The Haunting in Connecticut employs a hodgepodge of scare tactics taken from a wide range of horror sub-genres. There’s some poltergeist activity, a little possession, a few maggots, a child hanging out way past his death-time, some straight-up body desecration and a wee bit of necromancy, all of which is discovered by the Campbell family after they move into a long-dormant funeral home next to the hospital where the teenaged son, Matt (Kyle Gallner), is seeking out an experimental treatment for his cancer. There is one caveat to being included in the study: if Matt starts seeing things, he’ll be removed. So when he claims the basement (which was once the mortuary) for his bedroom and starts seeing blackened ghosts refracted in mirrors, he keeps his mouth shut.
Eventually, he opens up to a reverend (Elias Koteas) who is also in for treatment. The reverend confirms that they aren’t hallucinations, and that Matt can see these lost souls because he, too, is “walking in the valley of the shadow of death” and that he should “fear no evil.” To which the appropriate response seems to be “Have you seen this evil? Fear is unavoidable!”
Unfortunately, the egads! factor starts to wear off when Matt’s cousin Wendy (Amanda Crew) gets involved, does some much-needed sleuthing at the local library and puts all the scary images into some kind of context. By the time Connecticut slinks to the two-hour mark, the thrills are gone.
Director Peter Cornwell pads the length of the film, indulging in dramatic tangents in which, for example, Matt’s mom and dad cry over his cancer and fight over dad’s drinking problem. It’s hard for the audience to focus on the emotional ramifications of losing a child when they’re worried something is going to pop out and eat Mrs. Campbell while she’s crying into her pillow.
Nevertheless, The Haunting in Connecticut has an intriguing backstory that pushes the main tale forward, as well as imperfect but strong special effects that keep you jumping. Thankfully, Gallner mixes together curiousity, cautiousness, calm and craziness in his performance to form just the right kind of character to deal with paranormal activity for two hours.
The movie is full of creepy ideas, but it isn’t truly haunting. Still, some of those ideas are enough to stick with you — I just hope nobody cuts off my eyelids in the middle of night and uses them to chain my soul to the Earth. Did I mention this was “based on a true story”? Have fun, kiddies!
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