Tubi Thursday: The Changeling (1980)

 Thanks to this Streaming Service, I can finally check another Classic off of the List.

What scares can Peter Medak bring us today in...

In a Cold Open (literally and thematically), a man- George C. Scott) witnesses his Wife and Daughter killed in a freak car accident as they wait on the side of the road.

It is a gripping opening, unless you think like me that he was trapped in the Phone Booth by the Title Card appearing.

Hey, I have to do *something* to lighten the mood, no?

Months later, he's trying to move on with his life and he ends up in Seattle.

Yes, that's a great place to go to NOT be depressed!

He's allowed to stay in a House owned by the Historical Society.

However, he starts to hear strange sounds in the House when he's alone.

Banging sounds.
Crashing.
Strange music.

In fact, a piece he doesn't remember hearing ends up inspiring him to compose a 'new' piece.

He's finally led to the Attic, where he discovers a hidden room, boarded up and locked.

Nothing good can be in a place like this.

Behind 5 layers of dust and cobwebs, he finds a child's notebook, a tiny wheelchair and a music box that plays the piano track that he just wrote.

He investigates the House- using Microfiche (Google it, kids!)- and holds a seance.

After hearing a weird voice on the tape, he's eventually led to a new location.

They dig up the floor and find a body near a well.

No, it is not Sadako.
Could it have inspired Ringu (which was written in 1991)?  Maybe.

This doesn't seem to appease the spirits and he's led to a Senator they conveniently introduced in Act 1.

How nice of them.

What secret is the ghost trying to reveal?
Can the past stay buried?

For once, I won't SPOIL this one here.  Go see it, if you've somehow put it off like I have for so long.

The End.

A nice, moody Film that really delivers.

This one often makes Lists of Scariest Movies Ever or Scariest Movie Moments (like this one).

Is it warranted?  I think so.

Granted- it is not a Film full of boogeymen, jump scares (at least not the kind you're thinking of) and death.  It is all about atmosphere, building up tension and making little things feel intense.

So much of what a Film like this does is build you up to things you don't actually see.  That's not to say that nothing happens on-screen, because it does.  Just don't expect something like Jason shooting people in 3-D or Freddy Kreuger setting up a one-liner with a death.

Peter Medak and company do a great job here- no question.  I can see why it has been recommended for all of these Decades.  I'm only a little bit sorry that I took so long.  I'm not sure that 20-year-old me would have appreciated it like *cough*dothemath*cough* year old me does now.

If you like slow-burn Horror and are willing to wait for the big payoff (while seeing a Master Class in Acting from George C. Scott), give this one a look already.

It somehow makes a ball bouncing down stairs scary (as opposed to annoying)...

A great Film that lives up to its reputation.  Just don't confuse it with the (hopefully also good) Film with Angelina Jolie from 2008 (just called Changeling).