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Similar to The Amityville Horror, 2009's The Haunting in Connecticut is a supernatural horror film which employs the "based on a true story" crutch as a hook to entice movie-goers. Of course, the claim that it's based on an actual suburban haunting is all smoke and mirrors, as those who spend even half an hour conducting research will realise the majority of this film's narrative was invented by the screenwriters (Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe). Interestingly, even Ray Garton - who novelised the particular ordeal - has gone on record stating he doubts the veracity of the story, and this all goes to show how loose the phrase "based on a true story" can sometimes be employed. Interestingly, too, The Haunting in Connecticut seems not that it's based on a true story, but instead based on horror movies of prior decades.
The story concerns the members of the Campbell family, whose oldest son Matt (Galler) is suffering from cancer. In order for them to live in close proximity to a specialty clinic where Matt (Gallner) is undergoing experimental treatments, the family opt to rent a house in Connecticut. However the realtor explains that the house "has a history", which soon becomes apparent when Matt begins witnessing disturbing images at night. At first he believes they are mere hallucinations as a result of his cancer treatments, but the visions are far too vivid. When it's revealed the residence was formerly used as a funeral home, Matt seeks help from a fellow cancer patient, Reverend Popescu (Koteas), who recognises the horrific signs as a cry for help from a macabre past.
To its credit, The Haunting in Connecticut does neglect a few horror clichés we've come to expect from the genre, but these are unfortunately replaced by generic plotlines more common to film in general. On top of the formulaic ghost story, there's the sudsy melodrama about Matt dying from cancer and the impact it has on his family. A poorly-developed side plot exposes the father of the family as an emotionally-abusive former alcoholic, but this is barely touched upon and seems to have been included to add an extra ten minutes to the runtime. Meanwhile the mother is unable to connect with her dying son on an emotional level, and struggles to hold her family together. These clichés don't stop, with the wise priest entering at the right moment to provide an essential service, and children seeing unsettling images as well. Moreover, the characters are without personality and believability. In fact, they deserve a Stupid Horror Movie Character Award in the Family Category. After all, once the ghosts scare the hell out of everyone, the protagonists don't bother to leave the house and head for the closest motel...instead they return to their beds and try to sleep. If people are stupid enough to remain in a situation like that when they could easily leave, they deserve exactly what they get.
In addition, The Haunting in Connecticut is so bankrupt when it comes to generating an effective atmosphere of dread that first-time director Peter Cornwell inserts countless "boo!" moments in an attempt to keep viewers interested. Thus, scenes of dialogue are frequently punctuated with glimpses of a ghostly figure reflected in a mirror or passing outside of a window. These scares are appallingly telegraphed too, with menacing music cues, obvious framing, and protracted dramatic pauses. It becomes almost comical after a while. Indeed, if one played a drinking game in which one swallowed a gulp of alcohol each time a ghoul appeared on-screen in a flash edit of hazy doom, chances are you'll be drunk within half an hour... It's that overused. Furthermore, the PG-13 rating forbids overtly gruesome or explicit content - this means no gratuitous nudity, no requisite sex scene between husband and wife, and the burnt corpses look distinctly tame. Neither nakedness nor gore could have salvaged this paint-by-numbers chiller, but the film would've at least been more digestible.
On the bright side, The Haunting in Connecticut is not unredeemably awful. The script clearly strived to flesh out these characters well enough, and the acting is passable. The plotting also accommodates the removal of one of the most embarrassing horror clichés of all - since the story takes place during the 1980s before the days of the internet, the characters at no point research the phenomenon via Google as a means to lazily advance the narrative to the next plot point. The problem with The Haunting in Connecticut, however, is that it simply feels stale. The story is not interesting or surprising enough, the protagonists aren't compelling enough to latch onto, and the cinematic style is dull.
4.0/10
