Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Audrey Rose Blu-ray Movie Review

From the guy who brought you "The Sound of Music."

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 9, 2022

Robert Wise's supernatural thriller Audrey Rose, critically maligned in its day for similarities to 1973's The Exorcist, has been reincarnated on Blu-ray as a region-free disc from Imprint that aims to replace an out-of-print 2014 Blu-ray from the defunct (but sorely missed) boutique label Twilight Time. Featuring an ever-so-slightly upgraded transfer and a host of mostly new bonus features, it's a pricey but reasonably solid upgrade for unapologetic fans of the film.

For a synopsis and critical evaluation of the film, please see Jeffrey Kauffman's review of the Twilight Time Blu-ray linked above. As evidenced by our slightly different star ratings, I am a bit more tolerant of Audrey Rose's obvious shortcomings but still see it as a mostly missed opportunity. The film's emotional backbone of reincarnation, while engaging enough on the surface, is undercut by a combination of dull characters, (mostly) poorly-acted performances and an oddly split narrative flow that retains a potent air of mystery during its first half before devolving into a limp legal drama with a fairly flat ending. There's a strong "TV Movie of the Week" smell here, although one that's partially salvaged by an unsurprisingly great performance from Anthony Hopkins, already a standout on the stage but several years shy of his star-making turn in David Lynch's 1980 film The Elephant Man. Unfortunately, his character Elliot Hoover is given little of real interest to do here and all but disappears when the story needs him most.

Entertaining for at least a once-over and admittedly chilling at times, Audrey Rose is nonetheless a lackluster film that, like reincarnation itself, wants to be validated but there's just not enough evidence for it. Yet considering I'm not even a big fan of The Exorcist (partially for the same reasons), you can take that opinion with a shaker full of salt.

Audrey Rose Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Given that the boutique label Imprint does not perform in-house restoration and this Blu-ray's picture is advertised as a "1080p transfer from MGM", it unsurprisingly shares near-identical traits with Twilight Time's 2014 Blu-ray. The root of both somewhat antiquated transfers is, yes, an identical master supplied to these boutique labels by MGM, which was dated by 2014 standards (as evidenced by Jeffrey Kauffman's unenthusiastic review) and has not been fundamentally improved with a fresh new scan. The only tangible improvement here is that Imprint's transfer does not appear to have been artificially brightened like Twilight Time's disc, which remedies some of that release's excessive noise and dodgy black levels. Even so, this obviously doesn't fix other flaws such as its lack of fine detail, overall mushy appearance, and a somewhat pallid degree of color saturation. So while this version does come out slightly ahead, there's still lots of room for improvement here and, despite my reservations about the main feature, it deserved better.

Audrey Rose Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Imprint's LPCM 2.0 audio is a port of the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix found on Twilight Time's 2014 Blu-ray and sounds identical to my ears in both volume level and overall fidelity. It also includes that disc's alternate Isolated Score track (likewise repurposed to LPCM 2.0) that highlights the musical contributions of composer Michael Small.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the film and applicable bonus features.

Audrey Rose Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Imprint's Blu-ray features the studio's trademark deluxe packaging, as this one-disc release ships in a clear keepcase with attractive cover artwork, an inner print, and a glossy slipsleeve with alternate poster-themed artwork. On-disc extras are plentiful and will attract owners of Twilight Time's basically barebones out-of-print Blu-ray.

• Audio Commentary - This feature-length commentary with writer and film historian Samm Deighan covers a decent amount of ground; topics of discussion include the film's genre blending, both "halves" of the story, unfair critical comparisons to The Exorcist, Anthony Hopkins' theatrical career, the multiple nightmare sequences, the production design, director Robert Wise's earlier attempts at horror-thrillers, casting and production, character relationships, Michael Small's original score, a few candid nitpicks about the film, and much more.

• Investigator: The Paranormal World of Frank De Delitta (11:36) - This short interview with later author Frank De Felitta (who wrote the original 1975 novel and the screenplay for this film) speaks about his lifelong fascination with the afterlife and other beliefs, as well as his early career which included a number of television documentaries for CBS and other networks. He also discusses his transition into writing several books, some of which were adapted into films including of course Audrey Rose and his follow-up, The Entity.

• Kim Newman on Audrey Rose (23:35) - This more recent interview with the English journalist and film critic speaks about the film's religious themes, as well as the popularity of reincarnation among various Eastern and Western cultures. A few word-of-mouth stories, including written accounts, are provided as "evidence".

• "The Role of a Mother" - An Interview with Marth Mason (17:55) - Another fairly recent interview, this one produced exclusively for Imprint, that finds the actor sharing on-set memories, thoughts on director Robert Wise and her co-stars, and discussing what originally attracted her to the project.

• "I've Been Here Before" - Reincarnation on Film by Lee Gambin (17:21) - Another recent piece produced for Imprint, this video essay by writer and film critic Lee Gambin discusses the depiction of reincarnation, the afterlife, and similar themes as seen in earlier films like Here Comes Mr. Jordan and Heaven Can Wait.

• "Hypnotist" - Inside the Score for Audrey Rose (16:52) - Writer and film music historian Daniel Sweiger speaks about the strengths, influences, and legacy of the film's original score by composer Michael Small.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:31) - This dramatic promotional piece can also be seen here.

Audrey Rose Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Robert Wise's fitfully sharp but woefully uneven Audrey Rose is a TV Movie of the Week in big-studio clothing, partially saved by its occasionally effective atmosphere and an early standout performance by Anthony Hopkins. It's amassed something of a cult following and they'll at least appreciate Imprint's new Blu-ray edition: it bumps up the visuals over Twilight Time's 2014 Blu-ray with a slightly improved (but still weak) 1080p transfer, with the main draws being a nice pile of film-specific bonus features, sleek packaging... and of course, the fact that it's actually still in print.