Like horror flicks?

“The Haunting in Connecticut” is a horror film attempting to recreate and embellish the allegedly true story of a family’s stay in a haunted house in Southington, Connecticut.

Understandably – being a movie – liberties were taken in creating a cinematic story different than what “actually” occurred. However, these liberties make the film a spooky, psychological thrill ride almost from start to finish.

The horror genre is known for cheesiness and clichés, and “The Haunting” certainly has its share. But surprisingly, the movie also has a lot of originality that helps it stand on its own. While the movie largely follows the formula of what makes any horror movie tick, there were also a few surprises that might catch a few horror veterans off guard.

The movie begins by introducing the Campbells, a dysfunctional but surviving family of six. To the film’s credit, these more important characters are sufficiently complex to serve the purposes of the film.

For example, through backstory, the father is revealed to be a recovering alcoholic, which serves as a plot device later in the film. The plot centers around the oldest son, Matt, who has cancer. Matt’s cancer causes the struggling family to move to Southington, Connecticut to be next to a clinic where Matt receives treatments. Unsurprisingly, they opt to rent the haunted house, which is very cheap for some inexplicable reason (sarcasm).

If viewers can forgive this cliché, then they will be rewarded with the suspense and psychological mind games that will soon begin. Probably the best aspect of the film is the ingenious use of spooky sounds, which do more to build suspense than the actual images and cheap scares that pop out of nowhere. In one scene, for example, Matt is in the kitchen when spooky whispering seems to come from behind him. In fact, the way sound is used just might be the scariest part of the film.

Throughout the film, Matt, the son who has cancer, becomes increasingly agitated and distressed, becoming possessed by some spirit or demon that is not at rest. As the movie progresses, the nature of the haunting becomes clearer, revealed through Matt’s visions which show the family who lived there perhaps a century before, who assumedly are now haunting the house. The creepiest part of the house is definitely the basement, the site of a mortuary where a little bit more went on than preparing bodies for burial.

One of the best aspects of the movie is the use of the house’s backstory to explain the events going on in the present day. Not all is revealed until the end, of course, helping keep the suspense tight throughout the movie, although a few sections occasionally slowed the pace.

One thing “The Haunting” should be applauded for is its answering of “why” the house was haunted – this question is often left poorly or even fully unanswered by many horror films. But in this regard, “The Haunting” does an above average job.

All in all, “The Haunting in Connecticut” is a good horror film that just might be worth your money if you’re looking for a scare. The movie experience probably won’t be as good on DVD unless you have surround sound – it’s definitely best seen in the theater.

Sound really helps deliver the scares. Though it’s not a great or amazing horror film, “The Haunting” still does a decent job delivering scares while having a plot that makes sense.

-Kyle West is a professional writing junior.