Autopsy

For some reason I was really looking forward to this movie - the description, the poster, something just made it good. And I may be a bit harsh because I felt let down. It had some good parts, and gore if you like that.

The plot, pretty basic, reminded me of Night of the Dead: Leben Tod for the most part. It is pretty straight-forward and predictable, and I think about 3 good jump scenes. I was worried at first with the Mardi Gras footage that it was going to be another "handheld" style, but that was just for the credits thankfully.

A couple of rewrites could have made this work a lot better. The main problem is you really don't care. You don't care about the kids, you don't care why the bad guys are doing anything - there is just nothing. Robert Patrick's Doctor could have had some real depth to him if they tried. The nurse is so stereotypical it's not worth it. The lead actress did deliver a good scene, but that was an exception to the script.

All in all, it had some memorable moments for those into the Saw/Hostel style gore, but mostly it was forgettable.

In Louisiana, while driving on the State Route 53, Emily (Jessica Lowndes) has a car accident. Her boyfriend Bobby (Ross Kohn) and their friends Clare (Ashley Schneider), Dmitriy (Arcady Golubovich) and Jude (Ross McCall) find that she had hit a stranger. When they see an ambulance on the road, they ask for help and the attendants Travis (Michael Bowen) and Scott (Robert LaSardo) bring them to the Mercy Hospital.

In the reception, the nurse Marian (Jenette Goldstein) realizes that Bobby is seriously wounded and sends him to the surgery room. When Emily tries to get information about her boyfriend, she meets Dr. David Benway (Robert Patrick) that tells her the Bobby is all right. But sooner Emily unravels a dark secret about Dr. Benway and his team.

"Autopsy" is a gore, bizarre and insane horror film that uses the clichés of a group of youngsters that has a car accident and end in a creepy hospital. The special effects and make-up are top-notch and the weird story has many ups and downs. When Emily finds her boyfriend in the hospital in the end of the story, the scene is insane. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Autópsia" ("Autopsy")

This deserves a much higher score than it currently has, 5/10 is a joke! Horror comes in many guises and as long as you head into this with thoughts of, for example Re-Animator or Society (I.e Body horror), then you should have a blast. From a presentation point of view the colour scheme is top notch. The use of coloured lighting is very much inspired by the great Dario Argento, when Dario was a true master of the craft think Suspiria, Cat o' Nine tales etc. The lighting is truly stunning with red & green bathing many scenes giving a dream like quality. A weird thing I found about Autopsy is the truly strange 1990s Canadian horror vibe it gives off. I persistently felt like I was watching a film from that era filmed in Canada like Hemaglobin or Habitat. Can't put my finger on why this is but I remember the same vibe coming over me on my 1st viewing quite a few years back. As others have said Autopsy plays out like a mad scientist horror with loads of believable practical effect gore, top notch acting and superb atmosphere. And who doesn't love a hospital based horror film especially in a facility that is abandoned and filled with lunatics. I've watched this twice now, once 5 to 10 years ago and again tonight and my score of 8/10 still stands, solid old school vibes in a nasty modern setting.

All that I knew about "Autopsy" when I sat down to watch it was that it was a horror movie and that it involved a hospital setting, and that was it. So it was my love for the horror genre that called me to the movie.

"Autopsy" is by no means a milestone in the horror genre in any possible way. In fact, it is a very mediocre and monotone movie. It is entertaining enough for what it turned out to be, just don't expect anything breathtaking or spectacular.

The storyline is also a fairly generic one, revolving around the horrible and macabre events in an old hospital. Yep, it is one of those types of movies. So don't expect an innovating storyline. It should be said that the storyline is adequately paced, although it is very linear and generic, and thus also quite predictable.

Now, the acting in the movie is adequate, taking into consideration what kind of movie it is, its budget and the genre. However, there were some casting choices which does raise some questions as to why they opted for those individuals. A matter of personal preference, of course.

As for the horror factor of the movie, well it is a diminutive one at best. There are no shocks, no thrills, no scares and such throughout the course of the movie. Which left me with a very mediocre feeling once the movie had run its course and came to an end.

If you enjoy horror movies that take place in a hospital setting, then there are some more impressive movies available, and so much more entertaining movies for sure. I managed to sit through "Autopsy" to the very end, but I can with all honesty say that this is not a movie that I will be watching a second time.

I literally watched this on a rainy afternoon with my cat. We didn't really expect much since this is one of those After Dark Horrorfest movies (which are usually pretty lame), but this wasn't that bad. I enjoyed it while it was on, but I know I will soon forget I even watched it. My cat wasn't very impressed, though. That might just be because he's a cat. Who knows.