LaKeith Stanfield’s strange show ‘The Changeling:’ review

LaKeith Stanfield’s new show “The Changeling” is a stylish and unnerving odyssey through several generations  – all while strange happenings are afoot. 

Premiering on AppleTV+ on Friday, Sept. 8, the show (starring and executive produced by Stanfield) is a fantasy-horror that’s captivating, even if the story is all over the place. 

Based on a novel by Victor LaValle and helmed by showrunner Kelly Marcel, “The Changeling” calls itself a “fairy tale for grown-ups.”

The plot follows Apollo (Stanfield), a rare book dealer in New York who is haunted by his missing dad (who abandoned him when he was four), as he starts dating librarian Emma (Clark Backo). 

The show frequently jumps around in time, and includes flashbacks within flashbacks. 

For example, on Apollo and Emma’s first date, the story jumps back to New York in 1968, and follows Apollo’s parents as they meet, flirt, and finally get together in 1977. 

His dad, Brian West (Jared Abrahamson), seems smitten with his mom, Lillian (Alexis Louder), so it comes as a shock when the narrator reveals that Brian left when Apollo was young.

While the show is already flashing back to Apollo’s parents in the ‘70s, there’s another flashback within that, as his mom remembers a harrowing incident of violence from her youth.

The show takes some time to build up to the fantasy and horror elements.

It seems to take place in contemporary New York, but in one scene, Emma is hiking through the forest and stumbles upon an old crone – which seems straight out of a fairy tale. 

Apollo has a recurring “dream” in which his father comes back to him, but in the form of a nightmarish creature who peels his skin off, revealing his dad’s face, breathing blue smoke. 

As Apollo and Emma have their own baby, Emma starts acting strange, getting involved in bizarre conspiracy forums online, and getting text messages that vanish when she tries to show Apollo. 

After Emma disappears, Apollo searches for answers. 

It’s a lot to take in, and the show jumps around, unafraid to lurch into a sudden flashback explaining the backstory of a seemingly random character. 

The beginning of the first episode even starts off in the 1800s, showing a ship from Norway on which immigrants were sailing for a new life in America. 

The narrator adds to the fairy tale mood of the whole thing. 

As his voice overlays the first scene of the ship sailing on stormy seas, the narrator says, “Not just an improbable crossing, an impossible one. How in the world did they make it? They had help.”

There are also moments that make you think of fairy tales, such as Apollo telling Emma, “One of your eyes is bigger than the other,” (which recalls Little Red Riding Hood’s interactions with the wolf in the famous story). 

There are fantastical images – such as Apollo’s dad appearing as a monstrous creature breathing blue smoke – but the show is also filled with imagery that makes it feel grounded in the real world, such as the grit of a library in Queens, or Sylvester Stallone in a boxing ring onscreen (when Apollo’s parents go on a date to go see “Rocky”). 

“The Changeling” has a lot on its mind, and occasionally gets chaotic.

But despite all of the disparate narratives, it feels like the show is in control of its story, even if it’s not in a rush to neatly unravel every plot thread.

For audiences who enjoy unnerving mysteries such as “Severance,” mixed with the horror of a show such as “The Haunting of Hill House” and the whimsey of a Guillermo Del Toro movie, “The Changeling” is engrossing.