Director: Peter Medak
Screenplay by: William Gray, Diana Maddox, Russell Hunter
Starring: George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos, Jean Marsh and Helen Burns
Country: Canada
Running Time: 107 min
Year: 1980
BBFC Certificate: 15

The Changeling is a film that most horror aficionados are likely aware of. It’s directed by Peter Medak, whose body of work includes The Ruling Class, Romeo is Bleeding as well as episodes of Breaking Bad, The Wire and Hannibal. Based on alleged true events that occurred to writer Russell Hunter while living in a mansion in Cheesman Park, The Changeling follows John Russell (played by George C. Scott), a husband and father to a loving family, who are killed in a freak accident right in front of his very eyes. After losing his family, John moves to Seattle into a mansion that has been empty for over a decade. While staying there, strange supernatural events begin to occur, and even though this sounds like your typical ghost/haunted house tale, The Changeling aims for the type of horror that will get under your skin as opposed to jumpscares and gore. 

Filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and Guillermo Del Toro have called the film a masterpiece, one of the scariest horror films ever made and although I can’t say I felt entirely the same way, I completely understand why the film scares the living daylights out of so many people, back when it first released in 1980 all the way up to people watching it for the very first time today. It’s a film that was plagued with directors dropping out, such as Tony Richardson and Donald Cammell, a frequent collaborator of Medak’s friend, Nicolas Roeg. Although I enjoy Cammell’s Performance, I think Medak was the right choice for the film as he directs it with such precision and never treats the film like it’s only a horror film and more so a drama with psychological thriller elements included. 

I really admired what Medak and the team were going for, and there’s some utterly fantastic cinematography that feels claustrophobic and unsettling, which I can’t commend enough. George C. Scott is always a delight, and having seen him previously in The Exorcist III and Paul Schrader’s Hardcore, I can say he’s slowly becoming one of my favourite character actors of the 70s and 80s. Another element I really enjoyed was Rick Wilkins score, which is included in Second Sight’s limited edition on CD. It’s eerie and does an excellent job at getting under your skin at the right moments, but it’s never overused to the point that it loses its impact. 

An important horror film for its unique approach to a sub-genre in horror that’s often looked down upon in recent years, The Changeling still fairs well today although it’s not something I was particularly head over heels for. It’s the type of film that I can completely understand people absolutely loving, and all of the ingredients are there for a horror classic, but it never quite clicked with me like I was hoping for. Still, it’s something I can easily recommend to fans of horror, thrillers as well as fans of director Peter Medak and the legendary George C. Scott. 

Film:

The Changeling releases on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and Limited Edition via Second Sight Films on June 5th. I checked out the 4K UHD release and the transfer was solid. It’s a film that can be fairly grainy at times, in the early scenes especially but given the fact that it mostly takes place in a house, late at night, the UHD definitely helps with the darker scenes in the film. I compared it to the Second Sight Blu-ray released back in 2018, and I much preferred the colour timing on UHD thanks to excellent HDR implementation. There’s two audio tracks to choose from, A DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix. I chose the 5.1 mix and thought it sounded good, it’s not the type of film that’s going to test your sound system but everything was mixed well and sounded appropriate. 

Special Features 

  • New 4K scan and restoration presented on UHD in HDR
  • Audio Commentary with Director Peter Medak and Producer Joel B. Michaels
  • Interview with Peter Medak by filmmaker Adrián García Bogliano at Mórbido Fest 2018
  • Exile on Curzon St. – Peter Medak on his early years in swinging London
  • The House on Cheesman Park – The Haunting True Story of The Changeling
  • The Music of The Changeling – an interview with Music Arranger Kenneth Wannberg
  • Building the House Of Horror – an interview with Art Director Reuben Freed
  • The Psychotronic Tourist
  • Master of Horror Mick Garris on The Changeling

Limited Edition Contents

  • Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Christopher Shy
  • 108 page book with new essays by ​​Martyn Conterio, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Rich Johnson, Mikel J Koven, Meagan Navarro, Rachel Reeves, Shelagh Rowan-Legg and Heather Wixson plus archive interview with Peter Medak
  • Original Soundtrack CD
  • 5 collectors’ art cards

Audio commentary with Peter Medak and producer Joel B. Michaels – An informative commentary, which comments on the pairs experiences making the film, the state of modern ghost films as well as praising George C. Scott’s performance. A worthwhile listen.

Interview with Peter Medak by Filmmaker Adrian Garcia Bogliano – An feature-length interview that runs for an hour and 15 minutes and has Peter Medak speaking about his entire career, starting early on from his time in Hungary, to working with some directors like Nicholas Roeg. Also, there’s a fun section about directing a short piece for Pink Floyd after being invited to a The Dark Side of the Moon gig. It’s the bulkiest of the new features, and easily the highlight of the release. 

Exile on Curzon St.: Peter Medak on His Early Years in Swinging London – An interview with the director speaking on his starting years in the filmmaker, highlighting his collaborations with Nicolas Roeg, Terence Fisher and David Lean. It’s new to this release and wasn’t present on the previous Second Sight release, and although there’s some overlap with the interview prior to this, it’s still worth a watch.

The House on Cheesman Park: The Haunting True Story of The Changeling – A fun featurette with a highly animated character, Phil Goldstein talking about the alleged true story that The Changeling is based on.

The Music of The Changeling – An interview with music arranger Kenneth Wannberg who speaks about his frequent collaborations with John Williams, as well as talking about his time working on The Changeling. 

Building The House of Horror: – A fun interview with art director Reuben Freed who spends time reminiscing on the times on set.

The Psychotronic Tourist – An interesting locations feature that also doubles as a video essay of sorts.

Mick Garris on The Changeling – A brief appreciation on The Changeling from filmmaker Mick Garris.

I didn’t get a copy of the soundtrack CD or booklet, unfortunately.

Second Sight delivers another great UHD release packed with a solid new transfer, multiple soundtrack options and hours of special features, both new and archival that will easily satisfy fans of this cult classic. 

Disc/Packaging:

Where to watch The Changeling
The Changeling - Second Sight Films
Film
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4.0Overall Score
Reader Rating: (3 Votes)

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