The Haunting in Connecticut
Lionsgate | Release Date: March 27, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
33
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
11
Negative:
11
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
63
Charlotte ObserverRoger Moore
Sinks or swims with the actors. Gallner makes a very convincing boy-about-to-die; Madsen is his properly stricken mom; and Donovan, an under-used leading man, plays the stressed, guilt-ridden dad well. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeFore
Haunting tweaks familiar tropes enough to make them interesting. Just not so interesting as to inspire many nightmares after the credits roll. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Don't misunderstand: the proceedings are pretty silly, and the scares were a lot fresher back in 1979, when we first saw "The Amityville Horror." But Cornwell and his cast take things just seriously enough to keep us at least intermittently on edge. Read full review
50
VarietyJoe Leydon
Long on atmosphere yet short on dramatic tension. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A technically proficient horror movie and well acted. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
The movie bumps along from low-grade scare to scare, and it's not lousy, mainly because Virginia Madsen prevents it from being so. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad Derakhshani
A tepid PG-13 iteration of the already lame 1979 genre classic "The Amityville Horror." Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Although it's reasonably well-acted and offers a few certifiable jolts, feels awfully familiar. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
You have to be willing to take a lot of punishment for a few good scares. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyAdam Markovitz
Smart enough to put much of its weight on Gallner, a lively presence with a terrifically sour mug that makes him look like a mutual cousin of Willem Dafoe and Peter Lorre. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesMark Olsen
Part of what makes "Connecticut" oddly watchable even as it drags is the oil-and-water mix of acting styles of the leads. Virginia Madsen's refined naturalism is an awkward fit with the sharp mannerisms of Martin Donovan. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
It loses steam once the wraiths become fully visible: they're just not scary enough. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Boring and uninspired, this movie gives ghost stories a bad name. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
Not very haunty. Read full review
38
TV Guide MagazineJason Buchanan
A film that pays lip service to some interesting ideas, but is far too concerned with pleasing a large crowd to be anything more than another instantly forgettable fright flick. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
As a piece of storytelling, The Haunting In Connecticut is pretty lazy. As a horror movie, it’s lazier still, bringing out every annoying shock-cut and disorienting sound-design trick of the last decade. Read full review
30
Village VoiceScott Foundas
In the realm of domestic horror, The Haunting in Connecticut is about as scary as a shower that suddenly changes temperature when someone flushes the toilet. Read full review
30
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Gives you the creeps, the giggles and the groans in almost equal measure. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
There is still a great horror movie about foreclosure to be made. In the meantime, this movie plays games. (How many rounds of hide-and-seek should an audience tolerate?) Read full review
25
PremiereRob Calvert
When the hits finally do come, they are really only capable of scaring 13-year-olds making their first trip into the horror genre. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
C'mon, in matters of haunted-house inhabitation, settling into an ex-mortuary is like renting above a dentist's office -- ashen faces and ghastly screams come with the territory. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Contains so many insults to the audience's intelligence. Read full review
11
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Koteas' overearnest performance almost makes The Haunting in Connecticut worth a look, but ultimately even the star of Cronenberg's "Crash" can't salvage what is essentially a substandard rip-off of "The Amityville Horror." Read full review
More From This Movie

33 Critic Reviews

6.1 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 71 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL