Haunting in Connecticut

Directed By: Peter Cornwell

Starring: Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner, Elias Koteas, Amanda Crew, Martin Donovan

Synopsis:

Based on a true story, The Haunting in Connecticut charts one family's real-life encounter with the dark forces of the supernatural. When the Campbell family moves to upstate Connecticut, they soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history: not only was the house a transformed funeral parlour where inconceivable acts occurred, but the owner's clairvoyant son Jonah served as a demonic messenger, providing a gateway for spiritual entities to crossover. Now unspeakable terror awaits when Jonah, the boy who communicated with the dead, returns to unleash horror on the innocent and unsuspecting family...



Review:

If you’re one of those viewers who believes in the following;

“Based Upon True Events”

…then you’re going to get a kick out of The Haunting in Connecticut. It doesn’t matter if the events were true or not, the movie is a fairly effective horror that, had the filmmakers understood what subtlety is, might have elevated it to a genuinely chilling, scary, movie. What we’re left with is an entertaining horror that requires that you see it as a bit of fun with the trademark punctuated scares.

I watched this film expecting very little. I had avoided reviews beforehand because I expected them to be negative. It’s a horror after all and horror movies always get a typical bashing at the cinema unless the Director is Lars Von Triers then it doesn’t matter. Given the cast, I mistakenly thought that the film would be extremely lightweight, and whilst it doesn’t tax the brain, the depth is in the personal grief that befalls the family in the movie. Many can relate to the horror of the big C – Cancer. I was open minded and surprised at how entertaining the movie ended up being.

What helps is the honesty of the acting. Kyle Gallner plays a sympathetic role of a young man who is expected to be taken in his prime and has suffered so very much already. His character is thrust into the supernatural events wondering how much worse his last days could end up being. Virginia Madsen looks great for her age but still lacks a certain depth needed to fully qualify the movie as anything other than a B movie horror. She’s not awful in the role but I wasn’t convinced by her emotional scenes. Elias Koteas who plays a dying priest, also riddled with cancer, plays well off Gallner in their scenes together. Martin Donovan also puts in a good turn as the troubled father who has had difficulty dealing with his son’s condition and the pressures of providing for his healthcare. Amanda Crew shows that she should be considered for roles other than in movies like S*xdrive and the Break-Up Artist.

Visually, the movie comes into its own. The house is suitably atmospheric. The corpse make up is effectively creepy, and the ectoplasm effects emulate what we’ve seen in photos regardless of our beliefs in the subject. CGI is used but to good effect I felt as opposed to some CGI heavy horrors that have been released, such as I Am Legend.

The main trouble with the film is the typical Hollywood approach to the scares. Had a measure of subtlety been given to the appearances of the ghouls, then the movie would have been genuinely scary in my view. An example being the appearance of the ghosts in the Pang Brothers' version of the movie, The Eye. Instead we are treated to noisy sound effects and a blasting score every time something spooky shows up, drowning out any audience investment in the build-up. Yes, you’ll probably be made to jump four feet into the air but only because of the crescendo assaulting your ears. If you’ve got home cinema, then the effect is grating and distracting. Robert J Kral composed a number of scores for the TV series Angel and is well versed in aural effects to convey scares, so I was disappointed with this approach. It cheapens the movie to a point that criticisms of “rollercoaster ride” would be apt.

I watched the movie thinking that Amanda Crew is a good looking actress, clearly so did the Director. Unlike most of the cast, she is lit beautifully and the make-up crew must be applauded for making Miss Crew one of the highlights of the movie. At one point she is subject to a supernatural occurrence that manages to dry her hair after it has been soaking wet in a shower. It reminded me of a hair care product advert. This is a bit of a poor stylistic approach given the overall realistic approach to the subject.

Summary

Once again, an impressive directorial turn from a new Director. Whilst I have picked out the negative, I still enjoyed the movie and think that it is a good horror for the average movie watcher that hasn’t been jaded by years of horror film viewing. I doubt it’ll cause a sleepless night, for the reasons stated, but is worth a shot if only because it isn’t a direct remake of an existing movie. I just hope that someone, at some point understands what is truly scary about a haunted house story and tries to emulate it on screen.

6/10 (Wayfarer)

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