The Changeling - Lisa's Review

***SPOILERS ***

I had never heard of this weeks movie before sitting down to watch it.  It was one of those movies where I 'felt' I should know of it when I started watching it.  Where I had seen the lead actor George C Scott (who plays John Russell) also bothered me for an entire movie as he was SO familiar.  Having checked his filmography, I honestly still can't recall where I've seen him as there are no movies / programs which are well known to me.  This of course is no reflection on a wonderful actor.  It's rarely I am very impressed by an actors performance, but I was by Mr George C Scotts here.  I shall no doubt check out a lot more by him now.  He didn't come to acting young having served time with the marines and completing a degree in journalism before performing in a university production and catching the acting bug.  Interestingly he also refused Oscar nominations as he hated the whole concept.   Enough about Mr Scott though, this is a review of the movie.

We start the movie with a scene which leads to the tragic death of John Russells wife and young daughter.   They had a car breakdown and the girls push the car to the side of the road so John can call for help at a nearby phone box. While John calls for help, a truck smashes into his parked car and his wife and daughter who are playing alongside it by the roadside.  He witnesses it all.  He spends a period of time trying to come to terms with what has happened and eventually decides the home he shared with his family in New York holds too many memories, so he moves to Seattle to take up a teaching position at a local college.

He soon find himself housed in a large, beautiful but long empty mansion thanks to his friend and local housing agent Claire (interestingly played by Georges real wife Trish Van Devere).   A large piano left at the property clinched the deal.  It was too expensive for the previous owners to move it, so it was left behind.  As a composer and pianist, it was ideal for John, who, feeling inspired, composes a new piece of music immediately.  There's no doubt about it though, the house is creepy so when John is awoken early one morning by loud clanging noises, claims by his handyman that it is down to the old houses heating system seem realistic, even though they start every morning at precisely 6am.  Making a reference to my early mention of how impressed I was at George C Scotts acting; his reaction to being awoken from a horrible nightmare to these reverberating bangs is just wonderfully convincing and makes it very easy to be taken along on this ride.  The fact that the movie is based on real events experienced in the home of Co Screenwriter Russell Hunter also adds to the creepiness.

Black Sabbath (1963) - Lisa's Review

So, another oldie this week.  I heard myself sigh as I put the disc in the DVD player.  If I wasn't impressed by last weeks Dracula (clearly one of the better oldie horrors), then I wasn't likely to be overwhelmed by this one.  Oddly, I was actually wrong.  I found I didn't mind this one at all.  Maybe because it consisted of 3 stories, rather than 1 long movie so I didn't find myself getting bored.   Black Sabbath - The movie from which one of the most influential British rock bands grabbed their name.  Fun fact:  Geezer Butler walked past a cinema showing this movie and an extremely long queue.  His view was... horror sells.  Seems in this case, he was right.  They ditched the name Earth and became Black Sabbath, but back to the movie.

Again, like with last weeks movie and always with Hammer movies (which this one wasn't), the movies all look wonderful.  The women are stunning with heaving bosoms, chiffony floaty dresses, the longest of fake eyelashes and the teeniest of waists.  The lighting is perfect and the cinematography is excellent.

 In the first story entitled 'The Telephone' stars Rosy, played by Michele Mercier, who is quite possibly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen!  I won't give any of the stories away as I have recommended this one  This story is one of a frightened young woman alone in her apartment, receiving threatening telephone calls from a man who is intent on revenge for her part in him being sent to prison.  All is not quite as it would seem here though.

The second story is entitled 'The Wurdulak'.  No, I have never heard of it either.  From what I can gather, it is quite simply a zombie vampire.  It is a person who is essentially dead.  They like to drink the blood of people they once loved.  The more they love an individual, the more they want to suck their blood.   Anyone who dies this way, becomes infected.  We start the movie following young Vladamir on a trip. On his journey, he comes across a beheaded corpse with a dagger stuck in its chest.  Liking the dagger, he takes it.  Later when he stops at a small cottage for shelter, he finds the owner of the small dagger and is told the story behind how it came to be where it was.  The family that live there await the return of their father, who has gone to attempt to kill a Wurdulak.   If he doesn't return within 5 days, he has instructed his family to kill him on his eventual return as he will have surely become infected.   So the fathers 2 sons, daughter, daughter-in-law, grandson and Vladamir await his return.

Story 3 is the shortest but is probably my favourite.  I found it genuinely creepy.  It is entitled 'The Drop of Water'.  We start the movie with the death of an elderly medium.   This old womans body is genuinely creepy and kind of freaked me out.  I was surprised with how effective it was.  A nurse is called to her home to help prepare her body for her funeral.  While she is there she sees a beautiful sapphire ring on her finger and can't help but prise it off.  If we've learnt anything from watching horrors over the years, it is 'Do not piss of the dead'.   Nurse Chester (who also has the teeniest of waists and tightest of skirts) finds this out to her own peril.  I won't go into any more detail, but it is worth a watch.

The stories perhaps are a bit predictable in places, but it doesn't make them any less enjoyable.  They are a visual delight.  The women are impossibly beautiful.  We have scene after scene of opulence and atmospheric sets.  I didn't expect to enjoy this AT ALL.  I'm not a fan of old movies, but this, I did like.  Weird.  So, I stick a Recommended firmly on this ones ass.   Go watch it!