Have you ever wondered what sound rib-cutters make as they crunch into the chest cavity of a corpse? Or the groan of a bone saw as it chops through the skull to reach the brain? Ponder no more, thanks to this enthusiastically gory horror from André Øvredal (who made his name with the terrific Troll Hunter). It’s hard to think of another film that has brought such lip-smacking relish to its sound design. A superior cast (Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch play a father and son coroner team) adds to the fun, as does the production design – the pair work in a dimly lit basement painted the colour of clogged arteries. But the chaotic payoff can’t match the effectively torturous build of tension in the first two acts.
