When a famous piano composer’s wife and daughter die in a freak car accident, he escapes to a historical old house that no one has lived in for many years. Despite his attempt at solitude, he soon finds that the old house may still contain one of it’s previous residents. As the bumps in the night continue, our composer, John, begins to lose his composure, until he stumbles upon a number of clues that set him on a path to solving the mystery of the house and the spirit that dwells within.
We need more Lemon Pledge.
In The Changeling, George C. Scott plays John, the new found resident of this seemingly haunted house. We get great acting by Scott, a spooky atmosphere and an old house worthy of being haunted. However, what makes The Changeling good isn’t because it’s a typical haunted house movie where the ghosts torment the living, though the spirit of the house is creepy at times. This movie is really more of a thriller/mystery where the ghost is seeking help from the protagonist, than the usual haunted horror flick.
Today on This Old House, we'll be digging up the floor of a child's bedroom to look for dead bodies...
Think of the movie along the same lines as the Paranormal Activity movies, The Others, or even The Sixth Sense but with a slightly less twisty ending. It’s all about the subtle creepy atmosphere that makes this movie and while the scares may not be as big or nerve wracking as the Paranormal movies, it does it’s job fairly well.
Gravity. How does it work?
There are definitely some creepy scenes though, with minor paranormal disturbances beginning as soon as he moves into the house. Although the real shenanigans begin to occur when John decides to bring in a psychic medium to have a little seance (think Poltergeist) and they end up recording the spirit’s voice on a tape recorder without their initial knowledge of the voice. In addition, there are several moments with a small dusty wheel chair in the attic that moves at random and becomes the crux of a major plot point later on. Finally, throw in your random ball bouncing down the stairs and you got yourself a haunted house movie.
I may not be a fireman, but that doesn't look safe...
Interestingly, there are even some elements of the 2008 Changeling which I had previously seen. And though they are definitely different movies, the plots of each revolves around the theme of… well, a changeling.
While The Changeling was a good movie with a spooky haunted house atmosphere, I can’t say that I was all that scared compared to today’s movies that genuinely make me jump like the Paranormal Activity series or the [REC] series. In addition, the pacing seems to be fairly slow in my opinion. I will give it high marks for being a decent mystery movie though, but as far a scary haunted house movies, it only lands a flat “B” rating in my book.
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