The Autopsy of Jane Doe · reception & legacy

How The Autopsy of Jane Doe has been received, argued over, and remembered.

The arc

It slipped out via IFC Midnight in late 2016 with barely a theatrical footprint, then word-of-mouth and streaming turned it into one of the decade's most recommended horror sleepers — now a fixture on 'best horror of the 2010s' and 'hidden gem' lists.

What's debated

The perennial fight: the first two acts are near-perfect slow-burn tension, so does the more conventional final stretch stick the landing or squander it?

Its footprint

Stephen King's tweet — 'visceral horror to rival Alien and early Cronenberg. Watch it, but not alone.' — became the film's calling card, and it's since become a go-to citation for pre-Succession Brian Cox appreciation.

Where it stands

A streaming-era cult favourite and reliable 'trust me, just watch it' recommendation — the kind of tight single-location horror Letterboxd users love to evangelise.

Named by the director

Influences André Øvredal has publicly named — the director's own word, distinct from the inferred lines of influence.

• The Conjuring (2013) — Øvredal has said seeing James Wan's film made him want to make a horror movie, which led him to this script.