George C. Scott stars as John Russell a composer and professor who moves to Seattle into a huge mansion a few months after the shocking death of his wife and daughter. Unfortunately, this mansion was not the place to go to recover, as it immediately reveals itself to be haunted with loud thumping sounds, windows that break, and more. John begins to research the house, including having a seance, and doing whatever he can to find to reach back into its dark history. What he will find reaches up to a very prominent and powerful Senator who will do anything to keep him quiet.

    The  Changeling  is one of the most effective haunted house thrillers ever made, if not the finest. It shows a great deal of restraint, especially early on in the film, choosing to instead deal with atmosphere, and the melancholy emotional state of its characters most notably Russell who is still in mourning for his wife and daughter, and finds himself losing himself into the history of the house.  Of course, in the third act the horror is ramped up considerably, and the scares the film is truly known for become quite obvious. The performances across the board are excellent, with not one cast members out of place or less then fantastic. And aside from the Ruling Class director Peter   Medak has never been better than he was here.

    Severin presents The Changeling  in a 1080p AVC encoded transfer preserving the OAR of the film. This one is a thing of beauty. It has a gorgeous natural grain structure, especially in the film’s darker moments.  Detail is excellent, as is color reproduction. Audio is handled by a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track in English.  Everything from the score to the dialogue sounds crisp here with zero issue. Extras include a commentary with Medak and producer Joel B. Michaels moderated by Severin’s David Gregory. We also get featurettes on the back story of the  Changeling, and interviews with the music arranger, the art director, Mick Garris, a piece called the Psychotronic Tourist, trailers, TV spots and more.

4K Update 2022 – The main new point is a splendid 2160p 4K transfer that looks glorious. This really brings out new details in The Changeling like never before. The blacks have never been blacker, and this is as close to film like the film has ever been in the home video realm. The 4K includes in the commentary from the prior release while the Blu-ray contains the prior releases extras. The audio is the same, but sounds great as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.