John Russell, a composer and music professor, loses his wife and daughter in a tragic accident. Seeking solace, he moves into an old mansion unoccupied for twelve years. But a child-like presence seems to be sharing the house, and trying to share its secrets, with him. Through research into the house’s past and a seance held within, Russell discovers the horrific secret of the house’s past, a secret that the presence will no longer allow to be kept.

The Changeling (1980)
  • Rating: (11,408 votes)
  • Taglines:...an experience beyond total fear. » Two people live in this house. One of them has been dead for 70 years. »
  • Runtime:107 minutes
  • Director: Peter Medak
  • Country:Canada
  • Actors:
    John Russell
    George C. Scott
    Claire Norman
    Trish Van Devere
    Senator Joe Carmichael
    Melvyn Douglas
    Joanna Russell
    Jean Marsh
    Captain DeWitt
    John Colicos
    Dr. Pemberton
    Barry Morse
    Mrs. Norman (as Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood)
    Madeleine Sherwood
    Leah Harmon
    Helen Burns
    Mrs.Elizabeth Grey
    Frances Hyland
    Minnie Huxley
    Ruth Springford
  • Genres:Horror, Mystery
  • Producers:
    Garth H. Drabinsky
    producer  
    Mario Kassar
    executive producer  
    Joel B. Michaels
    producer  
    Andrew G. Vajna
    executive producer  
  • Plots: It was the perfect family vacation for composer John Russell and his family when a freak automobile accident claims the lives of his wife and daughter. Consumed by grief, John, at the request of friends, rents an old turn of the century house. Mammoth in size, the house seems all the room that John needs to write music and reflect. He does not realize that he is not alone in the house. He shares it with the spirit of a murdered child who has homed in on John's despair and uses him to uncover decades of silence and deceit. With the help of Claire Norman, the one who aided John in procuring the house, they race to find the answers and soon learn that a devious and very powerful man guards them. Written by Vampire-Sharpshooter
The Changeling
  • User's comment:Very scary and atmospheric horror film by Idocamstuf

    In this sadly forgotten horror film, George C. Scott plays a music composer who has just moved to Oregon to escape the painful memories of his wife and daughter who were killed in a car crash. He rents an old and secluded mansion from the historical society as a place to live. Soon after he moves into the house, strange occurrences begin.

    This is one of those horror movies that can be scary without being bloody and gory. It simply relies on atmosphere and frightening, but subtle images to deliver its chills, and it works. I will never be able to understand that "R" rating mainly because there is only very mild profanity and there is no blood or gore. Anyway, I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good scary ghost story. 8/10.


  • Quotes: John Russell: It's my understanding... that there are, uh... twenty-three students registered... for this series of lectures on advanced musical form. Now, we all know it's not raining outside, and unless there's a fire in some other part of the building that we don't know about, there's an awful lot of people here with nothing better to do. Minnie Huxley: That house is not fit to live in. No one's been able to live in it. It doesn't want people. De Witt: I understand you lost your wife and daughter a little while ago. Maybe it shook you up. Maybe too much... *Maybe*, you need help.
  • Also known as: El intermediario del diablo (Argentina), El intermediario del diablo (Mexico), L'enfant du diable (Canada - French title), L'enfant du diable (France), A Troca (Brazil - working title), Al final de la escalera (Spain), Apolytos tromos (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title), Az elcserélt gyermek (Hungary - imdb display title), Changeling (Italy), Das Grauen (West Germany - TV title), Dehset (Turkey - Turkish title), Det glemte mord (Denmark - video box title), Hämnd ur det förflutna (Sweden), Intermediário do Diabo (Brazil - imdb display title), Keskiyön painajainen (Finland), Midnattens mardröm (Finland - Swedish title), O Desvendar de um Mistério (Portugal - imdb display title), The Changeling (West Germany - video title), Vaihdokas (Finland), Zamena (Serbia), Zemsta po latach (Poland),

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