Supposedly based on a true story, director Peter Cornwell's shudder show scores points for being serious—a welcome relief from the campy, darkly humorous tone of many contemporary horror films—but it offers nothing innovative, instead relying on tried-and-true shock effects for its big scares. Virginia Madsen stars as Sara Campbell, a dutiful wife and loving mom who labors to keep the family together even though her hubby Peter (Martin Donovan) is battling alcoholism, and their teenage son Matt (Kyle Gallner) is cancer-stricken. After the family moves to a reputedly haunted Connecticut house (where very, very bad things happened years ago) in order to be close to the clinic where Matt is receiving treatment, the teen begins seeing ghosts, although his doctors argue that these hallucinations could be a byproduct of experimental drugs. Much like the Asian chillers from which it appears to draw inspiration, The Haunting in Connecticut unfolds slowly—parsimoniously doling out its shocks, while gradually revealing its backstory of the abuse and murder of innocent children in decades past. While the performances are earnest, the material is overly familiar, serving up scares that are neither vivid nor plentiful enough to wow the viewer. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (the first with director Peter Cornwell, producer Andrew Trapani, co-writer Adam Simon, and editor Tom Elkins; the second with Cornwell and costars Virginia Madsen and Kyle Gallner), “The Fear is Real: Reinvestigating the Haunting” two-part behind-the-scenes featurette (42 min.), a 15-minute “Two Dead Boys” making-of featurette, the production featurettes “Anatomy of a Haunting” (12 min.) and “Memento-Mori: The History of Post-Mortem Photography” (11 min.), nine minutes of deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by Cornwell, and trailers. Also included is a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for an ultimately underwhelming horror film.] (E. Hulse)
The Haunting in Connecticut
Lionsgate, 92 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, July 14 Volume 24, Issue 4
The Haunting in Connecticut
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