Director: Justin McConnell
Writer: Justin McConnell (Screenplay)
Starring: Lora Burke, Jack Foley, Elitsa Bako, Rachel VanDuzer, Steve Kasan, Sam White, Bill Oberst Jr
Plot: A murderous shapeshifter sets out on a blood-soaked mission to make things right with the woman he loves.
Runtime: 1 Hour 24 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Shapeshifting Shocker
Story: Lifechanger starts as the murderous shapeshifter takes over the body of Emily (Bako) giving us the rules of how long they can be within each body, it won’t be long until it needs to find a new host. The shapeshifter Drew (voiced by Oberst Jr) is trying to get back to the woman he loved Julia (Burke).
As the story unfolds the shapeshifter finds himself visiting Julia in a different body on a daily basis, watching over her, trying to figure out how to explain the situation to her.
Thoughts on Lifechanger
Characters – Julia is the former wife of the shapeshifter, she spends most nights in a bar, she never knew what happened to her husband after the death of their child and little does she know that she is being watched over by her husband the shapeshifter. The shapeshifter Drew goes through a process, where it takes a body, disposes of any evidence before meeting with Julia, it knows how to adapt to each location, each body and each life and is doing everything it can to be with the woman it loves Julia.
Performances – The performances are hard to explain because all bar Lora Burke are playing versions of the Shapeshifter, needing to keep certain characteristics while also being unique because of their differences, in Jack Foley, Elitsa Bako, Rachel VanDuzer and more that is. When it comes to Lora Burke, we get to see a good performance of a woman that is lost in life, trying to remain strong after her own tragic moments.
Story – The story follows a Shapeshifter jumping between bodies as it hopes to get back to the woman it loves only the bodies start piling up and soon it is running out of time to reveal its secret before its time runs out. This does seem like a smart idea because of the idea that it plays into, with love, though the final twist on takes everything we knew and throws it on its head leaving you shocked. It does pose the question about survival and even touches on the ideas that ‘Under the Skin’ did, only without going into the alien line.
Horror – The horror in the film comes from just how the shapeshifting occurs which we see more and more as the film continues on.
Settings – The film is set in a city where Drew can visit his love every time he takes a new body, it shows how the manhunt starts when the bodies start getting discovered.
Special Effects – The effects are practical which is a praise because we get to see how the changes happen ever increasing graphicness.
Scene of the Movie – The hatching.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – This could have been a lot gorier when it comes to the shapeshifting.
Final Thoughts – This is a smart shapeshifting horror, it does want to get into the body horror levels, though it never reaches the shocking levels it could, even though it ends up focusing on a different side to it all.
Overall: Horror that focuses on the shapeshifters desire to survive.
Rating
