10/24/15 – day twenty-four of thirty-one days of horror!
George C. Scott makes his triumphant return to this year’s list with
1980’s The Changeling (not to be confused with the Angelina Jolie film
of the same name). This ghost-infused mystery is one of the most
genuinely creepy haunted house stories of the modern era, and Scott
brings his usual gruffness, but somewhat tempered by a world-weary
sadness over the death of his onscreen wife and child. Directed
masterfully by Peter Medak who uses both sound and imagery to it’s most
chilling effect, this film deserves a
place among top-tier ghost stories like the Haunting and, released the
same year, Kubrick’s the Shining. It also features the great Melvyn
Douglas, who was really doubling-down on supernatural thrillers as Ghost
Story, a film I also enjoy, would come a year later. If you haven’t
seen this one, and many haven’t, it is well worth seeking out.
