The Autopsy of Jane Doe

The Autopsy of Jane Doe is a 2016 supernatural horror film directed by André Øvredal. It stars Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch as father-and-son coroners who experience supernatural phenomena while examining the body of an unidentified woman (played by Olwen Kelly). It is Øvredal's first English-language film. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2016, and IFC Midnight released it on December 21, 2016. It grossed $6 million at the box office. The critical consensus at Rotten Tomatoes calls it "a smart, suggestively creepy thriller". Plot The corpse of an unidentified young woman is found at the scene of an inexplicable multiple homicide. Sheriff Burke finds no signs of forced entry, and Lieutenant Wade suggests that the victims were trying to escape. Emma Roberts visits her boyfriend, Austin Tilden, and his father, Tommy, a small town coroner. Sheriff Burke arrives with the body of the Jane Doe and tells Tommy that he needs the cause of death by morning. Austin postpones his date with Emma to help his father, promising to meet her later that evening. Tommy and Austin perform the autopsy and quickly become confused. There are no external visible signs of trauma, but her wrist and ankle bones had been shattered. Her tongue has been crudely cut out, one of her molars is missing, her lungs are blackened as though she had suffered third degree burns, and her internal organs reveal numerous cuts and scarring. Jimsonweed, a paralyzing agent not native to the area, is found in her stomach. The condition of much of the body suggests that death had just occurred, while cloudiness of the corpse's eyes suggests she has been dead for several days.