The Haunting in Connecticut

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The Haunting in Connecticut

April 20th 2010 01:20

Ghosts are making a comeback, and I’m enjoying myself. I’ve always had a fascination with the supernatural, especially poltergeist and spectres, and even more so when the movie purports to be based on real events (although I always take that tagline with a grain of salt). The Haunting in Connecticut (2009), which screened as part of A Night of Horror film festival, is based on the real story (notice it says “the” instead of “a”, giving more credence to the so-called facts); a tale of a teenage boy, Matt Campbell (Kyle Gallner), suffering from cancer and his family who move into a haunted house, in the state of Connecticut, of course, in the late 80s, and are driven to despair when they discover the seriously bad energy emanating from within the home, and the damaging effects it has on Matt.

The Haunting in Connecticut Kyle Gallner

Kyle Gallner as Matt Campbell

The Haunting in Connecticut Virginia Madsen

Virgina Madsen as Sara

Ex-pat Australian Peter Cornwell is at the helm and does a superb job. The screenplay is co-written by Tim Metcalfe and Adam Simon (who made the excellent documentary The American Nightmare), and is loosely based on the real life stories of Al and Carmen Snedeker who lived in a reportedly haunted former funeral parlor in Southington, Connecticut. A Discovery Channel documentary - A Haunting in Connecticut – was the main source for the screenplay.

The Haunting in Connecticut photos and eyelids

The eyelids of the dead

The Haunting in Connecticut Martin Donovan

Martin Donovan as Peter

The movie was shot in Victoria (convincingly doubling as Connecticut), but very wisely, the cast are all Americans (or Canadian, such as the striking Amanda Crew). I say wisely, because current releases, such as Daybreakers (2010) and Triangle (2010), suffer due to the casting of Australians trying to sound like Americans who are simply not good enough with their American accents. In The Haunting in Connecticut the North Americans are being played by North Americans, and the audience are none the wiser that the movie wasn’t actually made in America.

Losing one's grip

The Haunting in Connecticut Amanda Crew, Sofi Knight, Ty Wood

Wendy (Amanda Crew) protects Mary (Sofi Knight) and Billy (Ty Wood)

Matt is not a well boy. His mother, Sara (Virginia Madsen – where’s she been hiding?) wants desperately for her son to have quality of life, but times are tough. Matt’s father Peter (Martin Donovan) is a recovering alcoholic (prone to relapse), so there’s tension between husband and wife. Matt has three younger siblings; Wendy (Crew), Mary (Sophi Knight), and Billy (Ty Wood). After the family move into a large cheap-rent home strange things begin to happen. Matt’s bedroom is in the basement (never a good move), which happens to be the epicentre of the weirdness. There’s a door to a concealed room, but no one can open it.

The Haunting in Connecticut ghosts hands

Necromancy shows its hand

Then one day it decides to open and Matt discovers the untouched remains of what was once a mortician’s operating theatre. Creepy shit. The weirdness gets amped up, as Matt’s hallucinations get worse. Peter falls off the wagon, the brother and sisters start freaking out at Matt’s disturbing behaviour, and Sara fears for her son’s sanity. Enter Reverend Popescu (Elias Koteas – the poor man’s Robert De Niro). Like Matt, Popescu has cancer, and he informs Matt that due to their proximity to death they are gifted with being able to see and interact with the dead (a curse, really). The Campbell family home has some very dark secrets and they need to be exposed and the house cleansed … but at what price?

The Haunting in Connecticut Elias Koteas and Erik Berg

Reverend Popescu (Elias Koteas) has the ghost of Jonah (Erik Berg) as a passenger

The Haunting in Connecticut is a solid Hollywood production with strong performances, excellent editing, sound and special effects, I particularly enjoyed the grotesque displays of ectoplasm, a most curious phenomena. The still period photographs of the corpses which feature during the movie’s opening and closing credits, and when Matt, Wendy and Sara discover them hidden in the house, were quite authentic looking, although the photos purporting to show ectoplasm which were seized upon as authentic at the time; most people now acknowledge that what is shown is regurgitated cheesecloth (!)

Wendy is attacked in the shower

Like all Hollywood productions though, the reliance on using music to push emotional buttons in the audience frustrates me. Also the over-wrought and overly dramatic ending was a bit much. However the sheer creepiness of Matt (and the family’s) situation, and the black magic element was powerful and potent nightmare material. Director Cornwell certainly knows a thing or two about tension and release, providing numerous genuinely frightening moments involving malevolent shadowy figures, and ominous bumps in the night; perfect “Boo!” machine fodder. For an American-rated PG-13, it certainly delivered the necessary goods.

Here's the trailer:

And as a bonus here's the trailer to Peter Cornwell's award-winning short animated film Ward 13 (which features briefly on TV in the background of one scene in the movie):

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

4 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by The Master

April 21st 2010 21:08

Well for starters I loved the Movie, it was an excellent Horrormovie even better than the Unborn in my view, however, it was fiction. I hate it when people say things like "based on a true story" there was nothing true about the whole movie. I still enjoyed it of course but it was all false. I wont even bother to list what wasnt true because then this will be one long ass comment, just go here for what was said to have happened :

Really Long Link

Really Long Link

Thought you might enjoy reading about those Bryn and I agree the ending was overly dramatic,almost as if a Preacher wrote it.

-The Master

Comment by Bryn

April 22nd 2010 00:59

Horrorphile

Master,
cheers for the links!

Comment by Jason King

April 22nd 2010 01:07

Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness

Have been looking forward to this one for ages Bryn - it sounds awesome and has by the looks of it and one thumbs up from you - high praise hahahaha

That poster with stuff coming out of Matt's mouth is brilliant - I want one!!