The Autopsy of Jane Doe

Andre Ovredal, the Norwegian director of The Troll Hunter, makes his English-language debut with this wickedly entertaining supernatural chiller. It's brought believably to life by the winning rapport between Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch, who co-star as the father-and-son coroner/morticians asked by Virginia police to investigate the mysterious death of a pristine naked corpse found at the scene of a grisly multiple homicide. But the first incision into the body reveals ritualistic horrors defying all rational explanation as an apocalyptic thunderstorm begins to rage outside the creepy confines of the morgue. Rather conventional in style and tone, it doesn't really stand up to heavy scrutiny in the logic department with its formula flickering lights, elevator malfunctions and radio static. Yet Ovredal's firm grasp on the gathering psychological scares and visceral nastiness raises vital goosebumps through an engaging combination of nerve-jangling suspense, graphic swerves into unexpected shock, queasy surgical procedures and the blackest humour.