The Film: ★★★★★
In the late 1970s, the “Devil picture” was finally on its way out, and two major new strains came in to replace it. The low-budget slashers took up the lurid violence and paradoxical prurience of the Devil pictures, while their high-budget gloss and sense of, slightly self-important, adult-ness was taken up by a new wave of old-fashioned ghost pictures. The slashers may have made a larger mark on popular culture – not to mention the box office – but enduring critical success went to the new ghost films: The Amityville Horror, The Shining, and Ghost Story. The Changeling fits comfortably into this category, and is likely the subtlest of its genre-mates, indebted more to The Haunting and The Innocents than to anything that had come out in the decade-and-a-half preceding its release. Director Peter Medak made the most out of his chilly Canadian (standing in for Washington state) locations, yet even chillier are the indoor scenes. Granted, it’s all traditional haunted-house stuff; the explanation behind the apparent haunting is the only idea here that’s particularly new (and, also, very dark), but the visual ingenuity and sheer intensity behind a number of the film’s key setpieces (the automatic-writing, the wheelchair, the bouncing ball) has ensured that the film continues to be imitated to this day. And long may such sincere flattery continue.
Audio and visuals: ★★★☆☆
Sound is as important to The Changeling as to most films of its type, and so, crucially, the atmosphere is as heightened here as it can get outside of a cinema. Visually, the sheer level of detail picked out in 4K is a testament to the care that went into the film’s production design; however, colours could be sharper, and the image has a certain graininess throughout.
Presentation: ★★★★☆
The vivid new cover art looks great, but it does seem a shame to lose the classic, iconic “wheelchair” poster, and the menu, as so many, offers a too-loud, too-short loop that can quickly become irritating. However, those who spring for the Limited Edition receive the usual “feelies”: a full-length book, a soundtrack CD, and 5 art cards.
Extras: ★★★★☆
Newly recorded for this edition, the audio commentary features director Peter Medak and producer Joel B. Michaels, and is as sober, meticulous, and rewarding to those who pay close attention as the film itself. Elsewhere, there is a lengthy interview with Medak, conducted by Spanish horror film writer Adrián García Bogliano, which discusses The Changeling, many other films, and Medak’s involvement with the British rock scene, with Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel and others making appearances. This theme is continued in “Exile on Curzon St.”, with Medak discussing the Swinging London of the 60s. Changing pace, “The House on Cheesman Park: The Haunting True Story of The Changeling” is a grisly, if credulous, look at the supposed real-life haunting that inspired the film; “The Music of The Changeling”, in which music arranger Kenneth Wannberg discusses briefly but in some depth his process on The Changeling, as well as touching on his long professional relationship with John Williams; “Building the House of Horror”, an interview with art director Reuben Freed; blogger The Psychotronic Tourist’s travelogue of locations from the film; a brief piece in which writer/director Mick Garris talks about his admiration for the film, and the experience of bringing Medak aboard his Masters of Horror anthology; plus the standard trailer and TV spots.
Overall: ★★★★☆