The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)

Some things cannot be explained.

The Campbell family moves to Connecticut in order to be closer to the hospital where their son, Matt, must regularly travel for cancer treatments. But they don't know that the charming old Victoria house they have taken up residence in was formerly a funeral parlour, and no ordinary one at that. In fact, it was the site of some unspeakable horrors. To make matters worse, the former owners son, Jonah, was a clairvoyant who communicated with the dead.

Matt begins to have frightening dreams and visions, but the family initially believes that they are the side effects of an experimental treatment that he is undergoing. However, as time passes, the visions become all to real and the spirits that haunt the house make themselves known to the family as a whole. They call on Reverend Popescu (Elias Koteas) for assistance in the hopes of exorcising the spirits from the house, and saving Matt's fragile life.

The tagline quite correctly states that "some things cannot be explained". I agree in full. For example, it is inexplicable that horror film promoters continue to peddle the ridiculous line that these movies are "based on a true story".

Was Jaw's "based on a true story"? Yes, sometimes people get bit by sharks. Was King Kong? Yes, some people went to a jungle and brought back an ape. Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Of course, Ed Gein killed people and wore their skins. Is this movie "based on a true story"? Sure, some people think they saw some ghosts. In actuality, Ray Garton, the author of the book on which the film is based, has distanced himself from the accuracy of the events portrayed therein.

The movie itself, however, isn't too bad. It's creepy, and it has a good number of jumps throughout. But it doesn't quite manage to sustain its suspense. Most of the scariest content is actually in the first half of the film because by the time you get to the second half you have already seen it all, there is no mystery left. It is also a dramatic film, with the family struggling with the difficulties associated with Matt's worsening cancer. This too is effective enough but, as with the horror level, only insofar as to make this a decent, but unmemorable film.

2.5 eyelids out of 5
Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of terror and disturbing images