Modern slasher spin on the Mad Scientist genre stars Robert Patrick as a psychotic doctor keeping his terminally ill wife alive by using the harvested organs and spinal fluid of victims, brought to him fresh by two ex-cons posing as paramedics. A motley group of college drop-outs, having just enjoyed a raucous time of partying at Mardi gras, are heading home when they suffer a car wreck which provides Patrick's diabolical Dr. David Benway a new supply of fresh meat. Jessica Lowndes is Emily, the established "final girl" who seeks out her boyfriend Bobby(Ross Kohn)when he is taken away by Benway's goons, Travis(Michael Bowen)and Scott(Robert LaSardo)supposedly to get attention to his severe rib injury(..a piece of glass was embedded into his skin, almost causing a lacerated lung). Meanwhile, Emily's other friends, Clare(Ashley Schneider), Jude(Ross McCall), and Andrey(Acradiy Golubovich)are each sent to a room by Nurse Marian(..James Cameron regular, Jenette Goldstein), not knowing that instead of receiving a check-up, they were bound for certain grisly death.
Writer-director Adam Gierasch(..who cut his teeth authoring screenplays for Tobe Hooper)provides quite a colorful, glossy look thanks to his superb cinematographer, Anthony B Richmond, and the setting compliments the blood shed and grue nicely. Make no mistake about it, this is a gore film, first and foremost, and the rules of the slasher formula are in full effect. The screenplay finds multiple opportunities to rescue Emily from certain harm while her friends never have a prayer. Most of the characters, except some modest exposition for Emily and Benway, aren't incredibly developed, and the film pretty much features our heroine pursuing her beloved Bobby never knowing which brute is around the next corner. We also bare witness to the sadistic activities of Travis and Scott, as they clean up the messes once Benway is finished with his victims. As far as the graphic violence, gorehounds will not disappointed..director Gierasch(..whose screenplays for Hooper often feature extremely unpleasant ends to characters killed off)doesn't shy away from the fact that he's setting out to shock the audience with gratuitous ultra-violence. One scene has poor Clare pinned down by a patient whose wounds aren't sown, his body parts splashing in her face as she struggles to break free. One poor soul is alive, under anesthetic, as his stomach's being removed! And a cleaver is used to lop off an arm. Travis, in particular, loves torturing victims(..how he slams a cleaver into the back of a live victim after punching her in the face, not to mention a very nasty scene where he pokes his finger into the tiny drilled hole of a victim's head display his penchant for embellishing the work of himself and colleagues)and Scott introduces Jude to a very hallucinogenic drug, locks him in a room, and watches as he falls prey to the effects. Scott is assigned the role of disposing of the body parts no longer needed, sanding off the finger prints. Benway's always operating without emotion, coldly detached from the suffering and pain of others, only concerned with his wife. How Emily fights back against those who need her silenced follows the pattern of slashers, she finds ways to save herself(..or is saved by circumstances like the drill which doesn't cut into her skull like Benway desires, and a friend willing to sacrifice himself by lighting nitrous gas)by using the tools around her..she gets a chance to really upend one of her attackers by stabbing him in the kneecap with a knife, scissors into his chest, before smashing his face in with an oxygen tank! The ending(..where we see Bobby's condition and how he's being used to "service" Benway's wife)is quite disturbing, and how Emily confronts the one responsible for all the death that has taken place certainly ends on a vicious note(..although, as Gierasch's written screenplays often do, the killer isn't so easy to eliminate). The alternate ending(..where Emily's fate is different thanks to Benway's wife)is even more chilling than Gierasch's preferred choice. Fans of "hospital horror" might really enjoy AUTOPSY, although it rarely rises above the routine.
2 out of 3 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink