Cult ghost story from the late seventies starring George C Scott as a composer, still mourning the tragic deaths of his wife and daughter in a car accident, who moves into a creepy old mansion and soon detects an otherworldly presence. After a little research, he realises the spirit could be that of a six year old boy murdered in the house seventy years earlier - a spirit who seems to have a message for his new houseguest.
THE CHANGELING isn't as great a horror movie as many claim but it does have its moments and is generally a fine way to pass a Saturday night. Scott seems a little miscast in the title role and approaches his character with an unnecessary hostility but the other cast members do a commendable job, bringing a sense of realism to a wholly supernatural tale. Direction from Peter Medak is competent throughout and very typical of the late seventies era.
Shocks are more intellectual than in-your-face - the very idea that some of the things are happening is scarier than their execution in the movie - and there's a lack of logic throughout which makes things hard to accept at times. If this house is so haunted and scares the living preverbials out of Scott, for example, why does he persist in living there? That said, it is a horror movie and reasonable thinking can't always be expected of characters in this genre.
Overall, I would rate this on par with THE AMITYVILLE HORROR - another above average supernatural chiller - as a movie which doesn't quite live up to its full potential. It's certainly creepy and intense - just don't expect another EXORCIST. *** / *****
THE CHANGELING isn't as great a horror movie as many claim but it does have its moments and is generally a fine way to pass a Saturday night. Scott seems a little miscast in the title role and approaches his character with an unnecessary hostility but the other cast members do a commendable job, bringing a sense of realism to a wholly supernatural tale. Direction from Peter Medak is competent throughout and very typical of the late seventies era.
Shocks are more intellectual than in-your-face - the very idea that some of the things are happening is scarier than their execution in the movie - and there's a lack of logic throughout which makes things hard to accept at times. If this house is so haunted and scares the living preverbials out of Scott, for example, why does he persist in living there? That said, it is a horror movie and reasonable thinking can't always be expected of characters in this genre.
Overall, I would rate this on par with THE AMITYVILLE HORROR - another above average supernatural chiller - as a movie which doesn't quite live up to its full potential. It's certainly creepy and intense - just don't expect another EXORCIST. *** / *****