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Saturday, July 18, 2009

The Haunting In Connecticut - My Review

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As I have mentioned before, I LOVE horror movies. I love good ones and bad ones. I don't mind if a plot is kind of predictable. I really don't care. I just want a good scare. I love being surprised by a horror film. I love when a movie goes into a direction that I didn't expect. This doesn't happen too often, but when it does...MAGIC! This is one of the reasons I enjoy horror films, because sometimes you are just stunned. One of the films that did that for me was Saw. The first Saw was just sooooo different. I love that. Anyway, I just wanted to explain my taste for the horror a little bit before I jump into my opinion on The Haunting In Connecticut.


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Quite the movie poster. I think one of the reasons I wanted to watch this film was I just could not figure out what on earth was coming out of this guys mouth.

Another reason is I just love a good haunting. From the moment I saw Amityville Horror, I have been fairly hooked on the haunted house genre.

Anyway... The Haunting In Connecticut takes place in...yep Connecticut. Is it just me or do more hauntings seem to take place in the East? Probably just me. The movie gives you that whole thing is based on a true story. I don't fully buy the true story stuff, because I have heard that before with things like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. But here is a link for more details if you would like from one of my favorite sites Dread Central.

The story is about a family who moves to this home in Connecticut to be closer to the facility where their son is getting treatment for cancer. The family is facing the financial hardships you would expect when a child is seriously ill, and they rent the home because it is simply a wonderful deal and they really need a break.

A great deal is usually attached to something pretty bad, and this house is no exception. This home has a past as a former funeral home. Not terribly terrifying in the grand scheme of things. I mean, yeah, kind of creepy living in a place where dead bodies were prepared for burial, but it is after all, just a house in the long run.

As barely days go by, bad things start happening in the home, and the family learns there are secrets to this home that have not been revealed.

The movie definitely does its job in grabbing you and making you flinch with the typical blast of noise and the flash of something out of the corner of a character's eye. It gives good explanations as to what could be going on, so that the family may not at first be as terrified as they should, but of course the viewer knows better.

Pros - The acting is really done well. The special effects are used in just the right amount. Nothing is too over the top other than the creepy stuff coming out of the mouth of the young man in the poster. Really, that is probably the grossest thing to me. FAVORITE PRO - Elias Koteas. Ahhhh a nice blast from my John Hughes loving past. He was an artist hoodlum in one of my faves "Some Kind of Wonderful."

Cons - I am a little tired of seeing people stay in a house that is obviously haunted or at the very least dangerous. How many red flags can one home fling up before people just GET OUT?!!! Seriously. Other con...I am so tired of father's in films pretty much sucking butt. Men...you need to stand up for yourselves with the entertainment industry, because no matter what the genre is you are all portrayed very badly for the most part. Unless you are Will Smith.

This was a movie that I had no intention of seeing at the theater. There are just some that scream BIG SCREEN and some that do not. Really, I get more impacted in the privacy of my own home when I am watching a horror film. A large audience just distracts me. It was a great horror movie to watch while snuggled up on the couch enjoying a bowl of popcorn.

If I were to rate it, I would probably give it 3.5 stars. Trust me, this is NOT a bad rating. It did the job.


Clip from Some Kind Of Wonderful.

7 comments:

Kelly said...

When this movie came out, my son, (he's 20 and ever the smart-a$$) said, "Genius idea for a movie! Instant sequel material...heck 49 more sequels..A Haunting in North Dakota, A Haunting in Delaware. My God...they could do the territories too and have a lifetime of sequels...A Haunting in American Samoa....."

Glad to see it was pretty good!

ANovelMenagerie said...

You may want to link this in to tomorrow's Monday's Movie on Mr. Linky! People would enjoy checking this out. I did!

Heidi V said...

I was wondering if it was going to be a cheesy one but it sounded like a half decent one. I'm have to rent it. Thanks!

Jo-Jo said...

I definitely thought that this was one of the better horror movies that I have seen lately. I agree with your annoyance of staying in haunted houses...after they know they are haunted! What is up with that??

Stormi said...

I want to see this one but haven't yet. I would say its loosely based on a true story, you know how hollywood is. The real story is on Discovery's show 'A Haunting' and its not as over the top as the movie probably was...LOL.

bermudaonion said...

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I can read horror, but I cannot watch it. I'd be up all night with bad dreams if I did.

LuAnn said...

I think more horror movies take place in the east because the west is so young. It's difficult for a ghost to be creeping people out for centuries if no one was around more than about 100 years ago.