SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

WisdomsHammer First of all, I highly recommend this. You can read all the other reviews to hear just how good and scary this thing is. I agree. I just want to get something off my chest.It's not much of a spoiler, but there is the ghost of a young boy in this movie who is never seen, only heard, and the voice is absolutely terrible! It sounded like a grown man poorly trying to imitate what he thought a weak and sickly boy sounded like. It's the worst, most annoying, and least terrifying voice you could imagine. If this were some kind of comedy farce, it might be perfect, but that's far from the case in this movie.When the rest of the movie is so good, including casting, how in the world could they get this so wrong?? Unbelievable.There. Rant over. I really do recommend this movie but that one thing just really bugs me.

qmtv Very Slow and Boring. Plot/Dialogue/Acting Sucked.Best part: When George C Scott made a phone call and fell down. Perfect fall. Great.The rest of the movie was so slow and boring, with crappy acting and plot that it took me 4 sittings to watch the whole movie. It has a professional and thought through cinematography. Some cool effects at the end, nothing great. The dialogue and the acting were painful. The character interactions were really wooden. Script needed more work and some excitement. Not to be found. I don't know if this was based on a book, but the movie played out like it was copying a reading. I'd give it a grade of C/D, the C is for the cinematography, D is for the rest of the movie. Hard to watch.

NateWatchesCoolMovies I love a good old fashioned creaky haunted house story, and HBO's The Changeling is one of the best, and most under appreciated spooky tales out there. Like I say time and time again (no doubt sounding like a broken record at this point), real effective horror lies in atmosphere and the buildup of tension, chilling our spines instead of bombarding us with tasteless dismemberment. The Changeling takes its time in establishing cozy atmosphere and engulfs us in a gigantic New England mansion (actually Shaughnessy for anyone who can tell), inhabited by the lonely, desperate ghost of a young boy who met a tragic fate there many decades earlier. George C. Scott is the musical composer who moves in all by himself, seeking solitude as he nurses the grief of losing both his wife and daughter in a car accident. He's barely there one night when strange things begin to happen; rhythmic banging from some far off room, eerie crying noises, doors opening and closing of their own accord and a mysterious toy bouncing ball that ominously follows him around. Saddled with an already troubled mind, he sets out to learn the origins of the ghost and resolve the situation, putting it to rest. The story is smart and succinct, involving ancestral deception and an elderly US Congressman (Melvyn Douglas, stealing every scene) with ties to the past. It's never too complicated or busy, always keeping it's cool and reigning in the frightening moments in a minimal fashion that pays off greatly. The lush, overgrown Vancouver locale makes a great setting, almost Stephen King like, and the house itself is a towering cluster of dusty hallways and wide open ceilings that shield ancient secrets and watch over anyone who sets foot inside with an unseen eye. I never thought a bouncy ball and a small children's wheelchair could raise such goosebumps, but when used as well as they are here, in scenes which set up the creep factor wonderfully, they'll get to you big time. Scott is weary and wary, but has a strong sense of compassion for the restless spirit that shows in his baleful, ice blue eyes and gives him the charisma a horror protagonist needs. HBO original films are almost always hidden gems of humble craftsmanship and breezy, effortless skill, whatever the genre. Here they've tried their hand at the ghostly fright flick, and wrought one of the best I've ever seen.

Johan Louwet I quite enjoyed this movie. OK the story or mystery isn't what I would call the most clever thing I have ever seen but it was passable. The first part with George Scott wandering around in the old mansion seeking to find out what dark secret it keeps certainly was very interesting with the best thing the séance and eventually the revelation of the drama to the main character in some kind of dream sequence. Once the truth is revealed the movie becomes more of a crime movie and a lot less interesting and also too long. Good atmosphere and camera-work whenever we are in the house. The way the scenes are put together and going from one scene to another seems quite unfitting at times and rushed. Except for main character John the characters stayed rather bland including his female colleague played by Trish Van Devere. I wished they did something more with the drama of John losing his wife and daughter, some flash backs would have helped this movie. The girl who also could see the dead boy it's a pity that is such a small part of the movie. the ending for me was not really satisfying. Enjoyable but could have been much better.