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Autopsy: A Love Story
Directed By Guy Crawford
Released: 2002
Starring: John Scott Mills, Dina Osmussen, Ginny Harman, and Joe Estevez
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Released By Brain Damage Films
Charlie Bickle (played by John Scott Mills) works like a slave in a morgue
while his boss, Dr. Dale Brodsky (Joe Estevez), makes a bundle by selling
off the organs of the recently departed. As if this wasn’t bad enough,
Bickle lives with Mary (Ginny Harman), his shrewish girlfriend who, like
everyone else, treats Charlie like dirt. One day, Charlie is called in to
retrieve the corpse of a suicide from a cheap motel room. The Jane Doe
(Dina Osmussen) is so stunning that Charlie decides to keep her for
himself and not allow Dr. Brodsky to sell her organs. Jane Doe and Charlie
have a beautiful (if flawed) relationship and even discover that they have
a great deal in common. But their bliss can’t last forever as Jane’s twin
sister Jill (also Dina Osmussen) shows up to claim the body and the county
health inspector wants to shut Brodsky’s racket down.
Autopsy: A Love Story is a twisted psychological horror
indie flick with some dry but very dark humor. Director Guy Crawford
clearly has a great deal of talent and is able to deliver a tight horror
film. The lighting, the camera work, and the editing are all competent.
Only the sound could have been handled a bit better but most of the
dialogue is audible. While the film doesn’t move very quickly and there
are some clunky moments, Autopsy rarely feels slow due to
the intriguing psychological aspects of the storyline.
There are several good performances in the film. For instance, John Scott
Mills is excellent as Charlie Bickle, the lonely and demented morgue
worker. Dina Osmussen is also very good at playing a corpse as well as
Jane Doe’s sister, Jill. Her voice acting as Jane is perfect as she
switches from lovelorn to spurned and Jill (the live one) is also a great
performance as well. Joe Estevez (Tales
From The Grave) is over the top as usual but his Dr. Dale
character is delightfully sleazy and cruel. The only character I didn’t
know what to make of is Mary. Ginny Harman’s performance is pretty forced
and the fact that the character is so unlikable doesn’t help much either.
Mary’s only defense comes from Charlie and it isn’t enough to make her a
sympathetic character when her actions do the rest of the talking.
Autopsy: A Love Story is a big surprise for me and it shows
that indie horror can do great things especially with tight editing and
good direction. Good acting and interesting characterization compliment
the script so that it’s impossible not to get drawn in once things turn
sour for Charlie. There are some goopy moments of gore and the whole story
is so ghoulish that horror freaks should be quite pleased. Autopsy:
A Love Story is some pretty twisted stuff and is even somewhat
reminiscent of Joe D’Amato’s trashy sicko Beyond The Darkness. I can
easily recommend this indie horror love story which unfortunately, only
hints at necrophilia. Dang!
DVD Specs:
Autopsy: A Love Story looks awesome in its widescreen format
and sound is generally decent (some hiss can be heard in the background
but dialogue is clear for the most part). Extras include some outtakes,
deleted scenes, and a bunch of Brain Damage trailers. Good stuff.
For more information, check out
Brain Damage Films.
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