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Horror films have always been my cup of tea and will probably end up being so until the day I’m gone from this Earth. The icons of horror are just awesome while the new world of psychological thrillers/horror has really caught my eye and gives me the opportunity to think as well as be scared. I guess it’s kind of weird then that I can’t handle the sight of blood. Sure the fake blood and gore shown in films is not so bad, but it’s the real stuff that really gets to me. To make matters worse, doctors creep the hell out of me because they’re usually the ones causing me to bleed or needing me to so that they can make sure “everything checks out alright.” So would a film involving a bunch of playful and maniacal doctors scare me more then your common, ordinary horror flick? Well, it has a chance, but it sure ain’t no Dr. Giggles!
Ted Grey is an up-and-coming doctor that has the world at his fingertips. He has a successful career that he is extremely good at. He is engaged to a gorgeous woman named Gwen that thinks he is her everything. The money coming in from his career in medicine would keep them comfortable for the rest of their lives without a single concern to be found. But that isn’t good enough for him as he virtually throws everything away to get into the profession of forensic medicine. He heads back to medical school and joins a class full of his peers that are nothing like he expected them to be. Instead of just helping figure out what killed the bodies laid before them, they take it upon themselves to kill people and see if one another can figure out how the perfect murder was committed. Ted wonders if his dream career is worth throwing away just so he can partake in this dangerous pastime. Well, it doesn’t take long for his decision to be made and serious consequences await them all.
Pathology is a gory and sadistic slasher flick dressed up as some kind of thriller. It actually doesn’t do any of those categories very successfully except that it does deliver lots of blood and gore for those that are fans. The idea behind the film is really good in having a group of doctors commit murders and hope they leave so little evidence that even their expert peers can’t figure out how it is done. The perfect murder. Sadly, the beginning of the film starts out like wildfire and quickly peters out to be nothing more then some sex, some drugs, some blood, and some dumb. After a good forty-five minutes or so, Pathology just starts to drag and get very predictable. Nothing will end up keeping your attention and you’ll wish for the dead to come back to life and murder those that killed them in the first place. At least it’d be a change of pace.
Oddly enough there are moments throughout the film that will almost seem documentary in creation. If you know absolutely nothing about pathology and forensics beforehand; you certainly will after watching Pathology. It could almost be used as a teaching tool for new students in medical school looking to get into this field. Some information could be passed onto them in regards to how they do their new job, and then it could be a poster child for telling them what not to do.
The film is shown in Anamorphic Widescreen and since I received a screener disc, I’m willing to bet the final release will look better then this. Not that it is horrible looking or anything, but it’s a tad grainy and too dark at times.
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and it actually comes through quite well on the screener. All dialogue can be heard nicely and the music and sound effects come through the surrounding speakers beautifully.
Audio Commentary – The track is comprised of director Marc Scholermann and writers/producers Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Alright, this commentary track annoyed me more then anything. Scholermann sits there talking about the film and trying to give some good information while Neveldine and Taylor do nothing but joke around and crack jokes.
Creating The Perfect Murder – This is a rather basic making-of featurette that runs just about fifteen minutes. Some behind the camera shots are shown and then we get comments from the cast and crew. They talk about what it was like filming and how creepy it could be sometimes for a few of the scenes they filmed with dead bodies or in a morgue. There is a lot shown in this short featurette including the cast, locations, special f/x, and even talk of the lighting so that things would look more realistic. Very good watch here.
The Cause Of Death – Pathologist Craig Harvey sits down for an eight minute conversation who goes into detail about his job determining the cause of death in his patients. He also compares a little bit of how what he does daily in his line of work is somewhat close to what was portrayed in the film. Rather interesting but shame it is so short.
“Unintended Consequences” Music Video by The Legion Of Doom featuring Triune
Extended Scene – This is nothing but a three minute long scene that shows a bit more of the autopsy scene near the end of the film.
Let’s face it, this film is not Grey’s Anatomy mixed with The First 48. It’s not going to win any awards and it isn’t going to entertain many people. The first two-thirds of Pathology do a decent job of setting up a pretty good plot and including some great gore before the final curtain goes up to bomb it all to hell in an anti-climatic ending. Maybe hit it on a rental sometime, but don’t bother picking it up for your collection because there are better things out there. That piece of advice also stems from special features that are actually quite good, but nowhere near long enough to merit purchasing the DVD for your own. All I can tell you is that if I had a promising career to become a rich doctor and Alyssa Milano was my fiancée, you can bet everything you own that I would simply shut up and play ball. I’d damn well be happy too!
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MGM presents Pathology. Directed by: Marc Schoelermann. Starring: Milo Ventigmiglia, Alyssa Milano, Michael Weston, Lauren Lee Smith, and more. Written by: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor. Running time: 93 minutes. Rating: R. Released on DVD: September 23, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
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