The Changeling (1980) is a better movie.
by far
shareI LIKE THEM BOTH..I WOULD PERSONALLY GIVE THEM BOTH AN 8/10...WHICH IS A BIT HIGHER THAN THE 7.3 AND 7.2 IMDB HAS THEM AT.
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MovieChat Forums > Poltergeist (1982) Discussion > The Changeling (1980) is a better movie....
The Changeling is one of the greatest haunted house movies ever made. It should be better known.
shareThis film simply was not scary, too much Spielberg in it.
The second movie, with that weird old guy, is pretty scary though.
I agree.
There are too many cutesy tootsy elements that prevent a truly scary experience in Poltergeist.
The Changeling had more scares.
I think the missing factor was mystery. The majority of Scott's film was dealing with searching out the haunting and finding the reasons why.
And it shouldn't be that way at all. A family in peril should be just as heartbreaking as a widower who mourns his family.
I think the missing factor was mystery. The majority of Scott's film was dealing with searching out the haunting and finding the reasons why.
And it shouldn't be that way at all. A family in peril should be just as heartbreaking as a widower who mourns his family.
Exactly, well said. There is far more substance in The Changeling, more atmosphere and more depth to the characters and story.
Poltergeist is exactly what a horror film made by Spielberg would be like. Everything just hits you over the head, no subtlety. The giant killer tree coming through the window and the skeletons in the pool are typical in your face spielberg, it's not scary at all, whereas the moving rocking chair at the top of the stairs in Changeling? That's far more impactful.
Poltergeist II is actually scary thanks to no longer having Spielberg around. Old man kane and Jerry goldsmith's new score are bone chilling.
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I don't remember much about Poltergeist II except for the tired trope of the super speshul Native American who could talk to Steve's car. That annoyed me so much.
But I do remember the guy in the hat knocking at the door. That was scary.
The old guy in the hat, kane, is terrifying. The scariest thing I've seen in a movie outwith Amy Schumer. I don't think he was even wearing make up either, he really looked like that irl. It was the addition of that character, and the backstory to the ghosts haunting their house, that made the sequel work imo.
I liked the second and even the third Poltergeist. The third gets a bad rap but it's decent by horror sequel standards.
It's not the scariest film but it is entertaining and I think a fair bit of that is down to Spielberg. I quite like the Spielbergian elements anyway, it adds a nostalgic charm to the film. It still has some nice effective creepy moments though in among the sillier ones. The part where the video camera is set up and fixed on the staircase and starts recording as the door from upstairs slowly opens is one of the best examples.
Apart from the Henry Kane scene, the second Poltergeist is not nearly as good and is if anything, more cheesy.
Yes, that's true, a lot of memorable scenes. The way the characters are all set up is great, as are the scenes with the ghost inspectors.
Don't get me wrong the film is still well made and entertaining thanks to Spielberg's vision & flare, it's just not scary.