"The Haunting in Connecticut" movie review

What wouldn’t a mother do for her children? Well for starters, dragging your family, including your cancer-ridden teenage son, to your new, highly paranormal home in Southington, Connecticut may seem like a bad choice, however, it was exactly the sudden and predictable choice the audience could expect from mother Sara Campbell after the devastatingly heartbreaking car-ride home after one of Matt Campbell’s treatments. This impulsively rash decision provides the setting for the movie “The Haunting in Connecticut.” The real estate agent claims that the antique-looking house “has some history”, but instead of asking further questions, the distraught mother thinks of only one thing before accepting the incredibly low amount being asked for the home—after stopping every ten minutes for her son to vomit, the only thing on her mind is reducing miles from their home to the treatment center.

Early in the beginning of the film the family realizes that their new home was previously a funeral home. But, because Matt is skating the thin line of life and death, he is the only one who can see the trapped spirits and the past that haunts his new home. Conveniently, his family believes that his strange behavior is the result of hallucinations caused by his new treatment.

Although the movie utilizes some of the fairly common horror conventions to frighten the audience, the most terrifying aspect of the film is its ability to take the audiences’ genuine fears to the extreme, therefore intensifying unknown fear even after leaving the theatre. The movie contains several moments that make the knee-bouncing, fist-clenching movie goer gasp for air and clutch towards the person closest to them. These scares, though sudden, were slight, including Matt’s hand plunging through the pillar on the porch and coming out covered with maggots, Sara mopping the floor with blood, flickering lights and the frequent shadow of a ghost lurking behind. The sound and lighting effects were, to say the least, comparable to other horror movies.

But, the more substantial terrors that won’t be forgotten two minutes after they happen include more depth and special effects that play on typical fears such as darkness, blood and obviously terrifyingly violent ghosts that seem relentless to push this family out of their home any way possible.

Kyle Gallner plays Matt Campbell and provides the audience with an incredibly convincing performance that evokes not only sympathy but also increases the creepiness factor with his erratic and aggressive behavior. His weak, fragile body and pale complexion increase throughout the movie in accordance with the paranormal encounters. Gallner has been in several movies but is most recognized for his role in 25 episodes of “Veronica Mars” as Cassidy “Beaver” Casablancas, in which he turns out to be a murderer that takes his own life. Gallner’s work in the “Veronica Mars” episodes led him to the leading role in “The Haunting in Connecticut” in which he cultivates his ability to manipulate the audience’s emotions.

Gallner’s character outshined Madsen who seemed emotionally detached from the audience in her all-too-believable mediocre performance as a worried, tiresome mother that refuses to accept her son is dying and their house is haunted.
Although the acting was persuasive and realistic, the script itself proves to be the main obstacle towards success. Throughout the movie, it seemed as if the actors were deliberately putting themselves in compromising positions when these situations could have easily been prevented. The viewer often finds him or herself asking “Why don’t they just leave?”.