The Changeling

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The Changeling

R

1980

1h 47m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

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27 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Composer John Russell (George C. Scott) is vacationing with his family when a car accident kills his wife and daughter. Distraught with grief, Russell leaves his home in New York City for a giant, secluded house near Seattle. Soon Russell starts to feel the presence of a ghost, a boy who drowned in the bathtub there. Russell seeks the assistance of Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere), who led him to the house initially, in uncovering the secrets of the boy's death.

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Critics Consensus

George C. Scott's somber performance gives this haunted house horror a moving soul to go along with its harrowing scares.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Mar 26, 2009

The Changeling is a superior haunted house thriller.

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Fiona Ferguson

Time Out

Jun 24, 2006

The leaps made by Scott's agile mind in identifying both victim and usurper leave logic and credence on the starting block.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Oct 23, 2004

2.5/4

If it only took craftsmanship to make a haunted house movie, The Changeling would be a great one.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Oct 10, 2026

3/5

…a classy horror movie that’s more concerned with spooky chills than gore, and there’s a steely, wintry patience here that bucks the modern trends; the entire action of Peter Medak's The Changeling might barely comprise a pre-credits sequence today...

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Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

Oct 31, 2024

4/5

It’s spooky without being schlocky, terror with hardly a drop of blood. And as effective as the haunted house device is, the real mystery driving the haunting is so cold-blooded and practical that you won’t even think twice about its motivation.

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Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

Jan 3, 2024

3.5/5

While the film’s mystery becomes increasingly outlandish as it unfolds, The Changeling brings subtle yet effective chills and pacing that keeps the viewer engaged from start to finish.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 15, 2026

The Changeling = a *4* star Movie!

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Brendan D

@ConnecticutComicFan203 Sep 7, 2026

This movie shows you exactly how to make a movie about haunting without special effects or cheap jump scares. The creep factor is palpable because you only see the ghost maybe twice in the entire movie. This film is a master class on how to make a horror film on a low budget and effects limitations and still resulting in a finished product that's creepy as hell. One of my favorite ghost movies hands down.

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Ollie W

@RT90619198 Aug 20, 2026

I enjoyed the scene with the medium. Other than that, its a fairly typical haunted house film, albeit with a more melancholy and dour atmosphere. It’s not particularly scary and is rather dull and dreary.

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David G.

@RT25716413 Aug 4, 2026

One of the most underrated Horror Films of All Time! George C. Scott is great and the supporting cast too. I love this movie!

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Landon J

@Minxsykitty Jul 25, 2026

Just fine I suppose. Definitely worth watching and is interesting enough, just not exactly a classic either. The ending is foreshadowed painfully throughout, to it's discredit.

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Bret M.

@BretM-3 Feb 28, 2026

I don’t think I fully get the hype for this movie. Don’t get me wrong, it is still very good, I just don’t think I’m as high on this movie as some people are. The acting is good and so is the writing. And when this movie gets there, it REALLY gets there. But I think the thing that really holds this movie back for me is the runtime. The movie is almost 2 hours long (which isn’t that bad of a runtime) but it feels longer because of the pacing. This movie is definitely a “slow burn” for sure, and that makes the movie feel about 30 minutes longer than it actually is. Because right after something cool happens, we’ll have a long stretch of movie where the characters are solving the mystery of what’s happened in the house and, while that stuff is cool and all, it does admittedly add to that feeling of this being a long movie. So, while I definitely don’t hate this movie because it actually is really really good, I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as most because of the pacing. Trust me, you can definitely do way worse than this movie!

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Peter Medak

Director

George C. Scott

John Russell

Trish Van Devere

Claire Norman

Melvyn Douglas

Senator Joe Carmichael

John Colicos

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Jean Marsh

Joanna Russell

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Synopsis

Composer John Russell (George C. Scott) is vacationing with his family when a car accident kills his wife and daughter. Distraught with grief, Russell leaves his home in New York City for a giant, secluded house near Seattle. Soon Russell starts to feel the presence of a ghost, a boy who drowned in the bathtub there. Russell seeks the assistance of Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere), who led him to the house initially, in uncovering the secrets of the boy's death.

Director: Peter Medak
Screenwriter: Russell Hunter, William Gray
Distributor: Associated Film Distribution
Production Co: Chessman Park Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 28, 1980, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 6, 2018
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Surround

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