True Tale Of Haunting

HOME

ABOUT JACKIE

NEWS

BOOKS

MOVIES

VIDEOS

TELEVISION

COLUMNS

LINKS

CONTACT

Virginia Madsen and Kyle Gallner in The Haunting In Connecticut"
courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment

“True Tale of Haunting”

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and sometimes a story would not be believable were it not true. “The new DVD “The Haunting In Connecticut” is supposedly based on a true story and that makes its plot all the more intriguing. As horror/thrillers go the movie is too reminiscent of “The Amityville Horror” to break new ground. Still if you want a film that raises some chill bumps on your arms and has a fairly good plot to hold things together, you could do worse.

The trump card in the deck of this story is the fact the teenage son in the film has cancer. He is taking treatment that may be causing him to hallucinate. Matt Campbell (Kyle Gallner) moves into a rental house close to where he receives treatment for his cancer. He lives with his mother Sara (Virginia Madsen), his brother, sister and a cousin. Matt’s father Peter (Martin Donovan) stays in another city where he is employed.

Immediately upon moving into the house, Matt begins to see phantoms and to be plagued by other nightmarish visuals. He is the only one in the family who is affected this way. Eventually he identifies a young man who was known as Jonah (Eric J Berg). This “ghost” seems to be trying to communicate with Matt.

Later the whole family gets into the ghost action after they learn the house once served as a funeral home, and that séances were held there. Meanwhile Matt’s illness gets worse and worse. He meets a preacher (Elias Koteas) at one of his treatments and convinces him to come to the house. The preacher is convinced the house is possessed.

All of the “scare” sequences are done without being overly gory. It is the impact of the situations that creates the most fear rather than “gotcha” type events. That is not to say it isn’t scary, but it isn’t terrifying.

The acting in the movie is above average with Gallner being most impressive as the victimized Matt. Madsen is also good as the mother who is more concerned with losing her son than fighting ghosts. Donovan adds complexity to the story as Peter, a man who is trying to hold his family together while at the same time fighting an alcohol problem.

Koteas is totally convincing as a man with a terrible illness who is also trying to help a family fight against possession. He projects the right amount of world weariness and wisdom.

“The Haunting In Connecticut” is worth watching just for the thrill of it all. It carries more of an impact because of the statement that it is based on “the true story.” Plus the cancer treatment meshed against the possession of the house makes for a unique angle on which to hang the story.

Keira Knightley is one of my favorite actresses. I would watch her in anything. Most of her movies are either critical or box office successes and sometimes both. Therefore I was a little surprised to learn her latest film “The Edge of Love” had gone pretty much directly to DVD.

Knightley stars in this film alongside Cillian Murphy, Mathew “Brothers & Sisters” Rhys and Sienna Miller. Now that is a strong cast. Plus the story is strong as it tells about two women who are in love with the poet Dylan Thomas (Rhys). One is his wife (Miller) and one is his childhood friend (Knightley).

The film takes place during World War II and the war has an impact on the story. It is supposedly based on truth so the happenings are believable. The entire cast is outstanding with Knightley being the best of the best.

“ER” has had its final show but it still lingers in the hearts of its fans – and they are plentiful. These fans and anyone else interested in “ER” will want to get the DVD “ER: The Complete Eleventh Season.”

This DVD contains all twenty-two episodes of this season plus some unaired scenes. The stories in this season were varied and complex and full of intense drama as well as general entertainment appeal. It was in this season that Dr. Carter (Noah Wylie) left County General. He was one of the last holdouts of the original cast.

So get your “ER” fill with this six disc DVD set and watch Wylie, Maura Tierney, Shane West, Laura Innes, Sherry Stringfield and the rest of the cast. “ER” is a special show and this is a special DVD. It is “ER: The Complete Eleventh Season.”

Click above to find out more about Jackie's books!