Pathology (2008) Movie Information:

Pathology (2008) Directed by: Marc Schoelermann Pathology (2008) Written by: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor Pathology (2008) Cast: Milo Ventimiglia, Lauren Lee Smith, Johnny Whitworth, Alyssa Milano

Pathology (2008) U.S. Distributor: MGM Pathology (2008) U.K. Distributor: Not available at this time

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Pathology (2008) Synopsis:

Drama about medical students who compete to see which can commit the perfect murder - one fellow pathologists couldn't unravel.

Pathology (2008) Movie Review:

Played out like a mix between Flatliners and CSI, the medical thriller Pathology has promise, but comes up short in fulfilling it.

The film centers around Ted Grey (Heroes’ Milo Ventimiglia), who has recently started his residency at Washington, D.C. hospital in the morgue conducting autopsies. Ted has a beautiful fiancée named Gwen (Alyssa Milano) back home, but has chose to focus on his career with the long term goal of achieving success and spending the rest of his life with her. He soon encounters a group of fellow residents led by ringleader Jake (Michael Weston), who introduce Ted to a disturbing secret game of theirs. Bored with the usual dead that they receive and conduct on in the morgue, the game is simple, one of the residents murders an embarrassing member of society in a unique way, and another resident performs the autopsy to figure out the cause of death. Not wanting to be a part of this at all, Ted is lured in without much argument, much to the credit of a fellow resident that catches his named Juliette (Lauren Lee Smith). Madness ensues with the obsessive game, which also includes lots of drugs and sex as well. Once Ted states that he wants out, the fellow residents turn the tables on him, which led to a predictable, but unsettling climax.

Director Marc Scholermann fills the screen with one grotesque moment after another in this psychological thriller, that should not be considered a horror or too campy. Scholermann dark tone and in your face gore is not for the faint of heart, but Pathology should not be considered a film that is disturbing just to be shock value, such as the Saw or Hostel films. Though this film is not stellar, it for the most part works two-thirds of the way through it, with the final act from writers Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor (Crank) crumbling to waste. Most of the gruesome scenes are in fact on an autopsy slab in the morgue, in which many body parts and blood is evident throughout. As a setting in the medical field, in works in terms of a crazed group of residents that are bored doing very unmoral things to give them a rush in their trained profession. However, one has wonder how easily accessible it is for all of them to get around, bring in their murdered bodies to a abandoned morgue room, and use medical instruments and tools at all times of the night without being seen by one other hospital worker or security personnel. The pace of the film works to the film’s advantage, but as mentioned before it comes to a crashing halt during the third act of the film, which is cheesy compared to the rest of the film.

Milo Ventimiglia is almost too calm and collected as Ted Grey, but he does have a presence and should have no problem carrying films once he finishes up his work on TV’s Heroes. Alyssa Milano is sincere in her supporting role as Ted’s fiancée, and Lauren Lee Smith chews up the scenery as the obsessive fellow resident Juliette. The main villain of the story is the really crazy Jake, who is the leader of the murderous gang of doctors, but the performance of this character by Michael Weston is so over the top that he becomes more and more ludicrous as the film goes on.

Pathology is the interesting psychological medical thriller that has a lot more brains than other shock value films like Saw, Captivity, and Hostel. However, the unique premise and the strong first half of the film are let down by the film’s collapsing third act, which brings them film into the land of straight to DVD rentals.

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Pathology (2008) review written by: Bailey Henderson