Movie Review: A Haunting In Connecticut

Yesterday, I finally had the chance to watch this movie. It was the same story shown on the A Haunting series of Discovery Channel but with many alterations, as expected (watch the video below). I found the movie suspenseful and moderately spooky. Some scenes are gross and disturbing but I think that much is expected since they dubbed this as one of the most known supernatural events documented. I will not overrate it, though.

The movie was about a family who was forced to move their residence to a place near a hospital where one of the kids were being treated for cancer. Burdened by financial constraints, they rented a house with a lower cost but with a grim past. Soon after they moved into the house, strange things began to occurr, especially to the ill child, Matt. It was a steep price to pay as their lives ( and sanity, I think! Gosh I'd lose my mind if I had to live on a place like that!) were brought into danger.

The movie was scary, but not edge-of-your-seat scary. Some of the scenes were visually disturbing. Personally, I found some aspects of the Discovery Channel's version scarier than the movie. There's more of a silent, creepy atmosphere generated by the series. Maybe because, of the narrator, or the interviews from the actual people involved, or the spookier appearance made of the house. Of course, the visual effects of the movie were better but the series' had more of a real feel to it. Like the last part where the house was being teared apart, I thought it was just gross and the effects were exaggerated, it didn't scare me any longer, quite unlike the Discovery's version were the spookiness was sustained. I think its because the Discovery's version stayed truer to the facts and the movie just cannot do the same. They had to show something more on the big screen, perhaps.

Still, it will do for a bit of a scare. Maybe, I would have liked it more if I hadn't seen the tv version first. I admit some of the scenes really caught me and surprised me, so I can still say its quite scary. As for myself, I'd do anything just to be out of that house once I find out what it was. I try to understand the family though, they didn't have much of a choice and maybe they even did some good.

So next time anyone of us might think of staying in another place, let's think twice and consider ourselves warned...