Audrey Rose

Anthony Hopkins once had a full head of non-grey hair. That's the single most unrealistic thing about this movie for me. I think this is may be the only film prior to Silence of the Lambs that I've seen him in, so a 1970s Anthony Hopkins was quite a shock.

This is a movie that's subtle in it's horror. It's a film that deals with the fear of uncertainty, and the terror of human existence. Elliot Hoover (Hopkins) believes that his late daughter, Audrey Rose (not depicted, as far as I can tell), has been reincarnated as Ivy Templeton (Susan Swift), the daughter of Bill and Janice Templeton (John Beck and Marsha Mason). Obviously, this does not make for a happy situation.

To be more specific, Hoover's daughter died roughly a decade prior to the events of the movie, in a car crash where she was burned alive. Hoover became desperate for spiritual comfort, and came to believe in reincarnation. A medium described her spirit's current location to him, and Hoover was able to trace the location to the Templeton's apartment complex, and specifically to Ivy who was born on the same day as Audrey Rose's death. Eventually, he moves into an apartment in their building.

During this period, Ivy begins to experience intense nightmares and panic attacks. This becomes the driving conflict of the film. Hoover seems to be able to comfort Ivy by addressing her as Audrey Rose, something that deeply disturbs the Templetons, for obvious reasons. Janice seems willing to accept his assistance in dealing with their daughter, however, as long as it helps Ivy. Bill, on the other hand, sees him purely as an intruder in their family affairs.

Eventually, Hoover takes Ivy to his apartment to let her sleep, and refuses to open the door for her parents. Bill has him charged with kidnapping. This section of the movie confuses me deeply. Hoover's lawyer defends him by trying to convince the jury that Ivy is the reincarnation of Audrey Rose.. I'm unaware of any legal precedent that gives people custody of the reincarnations of their children, so it seems like an utterly moot point in a kidnapping trial.

It's notable that the movie doesn't attempt to make Hoover out to be the completely selfless, persecuted mystic that you'd typically expect in this story. He loves his daughter, yes, but he's also clearly prepared to manipulate the situation to get what he wants. I don't doubt for a second that if he could find a way to get full custody of Ivy he would do so without a second thought for her parents. He even tells his lawyer to put Janice on the stand, because he knows that she'll break down and turn on her husband.

Bill makes a good contrast to Hoover. He believes, not unreasonably, that Hoover is a master of suggestion, and that their daughter's condition is being made worse by his reinforcement. He doesn't come across as unreasonable, but he likewise doesn't seem to have any better solutions as Ivy's behavior becomes increasingly uncontrollable, and she begins making attempts to harm herself.

The ending of the movie seems too clean and simple for this story. Ivy dies in a regression experiment requested by her father that was, somehow, intended to “prove” she wasn't a reincarnation of Audrey Rose. The parents agree to let Hoover take her ashes to India, something I find rather baffling since Hoover's spiritual travels to India came after his daughter died, and I don't believe Audrey Rose went there in either of her incarnations. Apparently India is just where the body of reincarnated little girls are supposed to go.

This isn't a terrible movie, but it isn't exactly a classic either. I know it's adapted from a novel, so I suspect the plot made more sense in that context. As it is, it's a strong character piece, that makes little sense as a legal drama, and has little of value to say spiritually.