During the ’70s, there was films about demonic elements tearing American families apart. Three of the big films were The Exorcist, The Omen and The Amityville Horror. The “do you think it’s real” discussion could last for days on the back of the school bus if junior high students were passing around the paperback books. Audrey Rose had the same feel as those films except instead of a young girl dealing with the devil, we’re given different spiritual scare.
A little girl sits in the backseat of a car going down a rainy highway. Another car comes straight at them and smashes into them. The car catches fire. Before any first responders show up, the action switches to a happy family in New York City. Things seem a bit more charming with the Templeton Family. Janice (The Goodbye Girl’s Marsha Mason) and Bill (Rollerball’s John Beck) live the Manhattan life with their young daughter Ivy (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers‘ Susan Swift). But things get a bit creepy when they notice a strange guy stalking them. It’s New York City in 1977 so there were lots of creepy people roaming the streets. The creepy guys turns out to be Elliot Hoover (The Silence of the Lambs‘ Anthony Hopkins). He has dinner with the parents and explains how he was living in Pittsburgh when his wife and daughter Audrey Rose died in a car crash. He had encountered a mystic who gave him clues that his daughter has been reincarnated to a family in New York City. The clues do seem to point to the Templetons including how his daughter died on the day that Ivy was born. Bill thinks this is a scam. Things get weird when Ivy goes into a panic when she hears Elliot say Audrey Rose. During one freak out, her hands mysteriously were burned. Audrey Rose had burned up trying to escape from the car. Janice thinks there might be something to Ivy being the reincarnation of Audrey Rose. Bill is dead against letting Elliot near his daughter. Eventually this all gets dragged into court to what basically turns into a nightmarish child custody case.
Audrey Rose has a lot of weight to it. First there’s director Robert Wise who had won two Best Director Oscars for West Side Story and The Sound of Music. Wise was responsible for the spooky The Haunting and The Curse of the Cat People. He uses his Val Lewton era chops to create scares with the simplest of things. He gets plenty of creepiness by putting a beard on Anthony Hopkins. The courtroom scene feels legit with John Hillerman (Magnum P.I.) facing off against Robert Walden (Lou Grant). Things get wild when an expert on reincarnation is brought in to give expert testimony. The judge allows Norman Lloyd (Saboteur) to hypnotize Ivy for what turns out to be a frightening “testimony.” This is Susan Swift’s “Linda Blair” moment where she has to transform. I won’t go any deeper into this scene, but it features that ’70s “What Are You People Thinking” element.
While it lacks the demon possession angle that played in quite a few films of the time, Audrey Rose delves into a parent’s nightmare. When the nurse hand you your baby, you realize they seem to already have personality quirks. You ponder where this came from? How can a baby already have an attitude about things such as the temperature of a room or a hatred of sleep? Had they already been a person before? And will their previous parents come looking for them? Audrey Rose touches a bit on the fears and then puts them in the form of Anthony Hopkins creeping around the neighborhood and calling your kid by their real name.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The transfer brings out the details of Manhattan in the late ’70s. The audio is DTS-HD MA Mono. You’ll hear Normal Lloyd clearly when he uses his hypnotism voice. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Jon Towlson points out how Robert Wise’s beginning as an editor comes to play in his approach to filmmaking. He gives plenty of historical context.
Faith and Fraud (18:49) has magician Adam Cardone discuss reincarnation and how it works in Audrey Rose. He discusses “Con-Artistry.” Is Anthony Hopkins deceiving the family or does he believe? He talks about how often parents think his card tricks are truly magical and can he cure their sick child. People want to believe.
Never Birth Nor Death (4:27) compares the New York City locations in the film with how the neighborhood looks today. Central Park hasn’t changed that much. They did get rid of a lot of benches.
I’ve Been Here Before (17:30) is a visual essay by film critic Lee Gambin about cinematic reincarnations. He points out that mostly reincarnation is a big hit for comedies including The Here Comes Mr. Jordan and Heaven Can Wait.
“Investigator” The Paranormal World of Frank De Felitta (11:37) is an interview with the author of the novel and screenwriter. He talks about how Italians believe in a lot of supernatural things. He originally wrote scripts for TV shows before he made documentaries for network TV. He got into writing novels. Audrey Rose was his second book. He also talks about The Entity. Frank passed away in 2016.
The Role of a Mother (17:55) is a new interview with Marsha Mason. She was intrigued by reincarnation is why the script appealed to him. She also wanted to work with Robert Wise.
Hypnotist (16:53) has music historian Daniel Schweiger discuss composer Michael Small. He points out that Small is a fan of Phillip Glass. Small was known for scoring darker films such as Klute, Parallax View, the Stepford Wives, Night Movies and Marathon Man. Small passed away in 2003.
Theatrical Trailer (1:35) sets up that the novel of reincarnation is now a major motion picture.
Poster and Stills Gallery contains over 100 images including the lobby cards, press photos and posters.
Arrow Video presents Audrey Rose. Directed by Robert Wise. Screenplay by Frank De Felitta. Starring: Marsha Mason, Anthony Hopkins, Susan Swift, Norman Lloyd, John Hillerman, Ivy Jones, Robert Walden and Stephen Pearlman. Running Time 113 minutes. Rating: Rated PG. Release Date: November 8, 2022.
