Lifechanger

A murderous shapeshifter sets out on a blood-soaked mission to make things right with the woman he loves.

Drew (Voiced by Bill Oberst Jr.) is an interesting character. To continue surviving, he must find bodies to inhabit. Seizing his victims, he makes physical contact with them and, quite literally sucks the life out of them, leaving behind a yellow, desiccated corpse and taking on their entire appearance. The procedure only holds for so long as the shell he inhabits soon begins to decay and Drew must find another host to harvest. This is the premise behind Justin McConnell’s brilliant sci-fi thriller Lifechanger.

The angle that writer-director McConnell takes is an interesting one. The “why” of Drew’s condition is foregone in favor of exploring the means he uses to stay alive. We learn where Drew disposes of his victims. We learn that snorting cocaine speeds up the process, shortening his time in a new body. We even see what happens when Drew is forced to perform a dental exam on a patient with only has fleeting memories of his victim. If he were devoid of human emotion, this would be a relatively easy existence.

“Seizing his victims, he…quite literally sucks the life out of them, leaving behind a yellow, desiccated corpse…”

Enter Julia (Lora Burke). A bright-faced woman with an open heart, Julia meets one of Drews many iterations at a bar. He is repeatedly drawn to Julia but must continue switching identities, hence he is never truly able to develop a meaningful connection with anyone much less the object of his affection.