The Changeling

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The Changeling

R,

1980,

1h 47m,

Horror

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Watchlist

Watchlist

85%

27 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

27 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

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.

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

Mar 26, 2009

The Changeling is a superior haunted house thriller.

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Fiona Ferguson

Time Out

Jun 24, 2006

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

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Oct 23, 2004

2.5/4

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

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Oct 10, 2026

3/5

…a classy horror movie that’s more concerned with spooky chills than gore, and there’s a steely, wintry patience here that bucks the modern trends; the entire action of Peter Medak's The Changeling might barely comprise a pre-credits sequence today...

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Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

Oct 31, 2024

4/5

It’s spooky without being schlocky, terror with hardly a drop of blood. And as effective as the haunted house device is, the real mystery driving the haunting is so cold-blooded and practical that you won’t even think twice about its motivation.

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Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

Jan 3, 2024

3.5/5

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.

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Kylo M

Mar 15, 2019

If you want to read the review I wrote for this, go to letterboxd.com/HankIsDead514. I can no longer post long reviews on here and I'm not writing two separate reviews for the same movie.

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Rey W

Feb 16, 2019

In my opinion, an absolute classic. Truly terrifying back story, executed so well, you are completely invested.. if any 80s horror should be remade it should be this...

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Abraham M

Feb 8, 2019

Undernourished and overblown, this wanly-directed and unoriginal thriller copies from Amityville Horror and The Omen and features dreary performances from most of the cast. George C. Scott's default response to the poltergeist in his Addams Family mansion is a kind of petulant irritation, as if he has toothache. Incredibly dreary and pointless.

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Han P

Jan 27, 2019

Slow, boring, illogical even for ghosts

Theodore S

Jan 6, 2019

It might not be very scary for a horror movie, but it's definitely very atmospheric and has all the elements of a classic

Draco W

Dec 17, 2018

Excellent supernatural mystery. Starts off slowly but gains motion eventuallly . I liked the ending. Its not a texas chainsaw massacre. So don't expect heavy gore and violence or to be scared out of your boots with jump scares like halloween or elm street . Its just not that type of horror.

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Peter Medak

Director

George C. Scott

John Russell

Trish Van Devere

Claire Norman

Melvyn Douglas

Senator Joe Carmichael

John Colicos

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Jean Marsh

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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
Screenwriter: Russell Hunter, William Gray
Distributor: Associated Film Distribution
Production Co: Chessman Park Productions
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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