Brian T

World premiere at TIFF tonight and I have to admit, even divorced from the predictable Midnight Madness buzz, this was a pretty solid creep-out. Not perfect, but it certainly sustains interest to the end. A critics screening did precede this showing, apparently, so I'm sure reviews pro, con and everywhere in between are already out there, but personally I was rather impressed with where they went with this one. The practical effects work and set design is top notch. Even with reliable players like Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch in the leads as father-son coroners tasked by the police on short notice to perform the title examination, on the basis of TIFF's write-up I was still largely expecting it to be some kinda of temporarily disguised slasher flick (where, say, Jane Doe's killer shows up and chases everybody up and down the eerie corridors of Cox's family-run, bunker-like underground morgue) or one of those gruesome thrillers where the lead characters turn out to be complete maniacs or some such cliché.

But I have to admit the filmmakers caught me off guard more than once as Cox and Hirsch ripped and sliced further into the title character's body, which is remarkably well preserved on the outside but ridden with horrendous, improbable injuries on the inside. I haven't read any pro reviews yet, but I'd be leery of them feeling the urge to get spoilery regarding Jane Doe's unique circumstances, or what happens after the power goes off during a freak storm (naturally!). The film's revelations, though perhaps not earth-shattering to every viewer, are revealed to the audience just as they're uncovered by the protagonists: slowly and methodically, albeit with a few cheap but effective jump scares along the way. I would think going in cold, though, might increase one's enjoyment of the show.

Why So Blu?

I watched this today and thought it was pretty cool, with exception to the ending and final explanation of what it's all about. Cox and Hirsch make a great team as father and son. The film drips with atmosphere and the actress that plays the corpse is hot.

asianxcore

Rented this yesterday on Amazon Video and I agree with that 100%

The film had my full attention for 2/3rds of it's run time and it fell apart in that last act. Seeing Cox & Hirsch work their way through the corpse in mystery/puzzle-like fashion was awesome.

inri222

I have to agree, the film had my undivided attention watching Cox & Hirsch play detective, the first half had me so captivated that I would give it a 5/5.
Then about half-way something happens, it switches gears from atmospheric slow-burn mystery to more cliché territory and goes a bit downhill.

3.5/5

EddieMoney

Agree with above comments. Surprisingly solid film.

islandclaws

I agree with the above comments aside from the reveal and last act falling apart. Sure, it veered into cliche territory but I loved seeing an undervalued subgenre put to use and the explanation behind it all was creepy and clever. Beautifully shot, wonderfully eerie score, and solid performances.

mattysemo247

Finally got a chance to check this out and really enjoyed it. I managed to avoid trailers, so that helped quite a bit. Terrific atmosphere and acting and the movie had me tense a couple times. Easily recommended.

d2cheer

I liked it; but the ending was a letdown like most have said. Solid creepy little flick.

TomOpus

This dropped on Netflix and I finally was able to catch it. Sadly, I agree with the comments.

Brian T

Sadly? Most of the comments here are reasonably good, except generally in reference to the ending (which I can understand even though I’m in the minority that was ok with it).

TomOpus

It sucks when an ending creates disappointment in a movie.

islandclaws

Can everyone who disliked the ending explain why and how you would have liked to see it done differently?

Brian T

Interesting idea. I don't doubt for a second that there are other ways this movie could've been wrapped up in an effective manner, but I suspect my general satisfaction with the latter portion as is prevents me from coming up with anything worthwhile. As well, most of the criticism of the "ending" hereabouts generally seems to refer to the whole last act of the film and not just the little "stinger" at the end that sets up a sequel, so I'm curious where some folks think the film could take a turn toward a better conclusion, as well as what that conclusion might be. I do think the basic concept of the film is strong enough to support other options. Still a bit of a shame that it probably won't launch a series. Jane Doe was a fairly unique horror villain in that she barely moved for the entire picture despite being onscreen (and naked) almost constantly, played mind games with her victims, etc.

TomOpus

It's the old tired trope of blame it on...

Brian T

Interesting. Guess I didn't see that as a negative on first viewing, since the title character


I probably too easily suffer old tropes as long as they're wrapped up in a reasonably slick and convincing take on the material with solid internal logic, but you're right, a trope's a trope. And at this point in time in horror film history, I'm not sure what else they could've made her that wouldn't have been done just as many times before. Zombie? Ghost? Alien? I guess they'd all work as long as the production design and atmosphere remained as detailed and compelling as it was here.

d2cheer

Since it was a year and a half since I viewed it (I don't recall the exact ending); I may need to revisit it on Netflix.

islandclaws

But that WAS the reason behind it.

And tired old trope? I've always viewed that sub-genre as one of the least exploited in contemporary horror; glad to see it making a comeback in recent years.