The Haunting in Connecticut

Movie Grade: C+

Some movie genres just won't die; coincidently the ghost story falls under that category. Ghost movies are also a genre that frustrates me because so many modern movies seem to link back to The Amityville Horror. I don't know if it comes from growing up on Long Island or just the fact that it sucks, but I can't stand that movie! The only good thing that came out of the whole story was the ridiculous sequels like Amityville Dollhouse"¦ awesome!

In any case, The Haunting In Connecticut is about Matt Campbell (Kyle Gallner), who has been diagnosed with cancer. Matt has to travel with his mother Sara (Virginia Madsen) to the hospital regularly for treatment and the drive seems to be taking its toll on the family. They decide to rent a house closer to the hospital, and find a house that seems too good to be true. Then the credits roll and the movie ends"¦ just kidding. There's terrible spirits within the house that terrorize the family and seem to have their sights set on Matt.

One of the best things about this film were the real life issues that the family was dealing with. The way they explored them just seemed real and made everyone more likeable. I felt for Matt because he had cancer, and I felt just as bad for Sara because she was losing her son. The rest of the family's reactions all seemed plausible too. The father, Peter (Martin Donovan) had a drinking problem, and the younger kids Mary (Sophi Knight) and Billy (Ty Wood) have the little kid problem of not wanting to move. Everyone has an issue except Wendy (Amanda Crew) who doesn't really do anything anyway. It all just seemed realistic: which make the unrealistic seem more outlandish.

One of the worst things about the film is that they try and convince us that Matt would stay in that ridiculous basement. I mean seriously, it's not even finished. Let's forget the haunted thing for a second and realize that if you have cancer, sleeping in an unfinished basement shouldn't be something to consider. That aside, Matt still stays in the basement after having "hallucinations" of what is on the other side of the very uninviting wall. I don't know why whoever built that gave it windows if there was so much weird stuff going on inside but who cares. I guess if Matt left the basement or couldn't see through the wall there would be no movie.

Also, the movie falls short on its delivery. It's tough to show something terrifying, which is why it's most often a good idea to show very little of your monster or ghost or whatever. In the beginning it goes decently well but when we start to see the ghosts in full form I wasn't too into

it. The ghosts were just scarier in my own imagination and the only one that we really needed to see was Jonah (Erik J. Berg), who still shouldn't have been shown in full until the end. The scariest parts were just seeing silhouettes of ghosts in mirrors and in the background, where it was just a quick and unexpected moment.

Even though The Haunting In Connecticut tried to use some shock scares (like that eyelid thing), it also paid homage to some of the classic ghost movies. The scene after Peter comes home drunk and breaks all of the light bulbs shows the electricity coming from the lights themselves. The first thing that came to my mind was Poltergeist. Also, they bring it way back to 1963 with The Haunting when the doors begin to slam open and closed. I liked that they used the technique but the dumbwaiter part of it just looked funny. The door keeps slamming open and closed, but it opens vertically at the center so it looks almost like a mouth chomping down. It reminded me of the Home Alone when the burner scares Macaulay Culkin. That shouldn't come to mind in a horror movie.

The movie has its highs and lows like most average films. The highs being relatable characters and some great scares with quick shots of largely undefined figures in black, the lows being an unrealistically happy ending, and some really obvious choices. The sepia filter comes to mind for the obvious. This is something anyone looking for an average ghost movie can go see and be pleased with. It doesn't add anything special, but it is satisfying overall. Huge horror fans might not like it too much, but those less experienced with the genre could have a great time with it.

Movie Grade: C+

Synopsis:

The astounding, well-documented story of a family forced to relocate near a clinic where their son was being treated for cancer. Strained financially and emotionally, the family discovers their recently renovated home was a former mortuary with a dark history. After experiencing violent supernatural events both inside and out of the house, the family seeks the help of ghost hunters and the Catholic Church, which performs an exorcism.