No
Avg. Critic Score: 33 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 Iffy for 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 63
    Charlotte Observer |

    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 Reporter |

    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 News | Elizabeth 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
    Chicago Tribune | Michael 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 Inquirer |

    A tepid PG-13 iteration of the already lame 1979 genre classic "The Amityville Horror." Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Although it's reasonably well-acted and offers a few certifiable jolts, feels awfully familiar. Read full review

  • 50
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    A technically proficient horror movie and well acted. Read full review

  • 42
    Entertainment Weekly |

    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

  • 25
    Boston Globe | Wesley 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
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    Contains so many insults to the audience's intelligence. Read full review

View more reviews for The Haunting in Connecticut on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Unoriginal, shoddy horror film is too gory for young kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this is a review of the movie shown in theaters and not the Unrated Special Edition, which is sure to have scarier, raw content. This "based on a true story" horror film, while milder than movies like Saw, is still too scary and disturbing for kids. It's full of mutilated bodies, bloody scenes, supernatural violence, and medical and autopsy imagery. There are also fairly serious discussions of the challenges facing a teen fighting cancer. One character is a recovering alcoholic who starts drinking again and ends up driving drunk. But the language doesn't get much stronger than "hell" and "oh my God," and sex and product placement aren't an issue.
  • Families can talk about the appeal of horror movies -- why do we like to watch things that scare us? 
  • Which is scarier: a movie with a ghostly villain or one with a real-life bad guy? Why? 
  • How accurate do movies have to be when they're "based on a true story"? Can filmmakers make changes even when they're using that label? Is that OK? Why would they want to change things?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: No strong/obvious positive messages. The question "Why do bad things hapen to good people?" is asked. Characters also talk about how "the Lord works in mysterious ways" and frankly discuss how alcohol and alcoholism affect a marriage and a family.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: No strong/obvious positive role models. Characters (including a young teen) face cancer and are concerned about being able to afford medical treatment.
What to watch for
  • violence false4 Violence: Plenty of violence and gore, with extensive depiction of blood, scars, cuts, wounds, and mass graves filled with emaciated, mutilated corpses. Ghosts take the form of mutilated corpses. Close-ups of medical instruments and procedures undertaken in the name of dark magic/sorcery/paranormal experimentation. Supernatural violence as restless spirits shove, push, and batter victims.
  • sex false1 Sexy stuff: A woman is in the shower, but nothing sensitive is shown.
  • language false2 Language: Fairly mild, including "Jesus" as an expletive, "good Lord," "oh my God," and "hell."
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters drink hard liquor. A recovering alcoholic starts drinking again, driving drunk and frightening his family; he later apologizes, atones, and tries to make amends.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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