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The Changeling (1980)


You may notice that this particular article is lacking the "From the Corner" pre-fix.  That's because this review of the 1980 film "The Changeling" is a Basement Exclusive!  I have not reviewed this film for "The Corner of Terror".

After the death of his wife and daughter, John Russell moves into an old, isolated mansion in order to work on composing a new piece.  He soon finds himself enveloped in strange sounds, shadows, and spirits- all leading to an explosive revelation about one of the most powerful men in the country...

This film, starring George C. Scott is a true horror classic.  It expertly weaves a ghost story that will stay with you even after you've turned all the lights on.

The story is fantastic, and exemplifies what a good ghost story should be.  The pacing is slow, but tense as it builds and builds to it's eruptive climax.  It keeps adding bits and pieces of the story at just a fast enough flow to keep you interested, and carry you along.  Each story element that gets added just turns the dial up a notch- balancing the subtle eerie moments with the more shocking ones.  A well crafted story.

The characters are fairly standard by today's standards, though John Russell (George C. Scott), and Senator Joseph Carmichael (Melvyn Douglas) are well developed and fully realized characters- which is fitting since they are the protagonist and antagonist respectively.  The others are, as I said, standard... but still likable enough, and flesh out the world around the two main ones suitably.

The acting of Scott and Douglas are great.  Both bring a real energy and reality to their roles.  To be honest, words fail me when I try to describe my thoughts on their acting in this movie.  Just awesome.

The camera work is a marvelous blend of standard camera angles and movements, and off-kilter ones- with the off-kilter ones making the spooky scenes all the more un-nerving and scary.  The ball scene in the GIF at the top is a perfect example of that.  Kudos to the camera staff and editing staff on compiling all of the various shots into a cohesive whole that scared the fucking shit out of me as a kid.

I really can't say enough good things about "The Changeling".  It is right up in my Top Five Horror Movies for good reason.  I have to qualms re-watching it each year, or recommending it to people.  This movie deserves a spot in "The Good" for sure.
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