The terrifying Autopsy Of Jane Doe is now available to stream on Netflix – if you dare.
Directed by André Øvredal, the 2016 horror film tells the story of father-and-son coroners Tommy (Brian Cox) and Austin Tilden (Emile Hirsch) as they are tasked with examining the body of an unidentified woman (played by Olwen Kelly).
As they uncover more secrets surrounding her unexplained death, the duo experience supernatural phenomena that become increasingly dangerous.
The film horrified audiences at its Toronto International Film Festival premiere, going on to amass a strong 86% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Reviewing the film at the time, The Irish Times wrote: ‘Fans of the genre will rejoice in the rare sight of a new kind of threat. They will celebrate further at the director’s success in satisfactorily exploiting a challenging premise.’
Empire said The Autopsy of Jane Doe ‘creates a successful feeling of mounting dread punctuated by crashing thunder and surgical viscera.’
IndieWire said the ‘morbid’ film ‘takes body horror to a new level’ while Time Out branded it ‘an enjoyably twisty little throat-grabber.’
Succession star Cox, who played Logan Roy in the award-winning drama series, admitted he was not a horror fan, but something about The Autopsy of Jane Doe drew him to his role.
‘It’s such a good script, a script worth doing,’ he told HeyUGuys. ‘I’m not particularly a horror fan, it’s not a genre I’m really wild about, but there’s something about this.
‘It’s very well-written and thought through, every detail. That comes through when we start to work on it, as all the beats fall into place.
‘You’ve got to keep it in the real world, and the script does that. But there’s unintentional, but intentional humour in this film. We don’t play it for laughs, but there are certain things that are preposterous. It’s very good storytelling.’
Similarly, Lords of Dogtown and The Girl Next Door actor Hirsch praised the script and ‘great storytelling’ that attracted him to his role.
‘When I first read the script, first and foremost, I just found it really engaging and entertaining and scary and a real ride in a way that I didn’t expect,’ he said to Daily Dead.
‘I really liked the detective mystery — these medical examiners really being the Sherlock Holmes and in a very confined space. As the audience, we’re solving a mystery alongside them.
‘Each reveal takes you a little bit closer towards the truth. That was something that I found really appealing about the script, and that approach separated it from a lot of other current horror movies.’