I remember the first time I ever saw THE CHANGELING. It was
on a double bill at a drive-in and I can’t recall the other feature. I was
impressed with the film at the time and was stunned that it didn’t do better
business. It featured one of the biggest stars at the time in George C. Scott,
was a horror story at a time when they were on the rise and was actually quite
well done. And yet it got lost somewhere along the way. It was even rare to
find a copy on a video shelf when it came out in that format. All of that
changes with the release of the film in blu-ray format from Severin.
Composer John Russell (Scoot) is on vacation with his wife
and daughter when their car breaks down on a snow covered road. Pushing the car
they come across a payphone (the movie was made when those existed) and he
walks across to call for help. While he does so an oncoming car crosses the
path of a truck that veers and plows across Russell’s wife and daughter.
Fast forward months later and Russell is still trying to
cope with his loss. He moves to Seattle where a friend has set him up to teach
at the local college. Looking for a place to stay an agent of the local
historic society, Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere) finds him just the place, a
Victorian mansion that is secluded and offers him the solace he needs.
But things aren’t quite what they seem. Russell begins
hearing a banging every day at the same time. He has the pipes checked but the
noise continues. One night when he hears water running he goes to turn it off
and has a vision of a young boy drowning. As he begins investigating the
history of the house he finds out more happened there than anyone has realized.
Following noises in the house he finds a hidden attic. The
doorway is sealed over, boarded up and shelves placed over those boards.
Removing them he enters through the door and finds a room upstairs where it
appears a young boy lived alone. His diary is there as well as a ball and a
wheelchair he would have used.
Russel continues to investigate the history of the house
with the help of Claire. The noises, breaking glass in windows and more occur.
He finds that the history of the house leads to a sitting Senator (Melvyn
Douglas) as well as a young boy who was murdered and buried elsewhere. As he
continues to discover more he still can’t figure out why these images, these
spectral visions are attaching themselves to him. What is it they want him to
do and how can he follow through?
The film is one of the best ghost stories ever committed to
film. And like those that are the best it never puts everything on display for
all to see. There are no floating sheets flying from one end of the house to
the other, no million dollar special effects shots of walls/doors/furniture
visibly changing into another form and no zombiefied corpses roaming about
seeking revenge. Instead the majority of the hauntings taking place here
involve the use of sound, of darkness and light and of things as simple as a
bouncing child’s ball to create an unsettling tale that holds the viewers
interest from start to finish.
Directed by acclaimed director Peter Medak who had already
directed THE RULING CLASS and would go on to direct THE KRAYS, and ROMEO IS
BLEEDING, the film uses a light touch rather than an in your face method of
provoking scares and telling a complete story. With a combination of wonderful
cinematography, a fantastic script and the acting abilities of the film’s stars
the result is a ghost tale that is second perhaps only to the 1963 version of
THE HAUNTING, one of my all-time favorite films. The movie is an amazing film
and one that I’m delighted to see saved from obscurity by Severin. It deserves
it.
If simply saving the film weren’t enough Severin has gone
the extra mile and included some wonderful extras that make you want to go back
and watch the film a second time just to apply the things learned in those
extras. Included in the extras are an audio commentary track with Medak,
producer Joel B. Michaels and moderated by Severin Films’ David Gregory, THE
HOUSE ON CHEESMAN PARK: THE HAUNTING TRUE STORY OF THE CHANGELING in which we
learn the facts of the actual case that the film is based on, THE MUSIC OF THE
CHANGELING: AN INTERVIEW WITH MUSIC ARRANGER KENNETH WANNBERG, THE BUILDING OF
THE HOUSE OF HOROR: AN INTERVIEW WITH ART DIRECTOR REUNBEN FREED, THE
PSYCHOTRONIC TOURIST: THE CHANGLING which returns us to the various locations
the film was shot at, Master of Horror Mick Garris talking about the film, a
poster and stills gallery, the original trailer and TV spots for the film.
After watching the pieces here about the real story and the construction of the
sets you just want to restart it all over again.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one small item that
Severin did here that deserves tremendous praise. I’m sure we’ve all grown
weary of having to put in a disc only to sit patiently while we see the
standard FBI warning about copying the film. That doesn’t happen here. Instead
once the disc loads on your player we see George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere
sitting and looking at a microfilm machine taken from the movie. They scroll
and stop and we’re allowed to see what they’re reading. It’s the FBI warning
written as a news item. What an ingenious way to insert that onto the disc! And
it makes viewing the warning seem less a chore than normal, something you’ll
want others to see when watching the film again.
Having the opportunity to watch this film again was such a
joy. Having the chance to see it presented in such a way that it was clean,
clear and crisp made it even more so. Previously all prints had seemed washed
out and slightly off focus from seeing it on an outdoor screen to watching it
on sloppily transferred video tape. Now I and many others can enjoy watching it
along with the well-made extras again and again. Congratulations Severin on a
job well done.
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