The Haunting in Connecticut - A Movie Review

Something evil is in this house, I know it.

Haunting its way into theaters in 2009, The Haunting in Connecticut is about a family who moves into a house for the sake of their son’s health. Finding out the history of this house, during their stay, they experience strange paranormal occurrences along with disturbing behavior that overtakes their son.

The Haunting in Connecticut has gained its fair share of mixed reviews. I always enjoy a good ghost story. While The Haunting in Connecticut works too hard on jump scares, one element that impressed me was a genuine take of a positive representation on the word of cancer.

Most people will recognize Virginia Madsen from the horror classic, Candyman. Madsen plays a strong role as a mother doing everything to help her son get better. Desperate, she makes a horrible decision that affects the family. Aside from Madsen’s strong emotional delivery, her character fell flat to me.

Kyle Gallner is the best part of this film. Playing the role of the cancer patient, I hold my head high for Gallner who performed his role with the utmost respect for anyone who is fighting a battle with cancer. It was a difficult role, but he used humor where he had to. Madsen and Gallner were excellent in all their interactions.

As for the rest of the cast, they felt like an ensemble who were there for story purposes. Filling the roles as the other members of the family, Martin Donovan, Amanda Crew, Ty Wood, and Sophi Knight built a strong family connection, as the film goes, they’re only there to get scared and run away from scary figures, specifically the kids.

Elias Koteas is another highlight to mention. Koteas was excellent in all of his deliveries and with his portrayal of the character.

The gruesome nature of the film was executed very well. I like how the film was edited to convey scenes from the past. The style of the film is excellent. It’s one of the signature parts of the film. Changing flashbacks into a sepia tone was a great idea. If only it could have stayed in this rhythm as the film decided to use jump scares as its main horror.

As chilling as the makeup effects are for all the ghosts, the jump scares with them become repetitive. Okay, I will admit that they are effective, I jumped on several occasions. Horror films should not run on jump scares. It’s about a dark story.

There’s also too much exposition on the history of the house. While it’s predictable at times and falls on numerous horror cliches, it is a well-made horror film.

The most remarkable part of the film is that Peter Cornwell sells is cancer treatment. It’s not a subject that meets the eye, but it is given a positive depiction. For family’s who have experienced a family member undergoing cancer treatment, Cornwell was up close with how it affects everyone. A big thank you goes to Cornwell for exceeding in genuine depictions of the subject matter.

Because the film is based on, scattered recounts of the true story, I could tell that he struggled with where to take the story next. There’s one scene that deals with the dad’s drinking issues, but it did not add anything to the story. We get the point that murders happened inside this house. The constant exposition weighs down the film and the message.

The film may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re looking for a new scary film during Halloween season, check out The Haunting in Connecticut.