'Autopsy' a horror tale with a split personality
Norwegian director Andre Ovredal's English-language debut, "The Autopsy of Jane Doe," doesn't possess as many personalities as James McAvoy does in "Split."
But it has at least two.
The first is a sly and immersive gothic mystery thriller that takes place mostly within the claustrophobic confines of a basement morgue during a dark and stormy night.
The second asserts its dominance around the halfway point when innovation gives way to conventional horror tactics and an outrageously bizarre premise, even for a far-fetched terror tale.
"Autopsy" begins with the gruesome discovery of a family slaughtered inside a house with no signs of forced entry.
It's like, a cop mutters, something stopped them from trying to get out!
Cops find the naked body of a young woman (Olwen Catherine Kelly) in the basement. They haul her to a family morgue run by Tony Tilden (Brian Cox) and son Austin (Emile Hirsch), who agree to perform an autopsy that very night.
Austin wants to go out with his main squeeze Emma (Ophelia Lovibond), but stays to help Dad with the unnervingly attractive corpse.
They cut open the body and begin the autopsy with detailed surgical precision.
No visible signs of violence or trauma. But wait! Her ankles and wrists have been shattered. How?
Her tongue has been crudely severed. Why?
They find cuts and scars on her organs, and occult symbols tattooed inside her body. They begin to piece the puzzle together.
Cox and Hirsch lend marvelous gravitas to their father-and-son team, whose reactions to the unfolding mystery - and the increasing threat it poses to them - pile on the ominous sense of dread that will soon be punctured by a chaotic chamber-of-horrors fight for survival against unseen forces.
Kelly's alluringly terrifying performance deserves special recognition. She reportedly used meditation techniques to act dead for long stretches of time while Cox and Hirsch poked, prodded and "sliced" her naked body.
Cox seems totally in his zone while examining Kelly's organs. After all, he did play the first Hannibal Lecter.
“The Autopsy of Jane Doe”
★ ★ ½
Starring: Brian Cox, Emile Hirsch, Olwen Catherine Kelly, Ophelia Lovibond
Directed by: André Øvredal
Other: An IFC release. Rated R for language, nudity, violence. At Chicago's Music Box Theatre. 99 minutes