The Haunting in Connecticut Blu-ray Review

Tech-at-a-Glance.

• 1080p with 2.35:1 ratio.
• DTS-HD Master Audio.
• Region B Disc Reviewed.

The Movie.

Do you want to see why you should never, ever trust a trailer to give you an indication of how good a film is?  If so, take a look at the trailer for The Haunting in Connecticut.  It has some chills, some spills and the promise of more of both to come.  You'll get the impression that this is a horror movie in the grand tradition of Robert Wise's The Haunting, a psychological scare-fest that'll stay with you for days.  In short, It'll make you want to see the movie; which is of course, its job.

The Haunting in Connecticut follows the Campbell family when they're forced to rent another home closer to a hospital, so they can better treat their sick son, Matt.  Within moments of moving in, strange occurrences start to take place, seemingly only seen by Matt, but eventually affecting the whole family as they learn of their new house's morbid past.  Can they overcome their personal problems and stresses and uncover the secrets it holds?

Seen the trailer yet?  If so, just leave it there, as not only does it misrepresent the film, but it's far more enjoyable than the actual thing too.  Here's Haunting in Connecticut's main problem - it's just not scary.  At all.  Instead of building up the tension of a family moving into a new home and slowly being terrorized by unseen forces, we leap in with a massive group of woefully underdeveloped characters, who instantly start to see bad things.  Director Peter Cornwell churns out the loud noise/jump cut 'scares' within moments and you know what, it's not scary because we couldn't care less about the people it's happening too.  As the film progresses, everyone's real-life problems start to escalate too, but you'll be too busy struggling to recall the character's name to notice!

The acting, for the most part, is as dead as the former occupants of the house, with Virginia Madsen failing to convince as the family's strong mother and dreary Matt, played by Kyle Gallner, seems to be overplaying the drowsy effects of his prescription drugs.  Elias Koteas makes the best out of his Reverend Popescu role, but even he can't elevate the movie by much.

Once the house turns the haunt level up to 10, we get some flashbacks - we know they're happening a while ago, as they're filmed in sepia - and a vaguely decent seance with CGI ectoplasm.  About midway through, Virginia Madsen thankfully disappears for a while, leaving Matt and Wendy (I had to look her name up) to do some digging into the house's background, which turns out to be the high point of the movie.  Unfortunately, your interest will dissipate once tedious things start happening back at home again.  It's all just a bit too derivative.  It's easy to spot the references to Poltergeist, The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror and The Changeling, all of which are considerably better than what you're watching.  Yes, even Amityville.

So how did they manage to cut such an intriguing trailer from this?  The answer is simple, they left out the the problem areas.  There was no mention of the cancer subplot, the father's problems for example, and it had far fewer characters, making it appear taut and considered.  The Haunting in Connecticut is devoid of originality, tension or scares and contains too many characters dealing with pointless subplots.  Watch the trailer though, as the film it shows looks quite good!

2/5

The Audio and Video.

The DTS-HD track provides a wealth of surround effects, with voices, moans, groans and all kinds of unearthly sounds heading your way from the rear channels.  There are several rumbling sub-bass moments too, and the tried and tested 'loud moments' are indeed loud.  But not scary.  The dialogue is clear and very centered, and you'll have no problems understanding what everyone is saying.

The video is another story altogether.  During the opening 10 minutes or so, there are some beautiful vistas shoot in bright light, with blue skies with vivid foreground colours.  It bodes well for the remainder of the film, but unfortunately, the rest is blighted by inconsistencies including dodgy blacks and some very grainy sequences, most notably during exterior shots or extended nighttime interior scenes.  As it draws to a close, the grain becomes more noticeable and lasts for longer.  This didn't feel like a problem with the disc as much as a product of the movie itself.

3/5

The Extras.

This edition was a rental copy and contained some onset interviews, where the actors explain their roles, and some b-roll footage which was exactly that, unexciting b-roll.  There is the trailer though, but we can't recommend purchasing the disc just for that.  The retail editions have a far more impressive line-up, with a making-of featurette and a two-part documentary on the real case.  A featurette on the still photos used in the film could be interesting, plus there are some deleted scenes with commentary from the director.  The version reviewed deserves a single star, but the standard 2-disc set in the shops should be worth at least two more.

Conclusion.

Not even slightly scary and filled with double the required amount of characters, The Haunting in Connecticut should have stayed as the short film featured on the disc.  You'll find it listed under 'theatrical trailer'.

Overall: 2/5