The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)

Director:

Peter Cornwell

Writers (WGA):

Adam Simon (written by) &
Tim Metcalfe (written by)

Release Date:

27 March 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Some things cannot be explained.

Plot:

After a family is forced to relocate for their son's health, they begin experiencing supernatural behavior in their new home, which turns out to be a former mortuary.

Plot Keywords:

Cancer | Mortuary | Funeral Home | Funeral Parlor | Reverend

Cast

Virginia Madsen	...	Sara Campbell
Kyle Gallner	...	Matt Campbell
Elias Koteas	...	Reverend Popescu
Amanda Crew	...	Wendy
Martin Donovan	...	Peter Campbell
Sophi Knight	...	Mary
Ty Wood	...	Billy Campbell
Erik J. Berg	...	Jonah (as Erik Berg)
John Bluethner	...	Ramsey Aickman
D.W. Brown	...	Dr. Brooks
John B. Lowe	...	Mr. Sinclair
Adriana O'Neil	...	Chemo Nurse
Will Woytowich	...	Cop
James Durham	...	Matt's Cell Mate
Darren Ross	...	Paramedic #1

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of terror and disturbing images.

Runtime:

92 min | 102 min (extended cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44104) | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | Brazil:14 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Netherlands:16 | Sweden:15 | Mexico:B15 | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | Japan:PG12

Filming Locations:

Teulon, Manitoba, Canada

Company:

Lionsgate

Trivia:

Ed Warren and Lorraine Warren, who are known for involvement in The Amityville Horror case, were investigators for this case.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Corpses' eyes dessicate noticeably and morticians as a matter of routine fill out eye sockets with cotton wadding for open-casket funerals. As a result, corpses that have had their eyelids cut off would not have the natural looking eyes portrayed here.

Quotes:

[reciting a poem]
Matt Campbell: One bright day in the middle of the night, two dead boys got up to fight. Back to back they faced each other, drew their swords and shot each other. A deaf policeman heard the noise and came and killed those two dead boys.

Movie Connections:

Features Ward 13 (2003)

Soundtrack:

Prayer for the Innocent

In the Borderline of Two Worlds

Matt Campbell (Kyle Gallner) has a terminal cancer and is submitted to an experimental treatment in the St. Michael's Hospital Goatswood in Connecticut. The responsible for the trial, Dr. Brooks (D.W. Brown), advises that if Matt starts seeing things, he should drop from the trial. His religious mother Sara (Virginia Madsen) drives almost eight hours with her son since he has nausea and needs to vomit during the travel. She proposes her husband Peter (Martin Donovan), who had trouble with booze, to rent a house in Connecticut to be close to the hospital despite their second mortgage. Sara finds an old house with an affordable price and she questions the catch to the owner and he explains that the house has a history, since it was a funeral home in the past. Sara hides the truth to Peter and the family moves to the house. While in the treatment, Matt befriends Reverend Popescu (Elias Koteas), who has also cancer. When Matt has weird visions and nightmares from the past, he calls Popescu that tells him that an evil entity is trapped in the house and they are able to see him because they are in the borderline of the worlds of the living and the dead.

"The Haunting in Connecticut" is an above average movie of haunted house since it blends a very well developed family drama with spooky scenes of a ghost story. There are many realist situations like the bad financial situation of the Campbells that are usually forgotten in American movies. Further, there is a beautiful message of faith, and Sara truly believes that God works in a mysterious way. The drinking problem of Peter and how it affected the relationship with Sara is just glanced and could be better explored. I do not like the sensationalism that highlights on the cover of the DVD that the story is based on a true event since this movie is better than that. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Evocando Espíritos" ("Evoking Spirits")