First great hidden gem of 2019...

Title: Lifechanger
Director: Justin McConnell (Broken Mile, The Collapsed)
Release Date: January 1, 2019 (direct to video)
Fear Factor: Some violence, but no jump scares
Gore: Medium (mostly concentrated in one particular sequence toward the end)
You might like this movie if… you appreciate strong, original narrative above big-budget bells and whistles
Overall Rating: A-

Justin McConnell’s Lifechanger is the first truly unexpected gem of the year. A low-budget Canadian indie flick that combines elements of mystery, noir, and even romance, Lifechanger is a smartly-written character study that keeps the audience guessing.

The film’s setup is unique: take the shape-shifting alien from The Thing, a creature that assumes the appearance and identity of its victims after sucking the life out of them; add some first-person voiceover narration that might not seem out of place in a Humphrey Bogart film; and toss in a romantic (and perhaps creepily obsessive) attraction to a woman from the creature’s shadowy past, and you get a rough idea what this film is about.

The tale is told through the perspective of the shapeshifter, which means that over the course of the film the protagonist is played by multiple actors, both male and female (including, if I have them all, Elitsa Bako, Steve Kasan, Sam White, Rachel VanDuzer, and Jack Foley). The ensemble cast makes some effort to maintain continuity of character; however, the acting is not superb, and the shapeshifter seems at all times too “human,” too comfortable in the skin of the latest victim. Some bit of residual awkwardness – trouble walking in heels after jumping from the body of the middle-aged dentist into that of his young female assistant, for instance – might have added some verisimilitude to help maintain the illusion that this is still the same character.

This is a minor quibble, however, that is overcome by the film’s unpredictability. The writing is fresh and clever, with bits of understated humor strewn throughout (when preparing to soothe the nerves of a young dental patient, for instance, the shapeshifter quips, “Don’t worry; I’ve been a dentist before.”). The practical effects are also impressive for a film of limited budget, particularly the realistic desiccated corpses that are left behind each time the shapeshifter claims a new victim. One aspect of the film that deserves particular credit is its attention to the practical rituals that must be maintained for a murderous shapeshifter to remain under the radar: bodies must be disposed of; identities, at least in the short term, must be assumed; police must be dodged (“when you’ve been enough” police officers, the shapeshifter observes, you learn it’s best to stay hidden in plain sight).

The film’s primary drawbacks are technical in nature, perhaps an inevitable byproduct of a limited budget. Set pieces are plain and unimaginative, the color scale muted. Action scenes, when they occur, come across as stiff and staged. I imagine that this film may sharply divide critics.

As a critic who is interested primarily in story over craft, I’m a fan. I would take an original, well-written indie film, even if it has some rough edges, an unthoughtful blockbuster any day of the week. Accordingly, I’m naming Lifechanger my first “hidden gem” pick of the year. Available on pay-per-view now.


E.F. LaGrand
The Year in Horror