Home :: DVD :: Art House & International  

Asian Cinema
British Cinema
European Cinema
General
Latin American Cinema
The Changeling

The Changeling

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.24
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 .. 23 >>

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What To Do
Review: The editorial review by Andrew Wright pretty much says it all. THE CHANGELING is probably the best haunted house movie since the original version of THE HAUNTING. It's chilling and intense, but without much overt violence, bloodiness, or special effects overkill. My only disagreement with Wright is when he calls THE CHANGELING a "horror" film. A horror film, by contemporary standards, it is NOT (if that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere). Sublety is the order of the day, and it works very well. George C. Scott gives a nice performance in the lead role.

My problem with this movie is how to rate it. It doesn't quite have the classic production features of THE UNINVITED and it isn't going to be found on any "top 100 movie" lists, so it's hard for me to give it five stars. On the other hand, I really like THE CHANGELING. Like THE HAUNTING, it's creepy without bludgeoning you with hordes of computer-animated ghosts running up and down the stairs. It gives you something wierd and lets your imagination do the rest. I've decided to be a bit conservative here. I'm only giving THE CHANGELING four stars. It's a strong four stars, thought. This is a great flick for Halloween, or for any dark and stormy night. If you're looking for a good haunted house movie, they don't get much better than this. Plus, you can get THE CHANGELING and THE HAUNTING for one low price here (at the moment, anyway). Go for it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I'M STILL SHAKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: When I was much younger this was the movie that scared the hell out of me. I still recall the sleepless nights hiding under my blanket and plugging my ears so I wouldn't hear the sound of a ball bouncing down the stairs, or a little childs voice moaning for justice. I vowed never to watch this movie again.
A few years later (ok, many years later!!!) I figured I was old enough and brave enough to see it again, and you know what?, It still scared the cr#p out of me!!!! I guess a good horror movie is a good horror movie regardless of age or time.
The Changeling is the creepiest film ever made. No blood, no gore, just a good old-fashioned ghost story that captures your interest, then makes you wish that you weren't alone when you started watching it.
I highly recommend this to all. Cozy up on the couch with your partner and be prepared to hold on to each other tight, because this is the movie you'll never forget.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the changling
Review: Best scarey movie I have ever seen. I don't understand why the film is rated R. It might be because it is so intense. There is very little blood, almost no swearing and not much in the way of sexual inuedo, all the things that producers use to sale movies these days. I would stack this up against any of the scarey movies out today as far as the scare factor. The story also has a poingent side. It has the best seance scene I have ever seen depicted on film. Pure entertainment and not at the expense of the gross stuff mistaken for entertainment today.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Scary, really scary, not for the usual reasons
Review: This film has one of the two scariest scenes that I have ever seen. It's so low-key that you will wonder why I thought it scary at all: but the buildup of George C. Scott's character from total unawareness, to unbelief, to total belief is so powerful and non-sensational that the "wet ball rolling down the dark stairs" scene is a heart-stopper: seeing that ball at his feet just about stops poor old George's heart, you can tell; and if you were relating with him, it would just about blast your sanity if it happened to you that way. The whole thing is excellent: a sleeping-murder and ghost story rolled into one. Superb acting all around. Well-crafted plot. Not over-done at all; if anything, under-stated, and that is part of what makes The Changeling work so well.

(So what's the other - first or second - most scary scene I have ever seen in a film? Think, The Shining.)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Superior Ghost Story.
Review: Spine-chilling. If I needed a definition for that word, The Changeling would do it for me. I've seen it several times but a couple of scenes send chills down my spine nonetheless. A ghost story/murder mystery combined, The Changeling is an old-fashioned supernatural tale, eschewing blood & guts for atmosphere & suspense.

