Horrorshow: The Changeling

Hey, look! It's a legit horror film! How about that?

The Changeling has been recommended to me more times (and more insistently) than just about any other horror film. I put it off for a while... because apparently that's what I do when people recommend things to me. Got a chance to watch it last night, and... well, I was pretty pleasantly surprised.

I've only ever seen one other George C. Scott movie, despite the fact that he's one of the more prominent actors in Hollywood history, and that earlier film was an adaptation of A Christmas Carol, so it didn't provide me with much insight into the performance I got. Scott's character never seems like he's being terrified by the peculiar goings-on in the house he's rented - if anything, he just gets more and more motivated to uncover the truth. Honestly, I almost prefer that approach in horror films than the usual terrified victim routine. Or maybe that was just this film. Either way, I approve.

My favorite aspect of the film is, surprisingly, the title: it references an element from Irish (I think) folklore that doesn't literally figure in to the plot. However, the titular beastie does appear in a metaphorical sense. It's subtle, but incredibly apt.

As for the scare factor... well, it's strange, but I don't find myself getting all that frightened by these movies - not like the crop I watched two years ago. Dated production values in The Changeling make some of the intended scares seem cheap and almost laughable. There are a few genuinely frightening moments, but nothing that made me squirm in my seat.

Maybe it's just those darn violent video games again.

Okay, so it wasn't all that scary to me. That doesn't mean it wasn't a good movie. In fact, I think The Changeling is in the running for the best horror movie I've seen this year, which, given some of the other films I've seen, may sound like a faint-praise damnation. But, trust me, it's pretty good.