The film begins with a rather happy and joyful tone, a family playing in snow, while the father is on a payphone trying to get help for their broken down car. That happiness is extremely short lived, when a car and a truck plows into the wife and daughter, killing them both.
The father, Composer John Russell (George C. Scott) moves into an old mansion where of course it turns out, something else is "living" there before him.
From simple and now considered cliche things happening, such as bangs in the night and pianos playing themselves, to much more powerful and sinister things such as visions, the film delivers tension with every second once it really gets going.
I can definitely say they don't make movies like this anymore unfortunately. Coming in at an hour and 46 mins, it does what was the standard in the 70's/80's in which it focuses on the character development and story first and foremost, giving us the time needed to actually care about the characters.
That said however, the supernatural events happening aren't really put on the backburner, but instead are nicely blended in together, giving those and Joseph, the entity causing them a character of themselves.
I could be wrong but it looks like it was a big influence on the first Insidious film.
Again, as mentioned, the plot points and events which happen would now be considered cliche, having been in almost every ghost film ever, but back then, they wouldn't have been. So you really do have to go in with an open mind.
To be honest I'm actually surprised this film isn't bigger than Poltergeist, it's definitely a better film when it gets going.
Maybe that's why Poltergeist is bigger though, something is happening almost every second in that film, it's basically the action film of haunted house tales.
It has very similar vibes but in this film, it focuses more on one man's journey than a whole family's.
One of my favourite things about the film is that the lead isn't what we usually find in most horrors, he isn't a young naive man in denial, he's an older man who sees what's happening and just wants to get to the bottom of it.
The acting is exactly what we should expect, nothing short of believable.
The sets are also beautiful and made to look realistic, even to the point of an old room actually being covered in dust and cobwebs, not magically being spotless like you'd find in many movies nowadays.
Going back to the first thing I said, in having heard it's one of the scariest movies ever, I do have to disagree, however I can see why people who get creeped out easily wouldn't want to watch it on a night alone. On the most part, I found it pretty tame. No complaints though, it's a bloody good film still.
The restoration is almost perfect, though some scenes were still a little grainy, the majority are fine and the sound is crisp and clear like all Second Sight releases. There are subtitles too!
Let's talk about the special features shall we?
- Audio Commentary with Director Peter Medak and producer Joel B. Michaels. Moderated by Severin Film's David Gregory - In which they talk about making the movie and compare horror's from then to now, speak about the actors sets and more.
- The House On Cheesman Park: The Haunting True Story of The Changeling (17:31) - Dr Phil Goodstein, author and historian, speaks of the true story behind the film.
- The Music of The Changeling: Interview with Music arranger Kenneth Wannberg (08:59) - Kenneth plays a bit of the piano, speaks about arranging the music, and the other films he's worked on, including Star Wars.
- Building The House Of Horror: Interview with Art Director Reuben Freed (10:56) - Reuben speaks about how he began his journey into the film business and exactly how he became a set designer and more.
- The Psychotronic Tourist: The Changeling (16:02) - What looks like a youtube channel's show, they visit old places and sets from horror films, this one of course based around The Changeling. It also gives a bit of background behind the movie which isn't featured in the audio commentary or elsewhere.
- Master Of Horror Mick Garris on The Changeling (05:31) - Mick Garris speaks about his love for some old chaotic movies, and how though The Changeling was different, emotional and adult, he loves it.
- Trailer and TV Spot.
In all, though the film isn't the scary film I'd hoped for, it was still an enjoyable movie and I agree with Mick Garris on that it feels personal, especially compared to other horror films.
I have to give it a 7/10.
The movie will be released Monday 20th August in a limited edition run with the original soundtrack on cd.
You can preorder the movie here.