Synopsis
Laura Chant, 16, lives with her mother and four-year-old brother Jacko in a poor new suburb on the edge of a partially demolished Christchurch, New Zealand. Laura is drawn into a supernatural battle with an ancient spirit who attacks Jacko and slowly drains the life out of him as the spirit becomes ever younger. Laura discovers her true identity and the supernatural ability within her, and must harness it to save her brother's life.
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Cast
- Erana JamesLaura Chant
- Timothy SpallCarmody Braque
- Melanie LynskeyKate Chant
- Lucy LawlessMiryam Carlisle
- Nicholas GalitzineSorensen Carlisle
- Kate HarcourtWinter Carlisle
- Benji PurchaseJacko Chant
- Ella EdwardNicky Green
- Thomasin McKenzieRose Keaton
- Kevin JamesStephen Chant
Recommendations
- 100
RogerEbert.com
It's worth seeking out no matter how much trouble you have to go to, because it's special: assured but modest, full of surprises. It doesn't go the way you expect it to, and yet in retrospect each move seems inevitable, like the incremental fulfillment of a prophecy. - 80
Los Angeles Times
Thanks to a focus on the setting and emotions of the story, by the time the life-or-death action kicks in, Harcourt and McKenzie have clearly delineated these characters and what they’re facing — bringing Mahy’s words to life. - 70
The New York Times
Thanks to fine performances and a narrative that doesn’t hang about to admire itself, the movie goes down as easily as a love potion at a coven. - 63
Movie Nation
The Changeover is a moody, menacing thriller with a YA (Young Adult) heroine. - 63
Slant Magazine
It’s this carefully managed equilibrium between the inherent preposterousness of its mystical milieu and the convincing emotional reality of Laura’s journey that ultimately makes The Changeover, for all its muddled mythos, a lively and engaging excursion into an unusually naturalistic world of magic. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
The deeper the script gets into how its version of witchcraft works, the less convincing it becomes. Uniformly solid performances and artful camera/sound work make the movie hard to dismiss out of hand, but the script doesn't sell its hokum as effectively as more mainstream supernatural soap operas. - 50
The Playlist
An interesting if somewhat incomplete horror thriller with decent performances, “The Changeover” is nevertheless hampered by a script that doesn’t seem to know how to connect all its narrative dots.