This is NOT a horror movie. It is a ghost story. An extremely well done ghost story, that got little fanfare when it was released, but is far superior to much of the hyped fare then and since. With a solid cast, led by George C. Scott, the film manages its thrills and chills by technique, i.e., by the adroit use of sound and image, and a carefully crafted buildup of tension. A good story that overcomes any gaps in its internal logic by good acting and skillful direction and production, The Changeling is well worth a look; however, slash and gore lovers need to look elsewhere.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: a tad bit slow
Review: Don't expect spine tingling thrills to make you jump out of your seat, or adrenaline-inducing effects. This is just a mildly chilling haunted house story, maybe the best haunted house movie, but that's saying nothing, i haven't seen any but the remake of the haunting, and casper. Well, i bought this as a big horror genre fan, based on all the reviews praising this film, i was hoping to be scared into a coma, and i scare pretty easily. i'll admit this movie had a few moments that were geniunely disturbing, and i'm not saying this is a bad movie, it is allright, but it is slow at moments.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best scary movie
Review: It's very rare that a scary movie actually manages to scare me. This movie flat-out messed with my head. It gives the real reason why we didn't want to walk up that long, dark staircase in the old scary house.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Ghost Movie EVER!!!
Review: I can't say enough about the quiet brilliance of this film!
There is no other ghost stoy to compare!!!
Don;t expect gore but if you want your blood to slowy run cold

see this movie!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must see creepy, scary, spine tingler with a real story
Review: The Changeling is by far one of the most underrated horror films of all time, and I have seen most of them. I first saw this film when I was a child and I never forgot it. Later I revisited it as an adult and It still delivers every time. There are not many horror films that can give you a genuinely creeped-out and scared feeling, you know the kind that will actually make you want to sleep with the light on, but this one will. I don't want to give anything away, but there are several sequences and images in this film that will get under your skin and never leave. I highly recomend this film and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best underrated horror film of our time
Review: Every generation seems to have their "scariest" film. My parents both recall "The Uninvited" (1944) as their favorite terror flick, and there are those who would call "The Blair Witch Project" the quintessential horror film of their generation. I choose "The Changeling" as the best ghost/suspense/horror film I've ever seen. It was not a huge blockbuster when it was released, but like many films of that ilk, it developed a cult following and is now hailed as one of the best ghost stories of all time. To this day, elements of this film can be glimpsed in other movies ("The Others," "The Ring").
Because this film was shot with such a small cast of characters and limited exterior scenes (both of which would reveal a definite sense of the style of the times) it does not seem so dated for having been made in the late 1970s (released in 1980). The score is based in the classical style, usually played on the piano, which is a direct reflection of the main character (George C. Scott) who is a classical musician and professor.
To say this film is creepy is an understatement. I admit I am certainly a fan of the slasher/horror films of the 1980s, but the horror in this film comes from the story itself, not from special effects. The scipt, actors, director, score and cinematography work as a perfect team to bring a story of deceipt, murder, suspense and, of course, terror to the screen. Not one element of the film is spelled out for the audience, nor is it hammered into the viewer's head, as in many films of late ("House on Haunted Hill"), nor, thankfully, are we subject to the too-familiar gratuitous love scene between the stars ("Haunted"). The romantic relationship between the lead characters is implied, and we understand the depth of feeling they share with each other. Director Peter Medak tells this story in a slow but certainly not boring pace.
Scott and Van Devere maintain a very strong handle on what could possibly become over-the-top dialogue in the mouths of other actors, and they have both created roles here so tangible and accessible that you, as a viewer, immediately accept their situation, which makes you feel that this could happen to you, which, obviously, makes this a frightening movie.
Unlike other ghost/supernatural films of its time ("The Fog," "The Amityville Horror,") "The Changeling" wraps you up in what ends up being a murder mystery that is revealed slowly by the victim! I think this film was most likely overshadowed by the release of Kubrick's "The Shining" (released that same year) which is just as good a telling of a ghost story (if not a more pshychological ghost story), however, in "The Shining," Jack Nicholson's over-the-top performance, as good and juicy as it is, tends to detract from the wonderful tale of paranoia, delusion, hallucination and paranormal activity that Kubrick was trying to tell (in his own translation of the Stephen King story).
In "The Changeling" there are certainly shocks and starts along the way, and why would you not expect any from a ghost story? This film certainly proves itself as one of the lesser-known, but best true terror films of our time.


<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 .. 23 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates