In the late 60s, playwright Russell Hunter was living in an old mansion located in Chessman Park, Denver, Colorado. The mansion was owned by Henry Treat Rodgers, a wealthy Denver attorney, during the late 1800s. Supposedly, Russell experienced strange phenomena in the house, including faucets turning on by themselves, walls violently shaking, and doors opening themselves. He also claimed he found an old journal detailing the life of a disabled child isolated by his parents. In short, when the boy was gravely ill, the parents secretly buried him once he died. Afterwards, they adopted a boy from an orphanage and essentially trained him to take on the deceased child’s identity. While these claims have largely been debunked, Russell still thought about that story and decided to turn it into a script. That script would eventually be turned into the 1980 haunted house film, The Changeling.
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Following the deaths of his wife and daughter, composer John Russell (George C. Scott) moves from New York to Seattle. He rents an old victorian home thanks to an agent from the local historical society, Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere). Not long after moving in, Russell starts experiencing strange things in the house. One day, he finds the water taps turned on and hallucinates seeing a young boy’s corpse in a bathtub. Investigating further, he finds a hidden room containing a child’s wheelchair, and he works with Claire to uncover the truth. They soon discover that the child in question is Joseph Carmichael, a crippled child who was killed by his father. As he digs deeper and deeper, Russell uncovers a conspiracy where Carmichael’s father was after his son’s inheritance. It’s all a matter of Russell trying to uncover the mystery and trying to help Joseph’s spirit lay to rest.
Without a doubt, this is one of the most suspenseful and tense haunted house movies ever made. This movie has a great foreboding atmosphere and a sense of dread all throughout, even before the hauntings start. George C. Scott delivers one of the best performances of his career, which include classics like Dr. Strangelove and Patton. He perfectly captures the feeling of loneliness and comes across as a former shell of a man. When Scott starts his investigation, you get caught up in the mystery and wonder how it all ties in. While many of today’s paranormal movies overuse cheap jump scares, this one relies on building up tension and suspense. Just when things start to slow down, the movie throws some sort of disturbing imagery that will haunt you. Given that this was released the same year as The Shining, 1980 was a great year for haunted house movies.
The movie has developed a major cult following over the years, and many have singed their praises of this film. In fact, Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese called this one of the scariest movies ever made. Filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro is also a fan, calling the movie ‘a masterpiece’. With those glowing endorsements, how can you say no? This is a movie full of sadness and dread, but it’s also a film about redemption and finding closure. While not as well-known as other haunted house movies, The Changeling is still a masterful work of horror cinema.
