The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) review

(3/10)

I can't believe I enjoyed this when it first came out...what was I thinking?

PLOT:When Matt Campbell (Kyle Gallner) develops a strong case of cancer, his family must move themselves and him to a place closer to the hospital where he receives treatment. They find this house in Connecticut that, as it turns out, used to be a mortuary and choose to settle in that; the mom doesn't tell them that it used to be a mortuary. Things are fine until strange things start to happen linking to an age-old, supernatural mystery with Matt being the main component. It's a decent plot executed badly, to say the least.

ACTING:The acting in this movie is far from the best. I couldn't believe some of the characters and could barely feel emotion in their actions; one in particular is Virginia Madsen as Sara Campbell. She tried her best to leave an emotional impact through her character, but I just couldn't believe her fully. Sadly, the acting is so down that she is one of our shiners. The only other one is Gallner as Matt. He actually did a great job at being a haunted, tormented teenager. I liked his acting. One performance I was truly disappointed with was Elias Koteas as Reverend Popescu. I think he did better in "The Fourth Kind", and that should tell you something.



SCORE:The score actually wasn't half bad. It contained some mood-setting peices, some horror jump-score, and a few hauntingly good themes. Sure, this one doesn't have a creepy main theme as some horrors do have, but it does have a few good score peices used to set the mood better.

EFFECTS:The digital effects of the ectoplasm and electricity I thought weren't too bad. They weren't true marvel effects, but they did supply a sense of good imagery. The make-up effects, however, were just plain unscary and overbearing, as in a low-budget modern zombie film.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie didn't have much potential to start with, but what could have been done to bring the movie up higher wasn't done. It was loaded with overused cliches, jump-scares, uncinematic moments, and just the generic bit of horror fare. This movie did, however, contain some creepy imagery and situations that could have saved it if played right enough. Alas, it didn't succeed.

OVERALL,a bad horror movie with a badly-executed plot, unconvincing acting, some good score mixed in with the bad, good digital effects and bad make-up effects, overused cliches, jump-sares, and truly uncinematic moments, but it had a smidge of potential and some creepy imagery/situations.