Cast: Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner, Elias Koteas, Amanda Crew, Martin Donovan, Sophi Knight, Ty Wood, EriK J. Berg; Director: Peter Cornwell; Producers: Paul Brooks, Daniel Farrands, Wendy Rhoads, Andrew Trapan; Screenwriters: Adam Simon, Tim Metcalfe; Music: Robert J. Kral; Editor: Tom Elkins; Genre: Horror-Suspense; Cinematography: Adam Swica; Distributor: Lionsgate Films; Location: USA; Running Time: 105 min.;Technical Assessment: 2.5
Moral Assessment: 2.5
CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14 and above
Sara Campbell (Virginia Madsen), a doting wife and mother with her husband Peter (Martin Donovan), a recovering alcoholic decide to buy an old and almost dilapidated house in Connecticut, despite its “past” to be nearer the hospital where their teenage son Matt (Kyle Gallner) is receiving an experimental treatment for cancer. As soon as they move in, Matt decides to use the basement as his bedroom and at once starts having creepy visions. The family dismisses these strange hallucinations as effects of his sickness and the treatment and decides to remain in the house. When Matt’s cousin Wendy (Amanda Crew) realizes that the visions the boy Matt has been seeing are the same ones in the old pictures she found, they decide to investigate further. Eventually they find out that the house had been a funeral parlor with people conducting séances and the participants dying except for the owner’s son Jonah (Erik J. Berg) who has mysteriously vanished. Matt realizes that the spirits of the dead people are still living and hunting the house and he must try to put them at peace.
One good thing about The Hunting In Connecticut is skillful sound engineering. The sound effects have been tediously and meticulously applied to create a convincing scary atmosphere. Other than this, the movie is clich̩ and flat. The performances are unrealistic and weak, the storyline develops predictably and the script follows an old and tired formula. The spiritual points of view become confusing with frequent references to the Bible and to God interspersed with occult beliefs. The strong Christian references in the movie are watered down by the equally strong pagan practices. Disturbingly, this has become the custom of some Catholics. Today, you will see people who combine their faith practices with pagan beliefs or compromise their Gospel values when convenient Рfor instance commitment to the spouse can be abandoned and justified one has fallen in love with someone else.
As in any horror movie, spirits are portrayed as violent and revengeful. The movie contains several gory scenes that may offend the sensitivities of most viewers. Parents need to guide their children when watching.
