A Autópsia

The title and poster of the movie give a creepy and uneasy feeling to the prospective watcher, and the same creepy atmosphere is wonderfully evident from the start of this well-executed, well-acted offering from the Norwegian director who gave us the thoroughly underrated Trollhunter. This time, he opted for conventional filmmaking instead of the found-footage style he so deftly utilized in Trollhunter, giving us time to take in the brilliantly directed scenes which immediately thrusts the audience into the unsettling premise of a Jane Doe being autopsied by a father-and-son coroner duo.

The dialogue between the leads in the beginning build character almost instantaneously, and they feel real from the get-go. Compared to the recent trend of horror movies eschewing character development for cardboard cutout jump-scare fuel, this movie comes as a nice and refreshing, almost surprising, change of pace. The father and the son have contrasting personalities regarding their approach to autopsies. I expected this brilliancy in dialogue and character development to carry the whole movie - and it immediately increased my expectations of the movie; I fully expected this to be an underrated horror gem of 2016.

Alas, however, half-way through the movie the director's Conjuring-esque influences seemed to show through the cracks. Though not devolving straight into jump-scare territory, the movie dips its feet into schlock scares now and then, which has a very infuriating effect on the viewer who, until now, has been amazed by the movie's restraint. The character development also suffers, with some actions by the leads contradicting their motivations.

However, the concept and execution need to be commended. The actors Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch do well to sell the dread and claustrophobia experienced by the characters. Special mention to Olwen Kelly, who gives possibly the best performance of the movie, despite having no lines, no action (she plays the corpse). Definitely one of the highlights of the movie was the synergy between the camera-work and the actress's facial expressions which do more to put the viewer at unease than minute-long scenes of staring into the darkness, fully knowing the movie is going to go for that cheap jump-scare. That being said, I would say the script was the weakest aspect of the movie, the ending just leaves you wanting a little bit more, and slightly disappointed. Nevertheless, the movie does its job of selling you the premise and executing it well enough to leave you unsettled for a few days.

All in all, I would call this movie as a mixed bag, though I would give it a glowing recommendation as it is head and shoulders above the spate of incomprehensible scare-fests being offered by Hollywood these days. Great work, André Øvredal.

Be sure to check out Trollhunter by the same director. Although not a horror film, it merges the found-footage genre with goofy mythical creatures to amazingly hilarious yet epic results.

And a simply wonderful throwback to the 1970s when horror was, well, horror -- and not based on gimmicks like "found footage" but rather genuine scene-setting, story building, audience engagement, and full-tilt creepiness.

Probably destined to become a classic.

Brian Cox is this generation's Donald Pleasence, that is to say, a character actor who could not give a bad performance if he tried yet is destined to never actually stand out in any single production because that is his style.

Director André Øvredal is one of those rare finds -- an auteur with (so far) a small body of work who is producing better and better films. This suggests that over time he will probably give us bigger and better treats to come.

And while Ophelia Lovibond does not get a lot of screen time, the exposure she does have will only add to her fan base. An American accent so natural you would think she was trained by Hugh Laurie and a performance so sweet you might not even recognize her (unless you looked twice) as the very same actress that underpinned an entire season of Elementary.

Recommended? This is a must-see!

((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

The main thing this initially slow-burning horror has going for it is the fact that it is almost constantly genuinely unpredictable, but it's also one of the most uneven (promising) films of recent years; the best bit is the fantastically enigmatic, truly interesting first-half of the second-act in which the eponymous autopsy is carried out (with tangible grisly detail yet unexpected forensic accuracy) and the body's numerous mystifying mysteries are revealed, and the worst is pretty much everything after once it all goes off the rails and dips into more traditional, less engaging generic genre fare - it's a good job that the direction is pretty phenomenal for most of the piece and that the central father/son relationship is both believable and effecting, otherwise the whole piece would sink. 6/10

From director André Øvredal (Trollhunter) comes one of the best horror movies of 2016, The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Suspenseful, clever and creepy from start to finish this horror movie follows the story of father and son (played by Brain Cox and Emile Hirsch), both coroners, as they experience unexplained and paranormal events while examining the body of an unidentified woman (played by Olwen Kelly). Execution is superb, from directing, editing, camera-work, color grading, sound editing, dialogue. Movie also features some fine acting, most notably from Brian Cox (no surprise there) There is not a single moment where I felt bored, tension is always present and creepy atmosphere makes it very enjoyable. Also scares don't feel forced but rather real and well earned. Maybe couple of shortcomings or sins here and there prevent it to be a masterpiece, but it is still a very damn good movie. Simple story skillfully executed. Horror is not dead, it is still here and very alive, you just need to have passionate and talented people working behind the cameras.

After watching the trailer of this film i was just expecting another lazy cheesy horror film, and i knew it was a movie i'd skip. But after seeing some good reviews here and there about it, i thought i'd give it a try and watch it with an open mind.

Turns out to be one of the best horror films to come out this year (Along with Lights Out, Under The Shadow and Don't Breathe)

Just consider that this movie is not for the faint heart at all as it contains very graphic scenes that aren't suitable for everyone, but the title says it anyway it's an Autopsy.

What I liked the most about this film is that it has everything horror fans would like to see in a movie, it has very disturbing scenes, top- notch suspense , good scares , an atmosphere that will suck you in and a creepy enough story that'll probably keep you up at night thinking about dead bodies

The film starts slow with the horror but it never keeps you bored, it's always interesting and you always wanna know how things will go, and as you watch you'll notice it's getting weirder and weirder and then you'll feel so uncomfortable watching it until you reach the top speed of the horror and then it will come to an end.

The ending could've been better (thought its a bit cheesy) but it hasn't ruined the experience for me, it's still a good watch for fans of the genre.

Conclusion: If you're a true horror fan you can't miss this one, pretty sure it has many in it that will give you some good scares.