Sightlines · reception

How The Autopsy of Jane Doe was received

2016 · André Øvredal · The Autopsy of Jane Doe on Sightlines

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

Did you know? Olwen Kelly, who plays the corpse, was cast partly because her yoga practice let her control her breathing and stay convincingly still through long unbroken takes.

Named by the director

• 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.