The Changeling (1980)

Director:

Peter Medak

Writers:

Russell Hunter (story)
William Gray (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 March 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

...an experience beyond total fear.

Plot:

A man staying at a secluded historical mansion, finds his life being haunted by the presence of a spectre.

Plot Keywords:

House | Mansion | Composer | Ghost | Research

Awards:

10 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

George C. Scott	...	John Russell
Trish Van Devere	...	Claire Norman
Melvyn Douglas	...	Senator Carmichael
Jean Marsh	...	Joanna Russell
John Colicos	...	Captain DeWitt
Barry Morse	...	Parapsychologist
Madeleine Sherwood	...	Mrs. Norman (as Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood)
Helen Burns	...	Leah Harmon
Frances Hyland	...	Mrs. Grey
Ruth Springford	...	Minnie Huxley
Eric Christmas	...	Albert Harmon
Roberta Maxwell	...	Eva Lingstrom
Bernard Behrens	...	Robert Lingstrom
James B. Douglas	...	Eugene Carmichael
J. Kenneth Campbell	...	Security Guard

Also Known As:

L'enfant du diable (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Sweden:15 | West Germany:18 (video rating) | South Africa:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | West Germany:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1980) | USA:R (certificate #25883) | Singapore:PG | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Boeing Field - 7149 Perimeter Road, Seattle, Washington, USA

Company:

Chessman Park Productions

Trivia:

The movie is based on events which supposedly took place at a house in Denver, Colorado, in the 1960s. The Chessman Park neighborhood in the movie is a reference to Cheesman Park in Denver, where the original haunting transpired.

Goofs:

Continuity: John's daughter's ball is red and gray with a white stripe up to the point where it bounces down the stairs the first time. When John takes it to the bridge and when it bounces down the stairs the second time, it is all red with a white stripe.

Quotes:

John Russell: It's my understanding... that there are, uh... twenty-three students registered... for this series of lectures on advanced musical form. Now, we all know it's not raining outside, and unless there's a fire in some other part of the building that we don't know about, there's an awful lot of people here with nothing better to do.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Nightmare in Canada: Canadian Horror on Film (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Symphony #1 in C minor, Opus 68

Good film!

John Russell (George C. Scott), a widower who lost his wife and child in a roadside accident, moves into an opulent mansion and becomes aware of its tragic history; he works at the solving the mystery with the help of a new acquaintance, Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere, Scott's real-life wife).

Solid, mystery/horror/thriller is competently made and unlike lame junk like "The Amityville Horror", it actually manages to be spooky. And it does this without relying on special effects or any other sort of gimmickry. It just tells a simple ghost story that for once is refreshingly uncomplicated (of course, it helps that Scott's dialog is full of explanation).

It's a nice throwback to earlier classics like 1963's "The Haunting" and I can see why some people would hold it in high regard. In fact, I would put it the same league as Carpenter's "Halloween", another classic masterpiece of subtlety and dread.

Excellent cast of professional actors is a big plus.

One of the better scare movies ever made and worthy of re-discovery.

8/10