Rival11

First off, let me say that this movie kicks some serious ass - talk about an unbelievable blind buy.

Before the Sixth Sense and The Ring there was The Changeling.

I put off on buying this gem because I thought I had already seen it when I was younger and didn't like it - but I was dead wrong.

The best thing about this movie is how it goes from a creepy "guy moves into a haunted house" to a suspense thriller and then back to a horror masterpiece - something that The Ring and The Sixth Sense couldn't do (I'm using The Sixth Sense and The Ring as comparisons beacuse IMO they are very similar).

George C. Scott is the man, he makes this movie so believable and at times, he will even freak you out.

The "revealing" (you'll know what I mean when you see it) also had a Rosemary's Baby feel to it - very freaky stuff.

I recommend this to any horror fan and I'm not giving away any spoilers at all, buy/rent it and watch it with the lights off.

RichC2

I picked this up from the $5 bin at Walmart last year after hearing about it from various sources.

I was flat out disappointed The movie didn't creep me out in the least, I was bored several times throughout, and it just did nothing for me.

The acting was solid across the board though, which seems to be a rarity in horror flicks anymore.

As for the comparisons between Sixth Sense and The Ring, yeah they're there, but the execution and movtivations are hugely different.

Just didn't work for me But for those that need a compotent slow burn horror flick that may work for them, I guess I'll recommend this. A few cheesy aspects, but thats to be expected, the acting more than makes up for it.

Boring to me is awesome to oh so many people

Groucho

I think this movie is harder for younger audiences to appreciate simply because they've been brought up on horror movies that borrow heavily from it, so they've seen it all before.

ckolchak

i bought this as a gift for a friend who was a big horror movie fan...'cept i shouldhave know, when all he really discussed was the slasher type stuff, that he would be disappointed, and he was.

one of my favorite movies...even beyond the horror genre.
just extremely well done.
i can't understand how a film that does such a fine job of getting you into the main characters emotional state, then spooks you, and wraps you in a mystery - how that could not be involving.

maybe if it had better cgi?
what if it was closer to the playstation 2 version?

Rival11

Most definitely.

I agree, the movie moves slow no doubt, but it couldn't have been done any other way IMO.

The pace adds so much to the tension though, I also think it adds so much more depth to the characters that it actually makes you care about what happens to them.

Rival11

DVDho78DTS

I thought it was a very forgettable film. The plot is a very simple one that relies on mood and atmosphere to carry it. I wasn't drawn into the film like The Others. Heck, I enjoyed the original House on Haunted Hill more than this. At least that film had Vincent Price, who was a joy to watch, and illustrates what you shouldn't do in these types of situations. A nice provider for satires of today. I can't think of much to get excited about with The Changeling.

RichC2

Slow isn't the problem. The movie does a fine job getting you into the psyche of this person, yet manages to keep things on such a flat and unshaken level that there is just nothing to it. Never once felt for the characters, with exception of a portion near the beginning. Nothing anyone goes through during the following 90 minutes has any effect on the characters, they're present to see that what happens happens and little else.

You never have a sense anything of harm will happen to anyone in the movie and there is a distinct lack of tension for the full duration. Watching the movie is like being a spectator behind an unbreakable glass screen. The plotline was also oddly uninvolving as there was always this feeling that "everything will be alright".

So yeah, didn't like it

Oh and the Playstation 2 version isn't much better.

Note: Yes, it is vital I post my opinion at least twice per thread. Why? Because I'm just that big of a loser.

Daytripper

I saw this movie when it first came out, and I was a kid. It was very effective at the time. I recently rented it again and....well....it hasn't held up well IMO. Everything about it is pretty average. The acting, direction, etc. Some movies need to be left to memory. Because I do remembering it being very chilling the first time around. The second? Frankly, I was bored to tears.

caiman

I bought this blind a few years back and really liked it. But it's been so long, I don't remember much about it. Seems like a good time to give it another go.

Norm de Plume

It's one of the classiest and eeriest of all Horror films. Scott's performance is magnificent. The soundtrack - with the ghost-child's pleading whispers, strange noises, and beautiful piano compositions - is hypnotic.
Best scene? Probably the seance; very intense. Or the mirror/accident scene. Or the returning ball. Or the drowning flashback.

I find the story becomes too convoluted for its own good towards the end (the lengthy tangents involving the senator), but as an atmospheric chiller it's first-rate.