THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT review by Gary Murray

When I was a kid, the biggest horror thrill ride was a flick called The Amityville Horror. It was about a haunted house where evil events still were a part of the makeup. And the most important thing about it was 'it was based on a true story' something that I thought was more than a bit of bull. Well, it is many years later, and what was old is new again. So, here comes The Haunting in Connecticut.

The 'ture' tale, set in 1987, is of the Campbell family. Mom (Virgina Madsen) has to take her cancer ridden son Matt (Kyle Gallner) on a three hour trek to see the doctors. The family has fallen on hard times trying to keep up with all the different elements. So, Mom decides that it would be easier if the family just moved closer to the hospital. She finds the perfect home and it is at a bargain price. The first sign that not everything is what it appears.

After the family moves in, strange things begin to happen. The family soon finds out that the house was once a funeral home. Research done by the niece (Amanda Crew) finds that no only were their dead bodies in the basement but that there were supernatural experiments happening in the house. Jonah, a boy that worked for the mortician, was also a strong clairvoyant who could communicate with the dead.

And since Matt is half-way to dead with all the new drugs, he begins seeing dead people and the ghost of Jonah. But it may be a side effect of the cancer drugs. The doctor tells him that if he begins to have delusions then they have to stop the treatments. During one session, Matt befriends a reverend who begins to piece together everything that happened years ago and formulates a plan to rescue the souls of the dead and free Jonah.

Then things go bad....

Films like this one need to be viewed with a large audience. There are enough 'gotcha' moments throughout the exercise of watching The Haunting in Connecticut that the popcorn kept flying until the end. It becomes more of a thrill ride and a cinematic experience.

It is amazing how beautiful Virgina Madsen still looks. The years have been more than kind to her and she still lights up the screen. She's gone from 'a girl to fall in love with' in Electric Dreams and Creator to the 'mom to fall in love with' here. There is just something special whenever she is in front of the camera. Praises have to go to young Amanda Crew in the thankless role of the victim. She is the terrified kid in the shower, the attacked. But this role should put her on the map as an actress.

But the males of the film don't fair at all in the world of The Haunting in Connecticut. Dad comes across as a washed up former drunk with a cool classic truck and the son as a half-dead Twilight reject. Elias Koteas as the man of the cloth is the only male written with some degree of individuality.

Director Peter Cornwell knows how to take us around this little house of horrors, giving thrill after thrill. He pushes the tension again and again while giving little chills at every corner. And he delivers it will very little splatter and torture porn. Films today have become awash in both elements and it is refreshing for someone to take a higher road to scare people.

This is not a great cinematic achievement, The Haunting in Connecticut is a fun little diversion. Like most horror films, it will not work in a second viewing but it does deliver the goods in the fright department.

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