Haunting in Connecticut, The Movie
New horror film based on true story doesn't ring true, but isn't bad
Mar 28, 2009
I went into the new film "Haunting in Connecticut" with subdued expectations, being familiar with the recent PG-13 ghost subgenre of horror releases. Most are utterly bad, with very little by way of actual scares and even less concerned with logic and effects. Some revel in shiny, unscary CGI and regurgitate scenes from other films of the ilk that are similar in content, and presumably, intent.
For every good film of the subgenre like "The Ring", there are a dozen (very likely a highly conservative number) copycat films that seem to serve no other purpose than getting the intended audience into the seats.
"Haunting in Connecticut" (based on a true story, or so the filmmakers purport) is not a great film, but it isn't absolutely putrid, either. It has a couple of really good genuine jump scares, a decent backstory, and some pretty good acting, particularly by the seemingly perpetually young and lovely Virginia Madsen ("Candyman", "The Prophecy"). Some of the visuals are good, with some nice effects (still too much CGI for my taste---CGI just isn't real enough to be scary in these kinds of films yet) and a creepy overtone that carries through much of the first half of the movie.
What keeps the movie from being a contender is a reliance on some of the cheesier genre aspects; too many false jump scares (also known as "buses", because of an extremely influential scene in Val Lewton's absolute classic "Cat People"), too much by way of corny dialogue, and especially too much explaining. Generally speaking with this type of horror film, when a heroine of the movie heads to the library to do some research, you just know the explainin' is coming, and that's the case here.
The second half of the film is bogged down in much too familiar territory, with the newly discovered secrets of the house reasoned out by way of old newspaper clues and extreme jumps in logic. After that, it becomes much less impressive as a horror film and much more campy, though remains fairly stylish and nice looking throughout.
Still, there are a few moments that might please horror fans. I don't know if that's enough to recommend a genre film, but being that the movie isn't absolutely terrible, you could definitely do worse. As with many horror films, even less than great ones, this could be a fun communal experience with the right crowd. A realized sense of dread, a ponderous score, and some jolting images elevate the film to at least better than the usual PG-13 ghost drivel. But just barely.
