Director: Peter Medak
Starring: George C Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, Jean Marsh, John Colicos, Barry Morse
31 Days of Horror continues with David Umbricht’s review of The Changeling – not to be confused with Clint Eastwood’s film of the same name starring Angelina Jolie. Check out the rest of David’s horror movie reviews.
“The Changeling” is a 90 percenter, a movie that comes close to being a classic, but has just enough flaws that it is brushed to the side. This movie shouldn’t be forgotten, it is an effective ghost story, which is very difficult to pull off.
George C. Scott plays John Russell, a man who experiences every husband’s worst nightmare when he loses his wife and daughter to an accident in the opening scene. He moves to Seattle to teach and ends up renting an incredibly large and, inevitably, haunted house. Strange noises, unexplained door openings, and creepy piano music follow.
In the early going, this is a great character driven film, with the filmmakers using Russell’s tragedy to good effect. Russell doesn’t overreact to the strange occurrences, and his sanity must be questioned after what he went through. My favorite character beat happens at the point when there is no doubt that the house is haunted by the ghost of a child and Russell’s friend suggests he move out. Russell laments that he can’t go through the pain again. No, he isn’t worried about his safety in the presence of a ghost. He is more concerned that he may once again feel the human emotions of loss and grief. On one hand this is the most real moment of the movie. No person would intentionally put himself in a position where he will be hurt (physically or emotionally). On the other hand it reminds me of the old Eddie Murphy bit about white people staying in haunted houses in the movies. When a ghost says get out, get out.
At its core, a ghost story is a mystery, and at some point the main characters turn into detectives. The resolution of the case ultimately determines the quality of the overall story. “The Changeling” is the rare ghost story with an original and thought provoking explanation. I will say no more other than, I was very satisfied.
So why does this only take me 90% of the way there? Without giving anything away, there are two issues that bother me. First, John Russell is a man defined by his tragedy at the beginning of the film. It drives the first third and it is the strongest material. However, once he turns detective, his grief is forgotten. While, in the beginning of the film it felt like his living in a haunted house was destiny, by the end it seems to be just a big old coincidence. That is unfortunate, it feels like untapped potential. The other flaw is with the ghost itself. By the end, I’m not entirely sure the ghost really needed Russell’s help at all. If the movie was made in 2005, I would have said the ghost was a metaphor for the US government’s intervention in Iraq. Russell was the UN, the ghost used him as a smoke screen to try and reconcile his issues peacefully. However, in the end, the ghost had the power to do what it wanted, no matter what, exactly like the US military. I would have been stretching, but Bush bashing was en vogue back then.
If you are looking for a good ghost story, there is a lot to recommend here. Good character work by George C. Scott, effective slow burn in the first third, and a satisfying explanation to the ghost’s dilemma. By far, this is one of the top films I have watched during this Halloween season. I may say it is only 90%, but that’s still an A-.
