Halloween is of course also the time for horror films. Countless representatives of the genre appear not only in the cinema, but everywhere. You can currently even watch a horror tip for free. It is oppressive and atmospheric and avoids the mistakes of other genre representatives.
What film is it about? In 2016, The Autopsy of Jane Doe was released by Norwegian director André Øvredal, who later made Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) and The Last Voyage of Demeter (2023).
The Autopsy of Jane Doe is about a father and son team who work as coroners. Her place of work is not at the police station, but at home in a vaulted cellar. They regularly help the police by clarifying the causes of death.
One day, however, an unknown body is found that was buried, but seemingly unharmed from the outside. Since we don’t know who the body is, she is called Jane Doe. The father-son duo now has to find out what happened to Jane Doe for the sheriff within one night. It’s not that easy, because the two of them have never seen a corpse like this before.
You can find a trailer for the film here:
The Autopsy of Jane – Trailer for the oppressive horror film about coroners
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Oppressive body horror with a fresh premise
Why is The Autopsy of Jane Doe so good? First of all, the main actors are a pleasant change. It’s rare to see a father-son duo as protagonists in a horror film. The father is played by Brian Cox and the son by Emile Hirsch. Cox in particular brings a presence and professionalism that is important in portraying the profession.
Because that is also a great strength of the film. It’s not a typical body horror film that revolves around explicit violence, but rather about the work of the coroner. A lot of time is invested in showing the processes that the job entails and that creates a fresh atmosphere.
The cold, dead body is dissected and analyzed. The horror comes from the fact that something is wrong. The professional duo doesn’t understand the body and even as a spectator without any explicit knowledge of the body, you quickly notice that something is wrong.
But you need a pretty strong stomach, because despite the FSK 16 rating you can clearly see how the body is dissected. That’s quite cool and professional, but that’s exactly what could make you feel uneasy.
It starts as a little detective story, along the lines of: What happened? The film then develops more and more into a classic horror film.
Good camera and a great setting
The cellar vault creates the oppressive atmosphere. The workplace of the two protagonists and the hallway are the main locations in the film, and they have it all. Because of the work it is quite sterile, empty and quiet. This creates a noticeable cold and oppressive atmosphere.
This means the film doesn’t need any spectacular events. Even slight changes such as an open door or a reflection create the necessary spookiness.
A particularly good idea is that you often point the camera at the face of the corpse, which is actually just lying down. As a viewer, it’s easy to become paranoid and wonder if something just moved.
The rain and the weather that you see outside creates the feeling that the two protagonists are trapped before they realize it themselves.
Unfortunately, the second half slows down a bit. The first half of the film is really fantastic and creates an oppressive atmosphere. In the second half the situation escalates somewhat and typical horror situations arise that do not manage to come close to the first half.
Nevertheless, the second half also works well because there is no exaggeration and techniques such as jump scares are used more discreetly. The Autopsy of Jane Doe is really good overall and works especially well alone and when it’s nice and cold outside.
Where can you watch the film? The film is currently available to stream for free in the ARD media library. You can watch the film until October 31, 2024.
Since the film has an age rating of FSK-16, you can only watch the film from 10 p.m. if you have not verified your age. If even a film like this is too shallow for you, you could be happy with Terrifier 3: A new horror film for 18+ starts off so violently that the audience flees the cinema