Customer Reviews
my neice loved it 
2008-09-24
my neice loved it she gives it 5 stars she loves scary movies the scary they are the better they are.
The Changeling 
2008-08-25
George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, and Melvyn Douglas do a fine job in this chilling tale of a haunted house. Scott plays a father and husband that loses his wife and daughter to an accident. He is a composer and he decides to move to a rural community from the city. Scott is offered a Historical Society home to rent. As Scott investigates the reason a child was killed at the home he unfolds an in depth story of a families past. Scott uses all means possible to find out more including a seance. His investigation leads him to a powerful foe. The movie has great atmosphere and subtlety that makes it different than the current bleeders. The directing and camera work are excellent. It will make you feel as though you were there and it will quite probably give you a chill. This story builds suspense and horror. Well worth owning especially at the current $5.99 price. Good quality DVD and replayability. No extras. If you enjoyed this catch "Ghost Story" and "The Lady in White".
CA Luster
excellent movie 2008-08-14
A must see! Like suspense? Like great acting? Like spook without gore? A classic for me and maybe you, too!
Old-school psychological thriller 2008-08-09
What could I say positive about this movie that hasn't already been said?
It's true that it's an aged movie and by the standards of today's younger audiences it may seem "lame" or "boring".
But if we take all the 4 and 5 star ratings and stack them up against the 3, 2, and 1, stars we've got 299 positive (this is including mine as of 8-9-08) to 24 negative. That sort of says it all right there.
If you're a connoisseur of the old-school horror/thriller type movies than "The Changeling" is right up there with classics like Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" or Hitchcock's original "Psycho." Different stories/events ... but the same chills run down your spine.
Watching this scary flick may leave you changeling your pants 2008-07-04
This one is truly spooky. Other movies that have scared the bee-jesus right out of me come to mind whilst writing about "The Changeling": Ghost Story, Fatal Attraction, or Shannon Tweed's Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death. This movie is right up there with them and perhaps even a little scarier than Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (which sure is fun to say...try it, right now, go on, right there at your computer...laughed didn't ya?)
George C. Scott turns in a convincing performance and Trish Van DeVere (who sounds mostly Dutch) is winningly watchable as they play this star-crossed detective kinda couple who have to get to the bottom of the mysteries of the haunted house Scott finds himself living in. The plot starts to build on a low boil and just ratchets up the scare heat from there. What one learns when watching this movie is that little kids who die young through no fault of their own (but perhaps the fault of others...don't want to give away a spoiler here you know) and lived in Seattle (but not for long) at the turn of the century will go to any lengths to revenge their death. If this isn't a truism you have arrived at in life just yet...get "The Changeling" watch but just don't watch it alone in a dark dark house on a stormy stormy night. No, you'll want all the lights on for this one my friend.
Warning, if you are parents of young children especially boys, there may be this scene that you will have difficulty watching if not all together turn you off from watching anymore of the movie. I was Ok with the remaining 99% of the flick since there are scenes that are so truly scary that you'll be shivering in your justin ropers you will.
Since the flick was made in 1980 there are some effects that will elicit a chuckle which is just fine if your making a comedy, not so much for a horror flick. George C. Scott's character's wife and young child die, he moves to Seattle and naturally wants to live in this creepy old house that no one has live in for quite a while because well it's creepy and most likely to be haunted. Well it turns out it is; haunted. A boy died sometime around the turn of the 20th century and is spending his god-given purgatory of a ghost's half-life trying to revenge his death. He is one pissed off ghost, he is.
This boy will use others to write just as fast as he can, whisper spooky ghost-like whispering in one of those reel-to-reel recorders (you know the type that all good poltergeist hunters use), shake some chandeliers, do wheelies in a wheel chair, relieve some painful memories in other peoples minds and perhaps the coolest ghost trick of all...make jewlry squirm out of a well-grave soil underneath someone's floor just like an earthworm mind ya.
So if you like to get a kick every now and then getting your pants scared clean off...get this here "Changeling" flick. It's a little part detective story, a little part murder-mystery, a lot part ghost story, even a little part politico conspiracy power and money grab story. It's a whole lotta scary and gobs of loads of fun. ...mmw
Still Haunts me 2008-05-25
George C. Scott becomes the unwilling instrument of a ghost's revenge in this supernatural thriller.Running Time: 107 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR UPC: 026359063022 Manufacturer No: 90630
A compassionate film 2008-04-19
This is a remarkably warm film. It's not a horror story by any means and the ghost part, intriguing as it is, takes back seat to a tale of a man in profound grief and how he deals with supernatural events. George C. Scott is superb and the music is absolutely perfect for the vehical it serves. This movie, with its sensitivity and sheer creativity, actually gets better with each viewing.
A ghost story for the ages 2008-04-02
After losing his family in a horrible accident in Upstate New York, John, still grieving for his wife and child, relocates to Washington State where he moves into an old, historical mansion. Thinking it would be a nice, secluded place to compose his music, he soon learns that he is not alone in the house when a loud, residual-like banging resounds at the same time every day (which is later explained). Curious, he goes about exploring and discovers a locked, hidden door. Eventually getting it open he unravels clues to a young boy's past and gets caught up in searching for answers as to why this spirit is not at peace.
I found THE CHANGELING (1980) to be a gripping haunted house/ghost story for the ages. They don't make horror films like this too often; ones that rely more on good storytelling and chilling atmosphere rather than gore and violence, so I found this movie to be refreshingly entertaining. I'd like to see them redo it but they'd probably just ruin things.
Probhably the Best Ghost Story of All Time 2008-03-29
I remember going to see this with my Dad in the theaters when it came out. It scared my younger brother so bad, he slept with my mom and dad for a week straight. It was one of those rare films that has a profound effect. Great story and acting by George C. Scott as well as the rest of the cast. Very creepy with no gore. Has some terrifying moments. Love owning it.
The Changeling is genuinely frightening 2008-03-19
Never even heard of this movie until I read about it here on Amazon, and I'm glad I checked it out. George C. Scott plays a music composer who has lost his wife and daughter in a freak accident which we witness in the film's opening scene. He accepts a job as a music professor and rents an enourmous, yet long deserted mansion during his tenure. Soon after inhabiting the house, strange things gradually start happening such as doors slamming shut, water running on its own, even rythmic pounding noises throughout the house. Finally a window breaking on its own leads him to discovering that the house is haunted. He then takes it upon himself to solve this ghost's mysterious and horrible past in an attempt to end the haunting.
The Changeling is definietly more of a mystery/suspense movie rather than a straight up horror movie. However it still manages to be genuinely creepy throughout, and the wheelchair and seance scenes will certainly not leave any watcher with a pulse unaffected. The soundtrack plays a big role in conveying fear with the old trick using abrupt volume swells and piercing sounds at the peak of suspenseful moments. Many a horror film has used this tactic to scare the audience with usually mediocre results, but I feel the Changeling really makes it work here. Add in some very eerie scenery and set pieces and I can honestly say that this movie is one of the scarier films I've ever seen.
Having said that, The Changeling is not perfect. It does take a little while to get rolling , and it does get a tad dull ocassionally. The one other thing I didn't quite understand was that they were making the film's antagonist, a powerful political figure, out to be a bad guy when he actually had no real control over what had happened. (You'll have to watch to see what I'm talking about as not to spoil it). All in all The Changeling is an overlooked, well acted, and frightening film with a truly unnerving atmosphere. I recommend this one highly.
