The Haunting (!) In Connecticut (?)

Earlier today I put together a really nice photo blog about South by Southwest 2009 but I kept getting HTML error messages when I attempted to post. I have yet to resolve the problem and probably won't, so if you want pics of SXSW, you are SOL.

But I did get to see the movie, The Haunting in Connecticut on Friday night. It is one of those movies that is "based on a true story" so you know it has to be good. I won't bother getting into the whole sordid plot of the movie, but will drop some keywords from it: kid, (has) cancer, (needs) treatment, dad, (is an) alcoholic, house, (was a) funeral home, (had seances, in the) basement, (used) corpses, (for) rituals, (became) ghosts, (lots of) blood, (lots of) vomit, (lots of) blood, fire, reverend, (broken) light bulbs, (why does the kid still sleep in the) basement!.

I won't give away the end, suffice it to say, it could have left you very happy or disappointed, depending on your general outlook on life.

The movie relied on that common technique used in horror movies. The scene would slow down and then as you tense up, and the ladies and certain male members of the audience (you know who you are) would cover their eyes and peek out between their fingers and then...BAM! Scary ghost/monster/shadow/corpse/creature would appear in the room/mirror/house right in front of/behind/under/above the unsuspecting protagonist of the story. People in the audience would collectively shriek, laugh, cringe or act like they didn't and the movie would continue on it's merry way.

This scenario I just laid out took place every five minutes in this movie. It took place so many times your esteemed reviewer started to greet it with derision and stifled yawns, without even the hint of surprise or fear (or so I'd like to think). It was overused and the movie wasted no time on things like character development, background or special effects beyond the bare minimum required.

The title of the movie also seemed to be wanting. Yes perhaps there was a haunting and yes perhaps the haunting, did in fact, take place in Connecticut. I assume the movie people used the very simplicity and tediousness of this to make a point. The point being (in this account I am creating) that the event was so crazy-scary that no elaboration or dressing up was needed. The haunting was so badassed, and it just happened to take place in Connecticut. There was no need to make the title something like: "Death Orgy in Connecticut" or "New England House of Horror" or (my personal favorite) "Haunted Former Funeral Home That is Rented By Stupid Fucking Family That Will Not Just Leave And Stay At The Holiday Fucking Inn Down The Street".

All that being said, and I've said a lot, it wasn't the worst movie ever. The guy from the show Weeds was in it and that other guy who seems to be in other stuff was in it too. It had it's moments and for what it was, I am being perhaps a bit unduly harsh. It provided what one expects from a scary movie; a story, a scare and an ending.