As a disclaimer, I'm going to say that I generally do not enjoy the "horror" genre. Well, the horror genre of today, I suppose. I could go on for hours about how movies aren't really very scary anymore, in the sense that I get scared. There are no more Alfred Hitchcock's in the film industry. But that post is for another day. The Haunting in Connecticut, apparently based on a true story (but what horror movie isn't anymore?), gave me every single reason to hate it. It threw every horror cliché (i.e., following strange and scary noises into a dark basement), it gave some cheap thrills (i.e., "people" randomly walking/standing somewhere in the house and only the audience sees them), and it has characters who happen to be randomly brilliant and understand the reason for all of these "occurrences." For the majority of the first half of the film, I was laughing. Granted, I jumped once or twice, but that's what cheap thrills do: you jump, then you forget about them. There's no lasting effect - no lasting fear. Still, despite all of these reasons to completely bash this film, I thoroughly enjoyed it. All the way home, I racked my brain (whilst deliberately driving past a graveyard to prove to my friend that the movie did not scare me) as to why I actually liked the movie, and I came to this conclusion: it all lies within the acting. This is not your standard teen slasher flick (See: When a Stranger Calls or the remake of Halloween) with terrible acting but ridiculously good-looking females. This time around, the actors actually act, which is a concept unknown to most in the horror genre. The fact that it's well-acted made me create more of a connection with the characters rather than view them as ridiculous, expendable and altogether deserving of the terrible fate they would get. Gallner leads the way as a teenager stricken with cancer and the real centerpiece of the supernatural happenings. Madsen does a stand-up job as the mother trying to come to terms with her son's ultimate demise. Koteas plays a preacher who happens to understand what's going on within the house. Yes, the characters are cliché, but the actors make the characters believable and worthy of your sympathy. So again, the acting makes the movie in this one. Now, as I said before, this is not your typical horror movie of today. It's more of a psychological thriller along the lines of The Number 23, in which Madsen also starred. So if you're looking for a chance to see some blood and guts and relentless sex, this isn't for you. You should probably go watch the remakes of Friday the 13th or The Last House on the Left. They'll probably appeal to you so much more.
Review of The Haunting in Connecticut
