Review of Pathology (2008) by Ulises U — 30 Sep 2008

Talk about squandered potential! On paper, "Pathology" suggests early Cronenberg, but the execution is pure James Wan. You get the sense that the creators saw an autopsy photo on the internet and decided that was all they needed to pull a screenplay together. For every moment that is darkly humorous or almost clever, there are ten that fall flat- or worse, fall into the tritest "aspiring young professionals" stereotypes. It's all very haphazard. There's no sense of tension or drama because the transition between scenes are always abrupt and character motivations are never given more than five seconds of thought.

The characters never approximate any humans I've encountered. Their lines are clearly delineated between three categories. First- medical school gibberish. They stumble over words that they can hardly pronounce, let alone comprehend. Second- Juno-esque "clever" banter. Again, they stumble, but this time, they're focusing on one liners and sophomoric one-upmanship. Third- Frat boy ranting. This is easily one half of the movie. It's where the characters reveal their neanderthal nature. Unfortunately for the screenwriters, none of their modes of speaking really gel, so everything said is easily dismissible.

The star of "Heroes" joins an almost all television cast. He tries to pull off his best Bateman, but the screenplay lacks Ellis' vitriolic sense of humor and his deep understanding of his subject matter. This Harvard grad goes from straight shooter to meth smoking morgue orgy attendee without reason or sense. That lack of depth or consideration for the subject matter is what turns "Pathology" from the taboo shatterer that it thinks it is, to boring gross out fest in a matter of moments. The next time I want to visit the morgue I'll stick with Stan Brakhage.