A December release can be a tricky thing for a horror film. On the one hand, with the holidays just around the corner and award season in full swing, the overall demand for blood and monsters will never be lower. On the other hand, the right horror movie can serve as a smart piece of counter-programming for those tired of reruns of A Christmas Story on TBS or another politically charged conversation with the in-laws. Sometimes, even the best of us just want to slip away to the theater and watch a weird, messed up movie.

Enter The Autopsy of Jane Doe. With any luck, this film will follow in the footsteps of successful December horror releases like William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (December 26, 1973) or Wes Craven’s Scream (December 20, 1996). The latest feature by André Øvredal  —  who genre fans or Netflix subscribers might recognize as the director of Trollhunter  — The Autopsy of Jane Doe is the rare mixture of horror and a little bit of money, with talented actors Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch playing the father-son morticians at the heart of the film.

Still skeptical? Early buzz has also been extremely positive. The Autopsy of Jane Doe debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival this past September and has made its way through a number of regional and genre-based film festivals since then, picking up glowing reviews along the way. Variety called it “a raucous crowd-pleaser” after its first TIFF screening while The Film Stage’s review described The Autopsy of Jane Doe as a “campy, nasty, tremendously fun horror experience.” So if you find yourself reaching your limit for Hallmark movies and saccharine Christmas specials this December, here is the answer you’ve been looking for.

Here is the full plot synopsis for The Autopy of Jane Doe:

It’s just another night at the morgue for a father and son team of coroners, until an unidentified, highly unusual corpse comes in. Discovered buried in the basement of the home of a brutally murdered family, the young Jane Doe — eerily well preserved and with no visible signs of trauma — is shrouded in mystery. As they work into the night to piece together the cause of her death, the two men begin to uncover the disturbing secrets of her life. Soon, a series of terrifying events make it clear: this Jane Doe may not be dead.

The film will be available on limited release and VOD on December 20, 2016.

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