Hollywood keeps trying to scare us this season, and they keep coming up short. This weeks feeble attempt is the much-hyped The Haunting in Connecticut.
The movie makers keep stressing that this is based on the true story of a family in 1987, that went through this "haunting" after moving into an old house in upstate Connecticut. The Campbell family has an adolescent son who is suffering from cancer, and they move into this house to be nearer to the center where he is getting experimental treatment. Upon arriving, the son is haunted by some entity that seems to be haunting only him.
This house was a funeral home in the 1920's and that is their first clue that something may be underfoot. Soon enough the whole family is feeling the haunting and as it continues and you're supposed to be scared, but you're not. This whole thing just doesn't work. I wish I could tell you that there are moments of creativity, nice special effects, or even some originality, but there's not.
I believe about 20 percent of what's in this movie. I do believe there is a Connecticut. And that some family lived in this house. I also can believe that this house was a former funeral home, and that there may have been some strange and unaccounted for occurrences there. But I don't believe much of what this story has to say, and that is the movies downfall. I feel Hollywood has taken this basic premise, and run it through the "I'm not buyin' that grinder," Because there's just not enough interesting story here to go around. It's just not palatable, and what's worse, it's NOT scary.
Oh, there's some banging doors, loud noises, shadows, eerie music, and there's stuff coming out of peoples mouths.... but yippee! But it's not scary, suspenseful, or even interesting. I'm sorry this family went through what they feel is a big ordeal. Nice pay day for them, and with life's circumstances surrounding them they may have earned it. But it may be a nice short story, not a 2 hour movie. Interesting note, without spoiling. At the movies end, the mother in the story narrates that she" doesn't care who believes her or not, she knows what happened." Leads us to think there are many skeptics on her story.
The Haunting In Connecticut. It doesn't scare you, haunt you, or make you think. It's a hollow story that just lays there. A must-miss.
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