For October, the Nitrate Diva has been tweetering a list of favorite horror films. Most I've either seen (a few) or are not available to me. But she did recommend The Changeling (1980), so we got it.
It starts with George C. Scott and his wife and daughter, on vacation. Their car has broken down on a snowy road, and he goes to a nearby phone to call for help - just in time to see his family killed when a snow plow hits a car and crushes them.
He can't stand to stay in his NY apartment, so he moves to Seattle to work at his old alma mater. He is a famous composer - and I rather like his old-fashioned Mozart-ish (?) melodies. The local historical society offer him the use of an old mansion (and the lady, Trish Vandevere from the society is pretty cute). So things are going pretty well for him, other than the tragedy and all. Until the weird happenings start.
It's the usual - noises, doors slamming, etc. Everyone says that nothing creepy has happened in the house for 40 years, which ignores the fact that it's over a hundred years old. He does the old micro-fiche in the library thing and finds out that the house was built by the father of a US senator, old Melvyn Douglas. Douglas grew up in the house, a sickly, crippled boy. Then his father took him to Europe for a while, and he came back hale and healthy. Does the title now make sense?
This is a pretty slick, well-produced, well-constructed ghost movie. Ms. Spenser didn't like that they had to go to another, semi-related property to solve the last puzzle. It was gratuitous, but I didn't think it hurt the plot or pacing. Also, I think she might have preferred something a little scarier. And of course, the bad guy (Douglas) didn't really do anything wrong - it all happened when he was a little kid. Oh well, can't have everything. At least Scott was great throughout.
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