The Changeling

R

Released Mar 28, 1980

1h 47m

Horror

List

85%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Composer John Russell (George C. Scott) is vacationing with his family when a car accident kills his wife and daughter. Distraught with grief, Russell leaves his home in New York City for a giant, secluded house near Seattle. Soon Russell starts to feel the presence of a ghost, a boy who drowned in the bathtub there. Russell seeks the assistance of Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere), who led him to the house initially, in uncovering the secrets of the boy's death.

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Critics Consensus

George C. Scott's somber performance gives this haunted house horror a moving soul to go along with its harrowing scares.

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Variety Staff

Variety

The Changeling is a superior haunted house thriller.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Fiona Ferguson

Time Out

The leaps made by Scott's agile mind in identifying both victim and usurper leave logic and credence on the starting block.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

If it only took craftsmanship to make a haunted house movie, The Changeling would be a great one.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

While the film’s mystery becomes increasingly outlandish as it unfolds, The Changeling brings subtle yet effective chills and pacing that keeps the viewer engaged from start to finish.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jan 3, 2024

Full Review

John Brosnan

Starburst

The movie is basically old and familiar territory revisited but Medak is a good enough film maker to make you feel the visit has been worth-while.

Jul 26, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Like many a fine film, its stature only grows over the years.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jan 24, 2021

Full Review

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Elatia G

This movie was so scary to me as a kid that I'd hide in my room whenever I heard its eerie soundtrack playing. Watched it in my teens and young adulthood and it still sent a shiver down my spine.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/01/24

Full Review

Omega W

This is the only movie that genuinely scared me as a child and still creeps me out to this day. No buckets of blood, no gore; just a small voice calling out from the darkness in the house you know you're alone in.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/01/24

Full Review

TWMax65

George C. Scott is really good in this movie (as he is in every movie I've seen him in). This production is very original and well-crafted for the time, and deserves more praise and recognition for its originality. There were a couple of parts where I didn't quite follow completely and that were a bit slow, however the scary and well-done sequences stand out well enough to make up for the flaws. It was intelligently written and the story and the origins of this curse gives you the chills. Toward the end it really put it all together quite thoroughly. More people should know about this and watch it!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/26/23

Full Review

Joel H

It doesn't matter how many times I've seen The Changeling, this movie gives me the chills every single time. I've always considered this to be an underground horror film. It was the one me and my friends would watch at sleepovers, but not many people seemed to know about it. George C. Scott is such an unusual pick for a haunted house movie, yet his stoic performance somehow works for his character. This story is a slow burn, but during its scary moments, it's absolutely terrifying. And there are scenes that have haunted me since the first time I saw it. More people should give The Changeling a chance.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/05/23

Full Review

Tim C

Fave scary move of all time. All of it is profoundly procured via effective writing, directing, scoring, and acting. No special effects, no CGI, just good old-fashioned freakiness ushered in by a sense of deeply eerie sadness, longing, loneliness, and death.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/31/23

Full Review

Johnathon W

Classic haunted house film that remains one of the best ever produced, thanks to a top notch cast and superb direction. The actors are brilliant across the board, especially George C. Scott as a grieving widower looking to start over, only to find himself in a haunted house. Behind the camera, director Peter Medal crafts a first rate horror film, that's to some low key but atmospheric direction, complete with just the right about of chills to frighten (you will never look at a bouncing red ball the same way again). Plus, there is a nice mystery to the whole thing that keeps you hooked, along with why the characters never just leave the house. All in all, a classic in the genre.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/30/23

Full Review

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Peter Medak

Director

George C. Scott

John Russell

Trish Van Devere

Claire Norman

Melvyn Douglas

Senator Joe Carmichael

John Colicos

Captain DeWitt

Jean Marsh

Joanna Russell

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Synopsis

Composer John Russell (George C. Scott) is vacationing with his family when a car accident kills his wife and daughter. Distraught with grief, Russell leaves his home in New York City for a giant, secluded house near Seattle. Soon Russell starts to feel the presence of a ghost, a boy who drowned in the bathtub there. Russell seeks the assistance of Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere), who led him to the house initially, in uncovering the secrets of the boy's death.

Director: Peter Medak
Distributor: Associated Film Distribution
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 28, 1980, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 6, 2018
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Surround

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