The Autopsy of Jane Doe 4K 2016

The body of an unidentified young woman, found at the scene of a bizarre incident involving several fatalities, is personally transported by the sheriff to the local morgue for an autopsy. The body is given the code name “Jane Doe”—the term used for women whose identities have not been established—and the autopsy team gets to work with their scalpels. Naturally, in keeping with the conventions of the genre, all sorts of unexplained paranormal phenomena begin to occur, forcing the protagonists to figure out who Jane Doe really is and how to defeat her.

The trailer and synopsis seem to hint that fear will be generated not only through supernatural cues and atmospheric tension. The subject matter is quite sensitive, which risks making certain scenes too graphic, triggering a reflexive revulsion, and simply presenting unpleasant, gruesome visuals. This is partly true, but the film’s rating doesn’t allow for documentary-style realism. So in this regard, viewers with weak nerves need not fear an overabundance of outright shocking content.

The suspense, however, relies on overused tropes, such as objects moving for no apparent reason, static on the radio, visions, and other such gimmicks. These methods are, of course, standard, but, as usual, effective. Although the main mystery lies in the root causes of such anomalies, and it’s solely for the sake of solving that mystery that you’ll want to watch the film through to the end.

The final verdict is this: a solid, run-of-the-mill film with a somewhat unconventional plot and setting, built on time-tested formulas. It’s just the thing for genre fans to watch during a slow season, as long as they don’t set their expectations too high.