The Changeling (1980)**

 I wrote about this wonderful haunted house film back in 2012 to little fanfare: 2012 review

This is absolutely my jam. It is everything I look for in a restless spirit film. I think this could be compared side by side with the great onryō  period during the Japanese "spirit reaching from beyond the grave" surge in significance in the late 90's and early 2000's. And it is in that really cool era between 1973 - 1984 where so many important acting and filmmaking talents were delivering such great content. Yes, I think the pacing of The Changeling (1980) will turn off some viewers because of how films are made now. It is about presentation, development of story, the pain of loss, the pursuit of the truth no longer left locked behind a door, under dust and cobwebs, buried at the bottom of a well where Sacred Heart used to be (now a house on top of it). No matter if you are a senator, protected by power and wealth, an orphan given a prestigious name, substituting for a lame, weak, sickly boy drowned by his father in a tub in the attic...the truth has a way of reaching out even after many decades. 1909 - 1980, the truth stayed seemingly hidden, but a child's "tub pounding", a voice on a videotape telling of what his father did to him, a flashback to that murder reflected into vision for a pianist to see. That pianist, a widower who lost his wife and daughter in the worst kind of snow-covered road after a car crash tire-slide crushed them, does his due diligence to do right by the dead boy and that involves help from the real estate agent (Trish Van Devere of "The Hearse" of the same year), whose on career is in jeopardy because of what their research and investigation uncovers.

There is a fantastic "hissy fit" the spirit unravels at the end. The house, as seen by the images above, has such incredible space that allowed Director Medak to really get the most out of the vastness of the main setting. The investigation, sure, is the meat and potatoes because there is a horrible child murder that never was resolved, just hidden away because this monster decided wealth was more important than his son. "Murder for profit" as Scott confronts Douglas about what his father did all the way back in 1909, and how Douglas responds (the emotional and physical reaction is gut-wrenching because Douglas' Senator Carmichael is forced to address a past he never knew, groomed so young to believe a lie, not knowing the man he called father committed a heinous crime, using him as a substitute to secure wealth) is quite a powerful piece of acting. I like how Scott acts his pianist's entire performance out. He's always treating this "hunt" very maturely, a practical, intelligent, linear path towards satisfying the ghost that won't let up. There is a moment where he enters the house, looks towards the attic after doors continue to slam by the manifesting fury of the spirit, and curses the boy out, wondering what else he could do to help him. He does investigate, finds the boy's remains, and tells Carmichael about all the information he and Van Devere recover. Scott didn't just leave Seattle for wherever.

I just want to reiterate how much I love this house. I love when noises won't let the protagonist rest, and that hidden room with the music box producing the same melody Scott himself conducted on piano seemingly off the top, and a window with bits of glass exploded from inside down to the ground where he was standing. All this manifestation calling out for Scott to act on his behalf. The scene where Van Devere thinks Scott is in the house and the wheelchair emerges, going after her, is still such a creative setpiece. The way Medak shoots the "presence" when it stirs and moves about the house, the camera acting as the spirit, is a visual dynamo that never fails to have me marking out. I love when the camera can really exhilarate me.

This has in the past been a worthwhile January Saturday afternoon movie. I had no idea when to watch "The Changeling" this year. Up until Monday evening, I planned to have a nice November double feature with this film and "Ghost Story" (1981) back to back Thanksgiving weekend, but since I plan to have a light watch week during the final week of October, "The Changeling" sort of returned to mind. I just hate when it is over. I like it that much. For some, it might not be as "eventful" or give you a lot of jump scares and Hollywood editing "pizzazz" but I simply groove to the approach of exploiting a sinister location with an extending stairs, a house that has quite a reach where the camera can capture distance, an actor the caliber of Scott with nuance in his performance and a back story of great tragedy to add gravity to the character, and a history stretching back seventy years returning for closure. Scott wears all that mourning and grief, fatigued and emotionally spent, his pianist just trying to get his life together, teach music to students at a university, and conjure music again. You can see this journey does derail his plans, but he definitely steps up and delivers.

***The wet red ball bouncing down the stairs, after Scott thought he dumped it in the drink far from the house, remains absolutely eerie as does the playback of the recording during the seance. These setpieces are methods for the spirit to get his attention, and Scott's reaction to them isn't hysterical which I appreciated. Scott was just an actor of incredible depth. I'm surprised Scott and Medak never worked together again.***