Released: 1980
Starring: George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos, Jean Marsh, Helen Burns, Madeleine Sherwood
Director: Peter Medak
Distributed by: Associated Film Distribution
Rating: R (UK – 15)
“How did you die, Joseph…? Did you die in this house…? Why do you remain…?”
No, really, it’s ok. I didn’t need to sleep in the dark tonight anyway. This was the thought I had after watching The Changeling. A haunted house film that does a fantastic job of making you wonder what that noise was in the other room of your house.
The Changeling follows John Russell (George C. Scott; Patton, The Exorcist III) a composer who recently lost both his wife and young daughter in an accident. In order to heal and continue with his life, Russell moves out of his family home and to Seattle where a lecturing job awaits him. While looking for a new place to live, he is shown an old mansion that is being rented out by the local historical society after being empty for twelve years. It is a beautiful house and seems perfect for his needs, but eerie things begin to occur including loud, hollow banging ringing throughout the house and a manifestation of a young boy drowning in his bathtub. He begins to investigate the house’s history while the strange occurrences ramp up. Who is the young boy? Why is he haunting the house? Could this all be in Russell’s mind?
The Changeling has a lot going for it. A great cast led by Academy Award-winning George C. Scott, a score that is a perfect example of music and sound increasing the atmosphere of a film, and a story that engages and entertains at the same time. The cinematography is well done and includes some great use of long tracking shots. These shots usually represent the point of view of the ghost and add to the overall sense of fear the audience may feel while watching the film.
George C. Scott brings his great acting skills to the role of John Russell. The way he portrays a man who is recovering from such a tragic ordeal makes you really feel for the character. When he is in the company of others, he is jovial, strong, and seemingly fine, but those moments when he thinks about his daughter and wife, you see real anguish in his expressions. Of course, you can’t have Scott in a role without using his notable yelling voice. There is such a moment in the film where Scott yells at the ghost demanding to know “What do you want?!” I think even the spirit gets scared and backs off at that point.
The other actors in The Changeling are also phenomenal. The member of the historical society that leases the house and befriends Russell is Claire Norman played by Scott’s real-life wife Trish Van Devere(One Is a Lonely Number, The Hearse). She starts the film as an outgoing, happy character, but by the time she gets her last scare, you really wonder how her sanity is holding up after the movie ends. Another character of note is Senator Carmichael played by Melvyn Douglas (I Never Sang for My Father, Captains Courageous) who gives a strong performance in a one on one conversation with George C. Scott’s character.
As I said earlier, the story is engaging and entertaining. Right from the beginning, you are connected to John Russell as you wonder how he will deal with his loss. You want to know more about the house and ghost as he begins to investigate the haunting. You want to see what resolution is needed for the spirit. The plot does take some leaps as it progresses the story along. For a composer, Russell seems better at making connections than any police officer would, often filling in gaps with vague or no leads and finding evidence with apparently little real effort. However, you could chalk this up to help from beyond. Even with these faults, I never disconnected from the film.
I love to see how music and sound are used in a film. I try to mention it in every review I do because it can make a mediocre film into something special. The Changeling is one of my go-to examples of how to get music to work for your film. It helped that the main character is a composer, but the use of the music for each event in the film was wonderful. The moment that tells you how much music will affect this movie is when Russell leaves his piano after composing and discovering a dead key. After he walks out of the room, we see a close-up of the keys and a single one is pressed. The sound of this single pressed key grows into an ominous note as we are shown a completely empty room. From then on, they use music to increase each moment of terror or tragedy and then bring it back down with the same music.
This film is available on DVD through HBO Video. Unfortunately, there is nothing much to note here except the film itself. Picture quality is ok, sound is ok, neither hamper the viewing experience. The only Special Feature on this DVD version is small text bios about some of the actors.
Severin Films has re-released the film on Blu-Ray and DVD with a new 4K scan of the film and all kinds of Special Features. These include audio commentary with Director Peter Medak and Producer Joel B. Michaels, a feature about the true story that the film is based on, interviews with Music Arranger Kenneth Wannberg and Art Director Reuben Freed, Master of Horror Mick Garris talking about the film, The Psychotronic Tourist on The Changeling filming locations, still gallery, TV spots, and the trailer. The Limited Edition of the Blur-Ray even comes with the soundtrack for the film. Wow! Severin gathered a lot more than HBO Video for this release. The new Blu-Ray release (I did get myself the Limited Edition) has great picture and superb sound quality. This really helps enhance the entire film.
I would love to go more into the moments that make this film a great watch, but then I might as well tell you the whole plot and you may never experience The Changeling for yourself. A movie that does the haunted house horror genre proud, The Changeling will have you creeped out after the credits roll and you turn off your television. So check out that strange sound in the other room, then sit down in the comfort of your couch, enjoy the film, and save me some popcorn!
Rating:
Jack Savage:
After reviewing two George C. Scott led films and giving them high ratings, I feel like I need to find a film where I can say that he had a poor performance. Hmmm… this may take some time.
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