East Tennessean

Issue date: 3/30/09 Section: The Scene

Media Credit: lionsgate The film "The Haunting in Conneticut," which is based on true events, will leave any viewer at the edge of their seat. [Click to enlarge]

Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, "The Haunting in Connecticut" may raise the eyebrows of even the most skeptical of viewers.
Based on the popular "A Haunting in Conneticut" 2002 episode from the "A Haunting" documentary series on the Discovery Channel, this new feature length PG-13 horror film of almost the same name released Friday, telling the true story of the cancer-stricken teenager and his family's move into an older Victorian-style house - a house that used to be a mortuary and possibly one with particularly evil past.
Having seen the documentary multiple times, I noticed several changes in the transition from the small to silver screen.
The documentary primarily focuses on the family dictating the ascension of events until the story climaxes with a seance, while the newer version weaves in back story as explanation for the occurances while maintaining the "creep out" factor at a high.
Surprisingly enough for the marjority of horror films, this one was well acted. Leading man Kyle Gallner who played the son, was entirely believable in his fear and managed to balance the dramatic and comedic aspects appropriately with a sense of ease. While Gallner is relatively unknown, he does bear a noticable resemblance to Robert Pattinson, the English actor of "Twilight," who is currently Hollywood's favorite golden boy. This will undoubtably attract female viewers to the film. Virginia Madsen, Martin Donovon, Amanda Crew and Elias Koteas were a well rounded and effective supporting cast.
Be forewarned, this movie is not completely full of sunshine and rainbows welcoming praise. I did notice a few moments and perhaps in particular, an ending that I would have liked to be replaced or redone. It was a bit too tightly wrapped up for me, but some viewers may enjoy that.
Either way, the end result for the documentary and the movie were the same.
Overall, I highly recommend the film, especially for those of us who love the supernatural. It does an excellent job of keeping the viewer interested and even managed to make a horror veteran like myself jump during more than one scene.

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