of the time]
Good running time under 90 minutes; never drags
Cons
Some dialogue is painfully cheesy or just weak in comparison to the rest
Some lame fake scares
Special effects look really bad in certain areas
Unfortunate horror clichés show up and things start getting too predictable
A little too much is revealed by the characters about the mystery of Jane Doe
Plot & Thoughts
The Autopsy of Jane Doe opens with a confusing and gruesome murder scene being investigated whereupon the body of an unknown female is discovered. This young girl is in pristine condition and does not appear to have any real connection with the rest of the corpses at the scene, which only has investigators perplexed. They bring the girl to the county mortuary and morgue run by coroners Tommy Tilden (Brian Cox) and his son Austin Tilden (Emile Hirsch). They're about to call it a night, and Austin is about to step out for a date with his girlfriend (Ophelia Lovibond) when Jane Doe arrives and they're told that they need a cause of death by the morning.
It's a simple and sweet setup for the premise. And it doesn't take long before the men discover some weird things about the body. Soon those weird details and clues start to add to the mystery of who she was, and how or why she died. With each detail they uncover, something more mysterious or insidious occurs around them, until eventually, the men seem to be losing their minds in their own operating room.
Image: Lionsgate
The Autopsy of Jane Doe is only about 90 minutes long but it doesn't rush anything. Part of the strength of this film is that it still takes its time where it needs to. All of the creepy things that start to occur do so at a slow enough pace that it doesn't feel like the horror is being forced down your throat. A few sound effects sprinkled here or there. Some shadows lurking in the background. The occasional jump scare. It's all there and it works relatively well for most of the film. There are a few scares that are definitely not earned, as well as a few predictable horror moments you saw coming from a mile away that ruin the momentum of the experience. Nonetheless, the movie is never dull.
Another strength of The Autopsy of Jane Doe is the characters. The characters don't feel like the typical cliché horror characters trapped in a scenario. The father/son dynamic adds a lot of subtlety to their dialogue and interactions that wouldn't be there if the characters were saying the same lines but were just colleagues. Also, unlike the mystery of who Jane Doe is, we don't get the full story behind the two of them. Some bits of dialogue give us hints as to what Austin wants to do with his life, but that conversation is cut short. Tommy shares a brief confession about Austin's mother, but that conversation ends early. This helps make the characters more compelling because, even though we don't need to know more about them, the fact that there is still something to discover about them makes them more interesting.
Image: Lionsgate
At the same time, there are moments where the characters say too much. There are some predictable or downright cheesy lines. Even the characters acknowledge the cheesiness, which is not a good enough method of covering it up. The main failure in the dialogue is in the fact that this is a double-edged sword scenario where we want to understand what is going on and uncover the mystery, but horror does better when you know less. As a result, the build-up to the finale is better than the finale itself. All the creepy moments when the film is quieter and setting everything up are more compelling than when the excrement is hitting the fan. Not to mention, while all the gory practical effects involved in the autopsy look convincing enough (and there is a lot of it), all the digital effects, especially during the big dramatic moments, look really bad.
I wouldn't say that the film falls apart at the end because I still really like The Autopsy of Jane Doe. It's just that by the halfway point, the writing was on the wall for a lot of what was going to happen. Things started getting too predictable. When the characters finally broke down their theory as to what was happening and why, I was ready for it all to end before I was told much more. Thankfully it does. It's not the most graceful finish to a film but it at least seems to be aware that it was better to end it before explaining anything else.
Image: Lionsgate
TL;DR (Conclusion)
The Autopsy of Jane Doe does a lot of things right, with a few missteps here and there. Some smart choices around the premise and the characters help make this a much more interesting experience than I ever would have expected. Not to mention, it respects your time and manages to tell its story without rushing through the horror or dragging down the pace.
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