Pathology DVD Review

Ted (Milo Ventimiglia) thinks he’s got it made. His high marks have gotten him into a great medical program and he’s engaged to be married. Ted learns, however, that the other students in his medical school group have some odd extracurricular activities. In short, one of them murders a random person on a selected night and brings them into the morgue as the other students smoke crack and try to uncover the leading cause of death in the victim. Ted, resistant at first, soon embraces these activities, but soon the game starts getting out of hand. Ted soon realizes that he must get out of the game before his entire future is jeopardized.

Having similarities to David Cronenberg’s Crash (1996), Pathology (2008) is an edgy film promoting how people partake in the sickest of actions just to get a natural high or sexual boost. While somewhat controversial in nature, this is a pretty well-made film. The cinematography is very professionally done. The scenes of the morgue are particularly well done with their claustrophobia-provoking framing, lack of color, and just general sense of dread. The viewer really feels like they’re in the room with the dead bodies. While music video style montages are very cliché and redundant in contemporary films, Pathology utilizes the montage device very well. You get both a fast cutting montage set to rock music and a beautifully stylized instrumental montage during a very realistic autopsy. There are many other strengths in this film including the compelling/interesting storyline, great characters, and great pacing.

This film is a good blend between a horror film and a psychological thriller. While some elements are a little absurd, particularly people getting off on killing strangers, it, again, is a pretty well made film. In the vein of films like Saw (2004) and Final Destination (1999), the film relies on interesting deaths to vamp up the film. But where this film differs is that it’s not about the death scene per say, but the creative tactics that each person uses in his/her murder to create a seemingly unsolvable murder. The film plays slightly like contemporary medical dramas as well with people being put on the spot to solve mysterious deaths, with several misleading clues meant to lead them to the wrong diagnosis. While the film is not gory, per say, there is a large amount of blood and guts shown in congruence with the several autopsy scenes shown throughout the film.

The acting in this film is top notch. Ted (Milo Ventimiglia) puts on a very convincing story of internal struggle. Juliette (Lauren Lee Smith) steals the show in any scene she’s in. Her body language is top notch and the woman can say a million different things with just her sexy eyes. Jake (Michael Weston) is also in top form in this film as the over the top psychopath. He puts on a very engaging performance. Griffin (Johnny Whitworth) plays a good part in the first half of the film, but unfortunately he is given very little screen time in the second half and it’s unfortunate since he could have been developed very well. While Alyssa Milano (Gwen) is indicated as a star in the film, she unfortunately is on screen for a very short time. She does well, but don’t expect to see much screen time from her.

There are numerous special features contained on this DVD. We get a commentary track featuring the director and writers/producers. The feature “CreatingThe Perfect Muder” showcases the extensive training and background study the cast and crew went into the preparation for the film including visits to the LA Country Morgue and UCLA Medical School and witnessing real autopsies. “The Cause of Death” features a conversation with real life pathologist Craig Harvey. Both of the features above really showcase how much work and research went into this project, even for a limited release. We get one extended autopsy scene and a music video “Unintended Consequence” performed by Legion of Doom F/ Triune. For some unknown, though, we get a trailer for Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).

The target audience of this film would definitely be fans of horror films that have a psychological thriller twist within them.