Audrey Rose (1977) 113m.
Robert Wise has been responsible for a number of classic sci-fi/horror/fantasy films in his time. If any directorial trademark could link them together then it would have to be his restrained, intelligent approach to the material. AUDREY ROSE is among the least seen of his efforts but I find it resonates more effectively than his other classics - it conveys a sense of despair I haven't discovered in most other horror films. Actually, it's probably unfair to label this as a horror film, but the fact that it centers around a 'possessed' child pretty much seals its fate. John Beck and Marsha Mason are the parents of a girl (twelve-year old Susan Swift, in her debut) who attracts the interest of Anthony Hopkins. It turns out that Hopkins is convinced that the soul of his dead daughter has transmigrated into Swift's body, although it's not clear why the girl should relive panic attacks of her previous life at about the time that Hopkins shows up (her first moments of 'rebirth' take place in her bedroom, which is bathed in an embryonic pink light). Premise sounds simple, but opens up a wealth of possibilities, touching on themes like identity, ownership, parenthood, and of course, life after death. Most strongly it addresses the issue of loss - in many ways this is mainly a story about child custody. When Mason watches her daughter overtaken by hysteria, she is horrified, but the expression on her face doesn't change when Hopkins steps in and calms the girl down - she sees that her daughter is becoming his daughter. Her husband (Beck) is even more upset, coming to blows with Hopkins and warning him to stay away from his family. Swift (who gives a convincing performance throughout) is the helpless pawn in the middle of this mess, shuffled between hospitals, schools, and one 'parent' to another. To top it off, the whole thing ends in a courtroom.
Since this story is treated so rationally (Hopkins speaks softly and calmly throughout the entire film) any pseudo-supernatural elements come across as concessions to the film's inevitable 'horror' label (e.g. Swift's irrational attraction to a ritual pyre built in her school playground). But where Wise and his young star really excel is in the final scene, which, unlike nearly all other horror films, requires no dramatic sets or special effects. Swift is mesmerising as she undergoes hypnosis and revisits past memories in her subconscious. Screenwriters Joe Wizan and Frank De Felitta (who adapted his novel) include many provocative moments. Single parents who have lost children in litigation will probably find this uncomfortable viewing. Ending of film, though viewed positively, is nonetheless depressing.
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