# The Changeling (film)
**The Changeling** is a 1980 Canadian haunted-house horror film directed by Peter Medak, starring [George C. Scott](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-c-scott) as a composer who, after his wife and daughter die in a car accident, moves into a Seattle mansion haunted by the spirit of a murdered child. It blends horror with mystery, won nine [Genie Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/genie-awards), and remains one of the highest-grossing and most popular Canadian features ever made.[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | March 28, 1980; 107 minutes; 35mm color; English language[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/changeling) |
| Director and writers | Peter Medak; story by Russell Hunter, screenplay by William Gray and Diana Maddox[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling) |
| Principal cast | George C. Scott (John Russell), Trish Van Devere (Claire Norman), Melvyn Douglas (Senator Joe Carmichael), Jean Marsh, John Colicos, Barry Morse[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/changeling) |
| Production | Producers Joel Michaels and Garth Drabinsky; shot in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C., while set in Seattle[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling) |
| Awards | Nine Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture and Adapted Screenplay, plus the Golden Reel Award for highest box-office receipts[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling) |
| Critical standing | 85% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (27 reviews); 70/100 on Metacritic[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/changeling) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-changeling-1980/critic-reviews/) |
| Distributor | Associated Film Distribution[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/changeling) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Composer John Russell (George C. Scott) loses his wife and daughter in an automobile accident and cannot come to terms with his grief; he also has visions of his nine-year-old daughter playing in the house. He relocates to Seattle for a university teaching position and moves into a grand, long-vacant mansion, chosen for its enormous music room, where he begins to experience supernatural phenomena.[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling) • [4](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/the-changeling/)
With the help of his real estate agent, Claire Norman ([Trish Van Devere](https://www.edgepedia.org/trish-van-devere)), Russell digs into the history of the house. He learns that the house holds the ghost of a murdered child, a killing whose concealment was arranged by a changeling ([Melvyn Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/melvyn-douglas)) who went on to inherit a fortune, gain power as an industrialist, and serve as a senator; the restless spirit makes use of Russell to satisfy its desire for vengeance.[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling) The investigation runs from a séance's automatic writing through old city records to a turn-of-the-century murder whose paper trail reaches high into public life.[4](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/the-changeling/)
## Production
The film was a Canadian production made during the height of the tax-shelter era (Canadian film-financing scheme, 1970s–80s), produced by Joel Michaels and Garth Drabinsky with executive producers Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna. It was shot in Vancouver and [Victoria, British Columbia](https://www.edgepedia.org/victoria-british-columbia), although set in the United States, contributing to the tax-shelter trend of setting Canadian-made films in U.S. locales.[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling) Vancouver locations stood in for Seattle, including Oakridge, the Granville Bridge, Gastown, YVR, and the Orpheum.[5](https://viff.org/whats-on/the-changeling/) The haunted house itself was an impossible space assembled from linked studio sets and a purpose-built facade.[4](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/the-changeling/)
John Coquillon's cinematography and Trevor Williams's production design both won Genie Awards, and Rick Wilkins composed the score.[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling) Director Peter Medak said in a 1980 interview that he enjoyed "the suspense of creating a frightening story out of nothing," and noted that the original screenplay had contained more shock effects.[6](https://www.csmonitor.com/1980/0409/040902.html)
## Reception and awards
The film received mixed reviews upon release but performed extremely well in the United States, and it remains one of the highest-grossing and most popular Canadian features ever made.[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling) It won a total of nine Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture, Adapted Screenplay for William Gray and Diana Maddox, and a sweep of the Best Foreign Actor and Actress prizes by the real-life married couple George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere; it also won the Golden Reel Award for highest box-office receipts. For producer Garth Drabinsky it was a milestone, his second Best Motion Picture award in three years after *The Silent Partner* (1978).[1](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling)
Contemporary critics praised its atmosphere over gore. Newsweek's David Ansen wrote that Medak "raises real goose bumps using nothing more extraordinary than a bouncing rubber ball," and Variety called it "a superior haunted house thriller."[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-changeling-1980/critic-reviews/) Roger Ebert gave it 2.5 of 4 stars, writing that if it only took craftsmanship to make a haunted house movie, it would be a great one.[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-changeling-1980) Retrospective aggregate scores stand at 85% on the Tomatometer and 70/100 on Metacritic.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/changeling) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-changeling-1980/critic-reviews/)
## Legacy
The film has gathered high-profile admirers. Martin Scorsese has called it one of the scariest films ever made, [Guillermo del Toro](https://www.edgepedia.org/guillermo-del-toro) has hailed it as a masterpiece, and [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king) counts it among his favorite horror films; [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg) reportedly screened it for the cast of *Poltergeist* as inspiration. Quentin Tarantino praised Scott's performance as one of the most powerful demonstrations of mourning and pain he had seen in a movie.[4](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/the-changeling/) • [5](https://viff.org/whats-on/the-changeling/) Later horror films including *The Ring* and *The Conjuring* borrowed from it.[5](https://viff.org/whats-on/the-changeling/) A new 4K restoration by Severin Films has been screened at repertory venues.[4](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/the-changeling/)
Within Canadian film history it is counted among the horror features of the late 1970s and early 1980s, alongside *Black Christmas*, *Prom Night*, and *My Bloody Valentine*, that thrived in the tax-shelter period.[8](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2013/feature-articles/aesthetic-nationalism-in-english-canadian-cinema/)
## References
1. [The Changeling, Canadian Film Encyclopedia (TIFF)](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/changeling)
2. [The Changeling, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/changeling)
3. [The Changeling (1980) Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-changeling-1980/critic-reviews/)
4. [The Changeling, Film at Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/the-changeling/)
5. [Shot in Vancouver: The Changeling, VIFF Centre](https://viff.org/whats-on/the-changeling/)
6. [He makes movies with a 'luxurious look', The Christian Science Monitor, April 9, 1980](https://www.csmonitor.com/1980/0409/040902.html)
7. [The Changeling (1980) movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-changeling-1980)
8. [Aesthetic Nationalism in English-Canadian Cinema, Senses of Cinema](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2013/feature-articles/aesthetic-nationalism-in-english-canadian-cinema/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Supernatural horror films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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