My wife and I recently did a “changeling” double feature: Changeling (2008) with Angelina Jolie, and The Changeling (1980) staring George C. Scott. I did not realize it, but the films have rather similar themes – children disappearing and other children taking their place, and A-hole cops working against the discovery of the truth. And strangely, these films pair really well as a double feature. They are both long and entertaining. They will be reviewed together here as a joint review.

Changeling (2008) is a good and solid period drama … for movies nowadays. Compared to the dreck I watched in 2008 (Slumdog, The Reader, Rachel Getting Married, Synecdoche) I’ll take this film any day. I’ve never been a fan of Clint Eastwood’s movies, but 2008 was a good year for him, with this and Gran Torino. It is based on a true story that happens to be a really interesting story about police corruption and attitudes toward women in 1920s LA.The film takes its time to tell the story well.

Angelina Jolie is a pretty bad actress, and she is frequently unconvincing in this role. Plus, her collagen-filled lips look out-of-place in this period piece. Nevertheless the film and its story are strong enough that she does not ruin it, and she actually fits in pretty well if you don’t think too much about what a better actress would have brought to the role. Jeffery Donovan has a great look as the sadistically manipulative police captain who is pulling the strings, and Jason Butler Harner turns in a good, subtle performance as the serial killer who factors into the whole mess. As for John Malkovich … well let’s just say that the film survives John Malkovich, which is all a film with him can aspire to do, in my opinion.

The best thing about the movie is the portrait it paints of what life used to be like for women in 1920s LA, especially the arrogant psychological mind games that the (male) authorities play on this poor woman. Boy things really sucked back then! It is interesting to think about how incredibly sheltered and isolated people were – when Angelina gets into this mess she doesn’t even have any decent movies that portrayed her options, let alone the internet! It was a world where authorities were basically trusted without question, because people didn’t know any better. Just the concept that a doctor would know better then her if the kid was or was not her son is basically a joke to us nowadays, but back then there was really no way for her to have any perspective on authority figures and their reliability, which made the authorities rather bold and full of themselves.

This film may not be the kind of film that you return to over an over, or even watch more than once, but despite whatever shortcomings the film may have, it all hangs together well. Its pacing is pretty good, it looks great, and it is interesting and suspenseful, with a satisfying and unexpected ending. I really enjoyed it.

The Changeling (1980) is an amazing film. If you ever want to understand just how far the quality of horror films has slipped, go back and watch this film. Besides having a really good story that is well-paced and well-written, with utterly fantastic casting, direction, cinematography and sound, it features George C Scott in a really understated and strong performance in the lead role.

Let’s begin with the house itself. Just the way the house looks before anything has happened, when he is merely considering renting it, is utterly disturbing. Absolutely brilliant sets, lighting and camerawork. It is frightening all by itself – I’ve never seen the equal of it in the horror genera. Every single angle that the house is filmed at is scary in some way. It’s unbelievable!

This leads you to the question “why the F does he ever rent that terrifying old barn?”, but George C Scott is so good in this film that he manages to convince us that his character has a certain inner strength from his misfortunes that really do give him the nerve to live there, and to stay there when things start happening. The first morning that I woke up to insane banging all though the house I would be calling the movers and packing a bag, but not this guy! He wants to figure out what is going on, and it is actually believable, maybe the only time I’ve ever seen this kind of thing done convincingly.

When things actually do start happening in the house, the sound and visuals just get more and more terrifying, but the pacing is supurb – they never move too quickly or give away too much and as a result the movie continues to build all the way to the end. They don’t skip the little things, they emphasize them and do them as well as can possibly be done. How do you make a door opening by itself look as terrifying as it would be in real life? Watch this film to find out.

Second: the seance. God, what a scene! With the creepy woman’s droning voice, her scribbling on the pad of paper, the husband reading out loud what she writes, and the shear duration and intensity of the scene makes your skin crawl. I had a stomach ache from here on out just from nervous tension. Even the camera angle of her writing on the pad is brilliant.

Third, this movie understands that what is scary to us is usually not what the characters see, but how they feel when thinking about what they MIGHT see. The way the film captures this sense of anticipatory fear is really astonishing, a combination of acting and camerawork that is unparalleled, except for The Shining. Watching this film, you really see what has been lost with all this CGI bullshit that is in films now.

Toward the end of the film, the level of fear and suspense gets really bad. I won’t give anything away, it just has to be experienced. But I will say that there is a scene where Trish Van Devere turns and looks up a staircase and sees something (we don’t know what), and her reaction of utter terror ranks among the most convincing and scariest reactions I have ever seen captured on film. The whole ending: really scary stuff and SO well done!

Do youself a favor: go rent this film and treat yourself to a real horror film that will make you forget everything done in this genera in the last 20 years.