Pathology

Pretentious university students have been whining about the vulgarities of capitalism and the vapid nature of a consumer culture, which embraces mass delusion without question, for years. Sadly, each generation of tortured existential souls seem to think that their minor insights and cultural revelations are somehow unique. As such, a great deal of angry and confrontational art comes about in the name of converting the unenlightened, much like the Mormons who show up on doorsteps preaching about the glories of Joseph Smith. With Pathology, a consciously disagreeable ideology exists within the narrative to reinforce beliefs of human folly and collective superiority over the masses that, according to the text, are too stupid and disgusting to understand the nature of their profundity. This belief is reinforced through the murdering of hookers and child molesters, along with explicit debauchery involving spitting and stabbing during coitus. The cynicism starts when Dr. Ted Grey (Milo Ventimiglia) is injected into a prestigious pathology program with a group of elitist and nihilistic med-students, including the foxy and manipulative Juliette (Lauren Lee Smith) and resident sociopath Jake (Michael Weston). Not unlike the medical students in the superior Flatliners, they develop a slight God complex that leads to them killing random denizens in an elaborate manner to see if their classmates can determine the cause of death on the autopsy table. Inevitably, they all start screwing each other and playing mind games, which puts Ted’s girlfriend Gwen (Alyssa Milano) in danger. Some shots are beautifully filmed but the movie itself is juvenile and pathetic. Included with the DVD are featurettes on "Creating the Perfect Murder” and "A Conversation with Pathologist Craig Harvey,” which examine what performing a real autopsy is like, as well as the dead body visual effects and actor preparation. The audio commentary with the writers and director is fairly standard but mostly positive and informative. Shots, characters, casting and effects are discussed in detail. Also included is a "Legion of Doom” music video featuring Triune.