It is only natural that a film genre changes over the years. It has to be able to keep up with alterations in what the public expects and modifications in social acceptance. While this affect is felt with all types of film perhaps the one that has undergone the most extreme changes in recent years is the horror flick. The genre has been around since the age of silent films when it was fairly easy to get a good fright out of the audience. Early horror films like the 1931 ‘Frankenstein’ may have been tame by today’s standards but back in the day it was controversial. In the last decade or so many horror movies have degraded into mindless imitations of snuff flicks. There is more blood and guts than you would find at a major accident scene. Throw in some gratuitous nudity and you are sure to have a hit or at least a cult classic that will make the investors extremely happy. As with any trend like there are many imitators and the genre spirals down even further. In this bleak landscape of a once proud genre it is refreshing to find a movie where the cast and crew at least gave it an honest try. ‘Pathology’ by Marc Schoelermann is far from a perfect film but it attempts to infuse some elements of a psychological thriller back in the mix. For the current batch of horror fans which is typically high school boy and college guys there is enough blood, gore and sex to keep you happy. There is also a plot that extends beyond the usual excuse of some insane sadist on the loose. This film was admittedly not well received in its theatrical release. It may have recouped the cost of its budget but certainly didn’t wow the critics or the audience. One problem may be people found it difficult to look beyond the graphic nature of the movie lumping it in with the ‘Saw’ and ‘Hostel’ crowd. With all this said up front the film has some good points and is worth your time. It has a strong cast and solid direction. At least now you can decide for yourself. Like many independent horror flicks it has been released on DVD through MGM/UA. It is better than the usual slash and dash flicks and will provide you with entertainment.

The script here has more than its share of predictable moments but generally holds up as a thriller. In most cases it is important to be able to classify a film into a specific genre. Here the first inclination would naturally be horror. It does have all the required aspects to be listed as such but there is a coherent screenplay that does offer a modicum of plot to drive the gore and sex. There is no doubt at all that this is a very visceral movie. It will assault your senses and may overwhelm the more sensitive members of the audience. ‘Saw’ had its psycho killer and ‘Hostel’ its deadly gentleman’s club as the basis for the carnage. While this did drive the action it was not satisfying as far as motive goes. Here the focus of the plot is a group of medical students with too much of a sense of personal entitlement. Behind the story are Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. This is the second screenplay for both. Previously they worked together on ‘Crank’ an action thriller about a man who was poisoned had has to keep his heart rate accelerated to stay alive. The plot was flimsy but it sufficed to provide a scaffold for the action. In this flick the story is about a group of med students who are bored enough to plot the perfect murder between drugs and sex. I guess they had some time for classes there somewhere. I definitely would not want one of these for a doctor thought. Gregory House is a kind country doctor compared to these psychopaths. The script is tight and well crafted. Hopefully this talented team will find their way to more mainstream movies in the near future. There is actually a bit of a morality play contained in this story. A little bit of knowledge and a tendency to elevate over other members of society is a dangerous combination. The pair of writers has even managed to include a touch of dark humor in the proceedings. It is placed in such a way to break up the flow of carnage and excess.

Marc Schoelermann directed this movie with more than the usual style of the genre. His prior experience was mostly in short films; usually thrillers. Much of his work was made and shown in his native Germany. In some ways this was an advantage for him. The experience with shorts helped him to compartmentalize the story’s presentation. Too many directors seem to concentrate on the whole but pay little attention to the parts that make it up. He is a first timer for feature films and shows promise. He spends a little time with the required exposition and then dives right into the action. The film is generally paced well with only a few spots that dragged a bit. The video is done with a muted color palette. It does add to the atmosphere of the piece.

The film starts off showing the general disrespect for the dead that will lead to all the trouble ahead. In the morgue two corpses are having their mouths moved to fake a conversation between them about faking orgasm. The scene is being recorded on a digital camera. The ones using the dead as puppets are brand new doctors recently graduated from medical school. They are all interns in an elite pathology department. One of the top students is Ted Grey (Milo Ventimiglia). He was at the top of his med school class and quickly gets pulled into the proverbial bad crowd. The head of that group is Dr. Jake Gallo (Michael Weston) whose girlfriend, Dr. Juliette Bath (Lauren Lee Smith) is also part of group. It doesn’t take long before a deadly game begins to evolve. With such a mastery of forensics it should be easy to come up with the absolute perfect murder. Things get a little more interesting when Juiette and Ted start a sexual relationship that gets Jake interested in letting Ted go to the supply side of the game. It starts out with people that society would not miss and soon escalates to any rival or potential threat in the school.

This is an interesting little flick that will hold your interest as long as your stomach can handle it. MGM/UA does a very good job with the DVD release. There are also a better than average selection of extras. This is one that is worth a look.