The Changeover

Not an amazing film but definitely not a bad one either. I liked the plot as it was a bit original. It not scary but has it's creepy moments. Definitely worth the watch

This film legit reviewers/ratings probably average to 2 out of ten stars after discounting shill reviews. It is narrative train wreck. It is also a significant, in fact profound dumbing down and making "safe" of what was a great teen novel.

McKenzie and Harcourt do an admirable job bringing the novel to a present day setting, with excellent award-winning cinematography. Built on themes of the dangers of 'inviting' trouble upon yourself and/or others, accepting yourself for who you are and the 'magic' within you, and sibling bonds, "The Changeover" is a fine addition to New Zealand's growing film history. Excellent performances are provided by Spall and especially Erana James. James is one to keep and eye on for years to come. It's not among the best of 2017, but it's certainly a well-made film worthy of your time if it sounds like something that might interest you.

A teenage girl (Erana James) has to save her kid brother from the clutches of malevolent warlock Timothy Spall by becoming a witch, in this New Zealand made Twilight saga wannabe that has some solid performances and arty pretentions to recommend it. It is based on the 1984 young adult fantasy novel of the same name by Margaret Mahy.

Young adult book adaptations into sickly movies have been a thing for a while now, from Twilight to the Host to Divergent to Hunger Games and beyond. Here we see New Zealand have a go at it, and it's the same as the US tends to deliver.

Telling the story of a girl who must face an evil force in order to save her little brother this is a witchy themed thing, and the above description of sickly most definitely applies.

Starring Timothy Spall and Lucy Lawless I'm being a tad generous here, it's a really quite bad film.

You see it's your usual teen angst vs less than normal love interest vs nonsensical convoluted plot hole ridden concept. To make matters worse the two leads are awful! Nicholas Galitzine is your stoic dull mysterious brooding "Hunk" and Erana James is the Kiwi Kristen Stewart and has the acting ability of a brick. The two of them pick one facial expression at the start and continue it for the full duration of the movie.

If you like your schmaltzy teen angst nonsense then you might enjoy this, otherwise steer clear.

The Good:

Spall is oddly on form

Decent soundtrack

The Bad:

So much teen angst!

The two leads have the emotional range of a fart