The Hearse (1980)

Jane Hardy exchanges city life troubles for some of the small town variety when she assumes temporary residence of her deceased aunt’s house. She discovers that secrets her aunt should've taken to the grave aren't yet buried.
As you’d expect (or hope) there’s a hearse in the story, but it only appears at certain times. In between those times the film throws medium levels of horror, ghostly atmospherics and even some Halloween-esque stalking scenes into a regular drama about a single woman in a new town.
It has a few neat ideas, most of which are borrowed from more memorable films, the acting is okay, and the creepy moments are occasionally successful, but the slow pace will have a lot of folks turning off.

2½ night-time callers out of 5

The Changeling (1980)

An old-fashioned haunted house story, the like of which is almost extinct these days. George C. Scott plays a man in the wake of tragedy. While trying to put his painful past behind him he moves into an aged Victorian house that has an equally tragic past of its own.
Scott is a seasoned actor able to project a believably strong but damaged demeanour. He stars alongside his wife, Trish Van Devere.
The camera moves knowingly through the old house, giving it life and making it a character in the story. When the spookiness is turned to maximum it sent chills running the length of my spine more than once.

4 rhythmic somethings out of 5