The 1980 horror classic The Changeling is getting an update. Anders Engström, whose credits include episodes of Taboo and Hanna, will take on the ghost story of a musician who loses his wife and daughter in a car accident, and then moves into a house that turns out to be haunted. The original film, directed by Peter Medak, was released in 1980 and starred George C. Scott.

The Changeling

Cornerstone Films has had the rights to a Changeling remake since 2018, and they’re now shopping the film at the Cannes virtual market, and now has Finnish director Anders Engström attached to direct. According to ScreenDaily, Tab Murphy (Gorillas In The Mist: The Story Of Dian Fossey) wrote the script, and Uwe Scott and Stefan Arndt of Germany’s X-Filme will produce alongside Joel B. Michaels, who produced the original film.

Michaels released the following statement about the remake:

“I am overjoyed at having the unique opportunity to reimagine an updated version of the iconic film The Changeling that I produced so many years ago. It’s flattering to know that it proved to have inspired a rash of filmmakers that paid homage to the original film. I am excited to be working with Anders Engström who will bring his own contemporary vision to the film.”

In the original The Changeling, “Composer John Russell (George C. Scott) is vacationing with his family when a car accident kills his wife and daughter. Distraught with grief, Russell leaves his home in New York City for a giant, secluded house near Seattle. Soon Russell starts to feel the presence of a ghost, a boy who drowned in the bathtub there. Russell seeks the assistance of Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere), who led him to the house initially, in uncovering the secrets of the boy’s death.”

It’s a genuinely spooky movie, and it’s one that doesn’t rely on jump-scares but rather a very slow-burning tension. It would probably be considered very tame by today’s audience’s standards, so I’m going to assume the remake will be loaded with more scares, and scenes where everything is very quiet until a cat jumps onto a piano or something like that.

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