Horror might just be the most specific film genre. As we progress/evolve, so do the movies we consume, and for me, there is no better display of this than horror movies, respectively what can we (the audience) tolerate? Just think about the Saw franchise, which many still call “torture-porn” movies, but for a reason, as with each sequel, they pushed the boundaries of what could be shown on the screen. My point is horror movies suffer (at least in my view) the most from “ageing”. What used to be scary or downright terrifying in the 60s or 70s might not work as well now because we have seen every form of horror elevated. But then you bump into a film like The Changeling that proves that occasionally, the old ones can be as scary today as they were back when they were released.
And why is that? What is the big secret? Well, the secret is that there is no secret. The filmmakers of the past just had to rely on the atmosphere above all. They couldn’t rely on CGI (it existed back in 1980, but it was too expensive for a horror film), so they had to have a gripping story and build everything around that. And this film is the perfect example of how to do it well.
The Changeling starts as your stereotypical horror film; an older guy (portrayed by George C. Scott) loses his wife and daughter in a freak accident. So, as one tends to do, he moves to start someplace else fresh, and for whatever reason, he selects this old mansion. And, of course, there are weird sounds his first night, along with other strange occurrences. But if you are willing to look past that and focus on the film, you will quickly discover it delves into almost a detective story about a potentially missing kid. I won’t go into any further details because there are some nice twists and turns along the way.
I will say the moment I knew the film had me and sent chills down my spine was when our main character figured out what those weird, thump-like sounds were. We would hear them at least two to three times, and it was a pretty ominous sound as it didn’t sound like anything I was familiar with. But the moment he discovers what it was, holy shit. The Changeling works because it doesn’t rely on jump scares; it slowly and meticulously builds up everything to where something that wouldn’t usually scare you scares you. But it’s never any “fake scare”. Do you know how most horror films have the “fake jump scare” before the real one? Yeah, you won’t find anything like that here; everything horror-related ties to the story. I loved the film… until the last 20 minutes.
I won’t say the last 20 minutes of this film killed it for me; no. It was still a decent watch and a satisfying finale, but the central mystery got solved by then. Do you know how I said the movie turns into almost a detective story? Yeah, everything is wrapped up a good 20 minutes before the movie finishes. I understand that is just how they used to make films at the time; they took their time with everything so we would get closure and transparent answers to all our questions. But I can’t help it; if the movie had been 80/85 minutes instead of 107 minutes, it would have been a perfect film.
I also couldn’t help but remember another “old” horror film called The Haunting (1963) and how, despite it being almost two hours long, it never suffered from a premature finish. It built a creepy atmosphere throughout the film, and the film peaked about five minutes before the end. I can say with a clear conscience, The Haunting, a movie from 1963 (!), is still one of (if not THE) the scariest films I have ever seen. Considering the movie has only one equivalent of a jump scare (it’s not a jump scare, but that was the closest that scene compares to a modern jump scare), that should tell you something you need to know. In many instances, The Changeling reminded me of The Haunting, but ultimately, that is where they differ. The Changeling just wraps up everything and then continues going for another 20 minutes at least.
But let me be clear, I would still recommend this to everyone, mainly all horror filmmakers of today. You can tell watching modern mainstream horror movies, many filmmakers don’t go back to these classics, and if they do, they have taken zero lessons from them. I understand audiences have evolved too, but you will not convince me that modern audiences love jump scares every five minutes. I once heard a great comparison that jump scare is to a horror genre, what tickling is to a comedy genre. Sure, if somebody were to tickle you whilst you watched a comedy film, you would laugh much more. And the jump scares (mostly) work, so you feel afraid. But how often do you forget about that horror film? How long does it take for you to “recover”? It doesn’t take that much, does it now? That’s because jump scares are the short-term “solution”; a shortcut, if you will. Especially if you know where they are on your next rewatch, they are not nearly as effective. But if you take the energy, time and make some effort into building a spooky atmosphere, that will work no matter what. And I wish more mainstream horror filmmakers would understand that.
Overall, The Changeling is a nearly perfect horror film with the calmest protagonist ever. I swear many people would have been out of the house and run away from other situations, but not our protagonist. George C. Scott has apparently seen some shit, so he remains cool as a cucumber for most of the film. It is a shame that the movie peaks with about 20 minutes left to go because there is a noticeable difference between the first 3/4 of the film and the rest. But still, this one is an easy recommendation for any horror fan. They used to make them well, and some still hold up 40 + years later.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke
