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Virginia Madsen, Martin Donovan, Kyle Gallner, Elias Koteas, Amanda Crew ... see more see more... , Sophie Knight , Ty Wood , Erik J. Berg , John Bluethner , D.W. Brown , John B. Lowe , Adriana O'Neil , Will Woytowich , James Durham , Darren Ross , Sarah Constible

Inspired by the frightening true-life tale of a family that moved into a converted funeral home and subsequently fell under supernatural attack, director Peter Cornwell's The Haunting in Connecticut f... read more read more...ollows the quest of a desperate mother to free her family from the grip of an evil beyond human comprehension. Sara (Virginia Madsen) and Peter Campbell (Martin Donovan) have just moved to Connecticut with their young son, Matt, when the young boy experiences a series of disturbing events that lead him to believe a malevolent force is attempting to take control of his family. Back when the home was still a funeral parlor, the original owner's clairvoyant assistant, Jonah, served as a gateway for restless spirits seeking to cross over into the physical realm. When Jonah returns to unleash a new kind of horror on the innocent family, Sara enlists the aid of enigmatic priest Popescu (Elias Koteas) in driving the evil out before it consumes her son's body and soul. At first it appears that Popescu has been successful in driving the spirits away, but then the terror becomes more intense than ever before. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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51% liked it

322,741 ratings

Critics

17% liked it

100 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 42 min.

Directed by: Peter Cornwell

Release Date: March 27, 2009

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DVD Release Date: July 14, 2009

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Stats: 18,279 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (18,279)

  • WrenchLT
    October 22, 2011
    WrenchLT
    The PR campaign that accompanied the release of this one was quite misleading but very clever in coaxing people to the cinemas and video rental stores to see it. Images seen on posters and the DVD cover weren't even in the film, neither were the creepy radio spots! And I'll take ... read morethe whole "based on the true story" tagline with a pinch of salt as the film is too exagerrated to be taken seriously as fact-based. Having said all that the film is ok overall but far from great. It's not nearly scary enough though it does try and manages to provide a couple of creep-out moments. It kill's some time but it doesn't linger long in the mind afterwards.
  • theunknownhobo
    October 5, 2011
    theunknownhobo
    I will never understand why this film received such terrible reviews. As recycled horror storylines go, this movie offered believable acting, genuinely creepy supernatural activity, a story deep rooted in "fact" and an awesome array of torturous twists and turns that made it as e... read morenjoyable as it could have been. Gallner surprises me with each movie I see him in and this one is not exception, playing his role of "cancer kid that can see dead people" remarkably well. Not the most original film of our time, but certainly one of the most entertaining and one I will make no apology for enjoying thoroughly through out.
  • spielberg00
    September 5, 2011
    spielberg00
    The one thing I hate more than mocked documentaries (with a few exceptions, such as THE LAST EXORCISM and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY) are movies that the filmmakers claim are based on true stories (clearly in hopes of scaring the audience more), but when we watch them, we either think, ... read more"Only 10% of this could have actually been based on the truth," or simply, "No bloody way." Even in the opening credits, someone behind the awfulness of THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT was stupid enough to put in the words, "Based on True Events" somewhere after the title. By that point, half of my mind was thinking, "This is going to be so terrible," while the other half was debating, "Just suck it up. It could be good." Looking at the entire aspect, the second half of my mind was right: this could have been a decent supernatural horror flick. But the first half of my mind was also correct: THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT was horrible, boring, confusing, and (like any bad horror movie) unintentionally funny here and there. So really, I don't know what to say. Should I throw tomatoes at the director for making an excruciating, ridiculous horror film; or should I applaud him for making this the funniest comedy of the year? To tell you the truth, I'm still trying to make up my mind.
  • 3niR
    September 1, 2011
    3niR
    It was spooky and also gross. Not great enough to recommend.
  • DreamExtractor
    August 25, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    I hate cliche horror movies, and this is one of the most cliche of them all. The plot is so dull and pointless that I kept checking the time wsiting for it to be over. The cast was awful, they were not even trying, it wasn't even that good kind of bad acting in horror movies li... read moreke the original Halloween, just bad acting. I will admit, even I was freaked out at some scenes, but they were very few. The score of the movie was genius, I loved it in this movie. Other than music and a few good scares, this movie is almost completely cliche and boring, maybe its just me but I didn't enjoy it.
  • theoneandonlybg
    August 11, 2011
    theoneandonlybg
    The Haunting In Connecticut is a fantastic film telling the tale of a cancer patient forced to move into a new home closer to the hospital. The house they move into seems pleasant at first, but soon begins to show it's flaws.

    Recently, the number of horror films I have watched... read more that have been pathetic on a scare-scale is ridiculous. Paranormal Activity, not scary. The Ring (American, not Japanese), not scary. And the list goes on and on. THIS film, whilst still not being scary fulfills what a horror film should do. Yes, it does have a few cliches, but, as Scream 4 points out "the unexpected IS the new cliche...", making almost every new horror film cliched anyway.

    Unlike other films relating to the paranormal, this one was one I found particularly creepy. The use of a very violent and scary past was very well portrayed and utilised what should be used in horror films. There were actually jumpy moments, which is what The Ring and Paranormal Activity lacked, and made me leap out of my seat violently on many occasions.

    I strain from giving this film a full 100% because, although good, it was a bit cliched and didn't scare me, merely drew me in.
  • murphmann93
    June 23, 2011
    murphmann93
    Very scary!
  • movieguru12
    June 22, 2011
    movieguru12
    A decent thriller but there have been better ones made.
  • helpahorse
    June 5, 2011
    helpahorse
    I'm kind of sad this movie wasn't REALLY based on a true story. It would've been cool if it was. This movie was filled with cliches- boy sleeping in the basement, lights go out, figures appear in mirrors....it seemed like I was watching a modified version of Amityville Horror(200... read more5). It was kind of scary with the cheap jump scares, but it wasn't too "OMG THIS IS AMAZING". It was okay. It was better than I thought it was going to be. The plot about the boy with cancer was cute, but sad at the same time. I think that actor was pretty good. Don't really have much to say about the movie.

    I probably wouldn't watch this again. Kind of dumb.
  • 76Majikat
    February 25, 2011
    76Majikat
    I was expecting more of a ghost story than one of Demonic possession and whilst this film had moments of unexpected gore, it didn't reach me as anything other than average.

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Critic Reviews

Adam Markovitz
March 27, 2009
Adam Markovitz, Entertainment Weekly

Madsen barely emotes during the ensuing flood of hokey scare tactics. Full Review

Colin Covert
March 27, 2009
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

The Haunting in Connecticut operates like someone leaning in behind you and yelling. At first, it makes you jump. The 200th time, it's just annoying. Full Review

Mark Olsen
March 27, 2009
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times

Haunting suffers for its need to be sold as a straight-up horror film, and the fact it has been seemingly retrofitted as such. Full Review

Kyle Smith
March 27, 2009
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Connecticut: not very haunty. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
March 27, 2009
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

Eventually the whole thing ends as these B-movies usually do -- with false denouements, sudden conflagrations and forced happy endings that leave the audience groaning and prematurely grabbing for the... Full Review

Christopher Orr
March 27, 2009
Christopher Orr, New Republic

[W]hite people haven't learned much in the quarter-century since Eddie Murphy's classic disquisition on The Amityville Horror. Full Review

Rick Groen
March 27, 2009
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

Ho-hum, one more slapped-together exercise in pre-fab horror. Full Review

Peter Hartlaub
March 27, 2009
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

It's boring to pick apart a movie's inconsistencies one by one, but The Haunting in Connecticut contains so many insults to the audience's intelligence, it doesn't offer much choice. Full Review

Tom Long
March 27, 2009
Tom Long, Detroit News

It's just such a thoroughly typical ghost story. Full Review

Andrea Gronvall
March 27, 2009
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader

It loses steam once the wraiths become fully visible: they're just not scary enough. Full Review

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  • Virginia Madsen and Elias Koteas team up to fight evil spirits in the 2009 film The Haunting in Connecticut but in what movie did we first see them together?  Answer »
  • johans was a medium that conneted with the dead in this film..  Answer »
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