The Haunting of Connecticut (2009) Full Story

The story is about a family that is not too rich who have to rent an old house to get closer to the hospital. Sara Campbell (played by Virginia Madsen) is a mother who is almost frustrated caring for her son Matt (played by Kyle Gallner) who has end-stage cancer. Matt is undergoing chemotherapy treatment at a hospital that is quite a distance from their home. Matt, who is sick, often suffers in cars either heading or returning from the hospital. Sara was very heartless and asked her husband, Peter(played by Martin Donovan) to find a new home closer to the hospital where Matt is being treated. But their finances were very thin because of Matt's enormous medical expenses until Peter refused.

On a trip home from the hospital, Matt's condition deteriorated in the car until Sara decided to postpone her return home and find a place to stay overnight. By chance, he found an old house that was rented out. He immediately decided to rent the house and pay the rent that night and they slept there. Actually, that night, Matt had seen strange images around him, which when he approached disappeared. But he thought it was only a matter of life. Because doctors say if one of the side effects of treatment is to experience hallucinations. Matt decided to keep his vision a secret, even when he saw the water in the bucket that his mother used to mop up was blood.

Peter was angry when he found out that Sara rented a house without discussing it with him. Sara defended herself by saying that if the cost of renting a house was very cheap, they could still afford it. Indeed the rent is very cheap and the house is extraordinarily large. Finally, their family decided to move to that place, including Peter and his younger brother Billy (played by Ty Wood) and his two cousins Mary (played by Sophi Knight) and Wendi (played by Amanda Crew). Matt gets the most spacious room in the basement, while the others are on the first floor.

Matt's vision of the haunting spirit was increasingly clear, but it seemed that none of the houses felt it. Matt was getting depressed and the pain was getting worse. On a regular visit to the hospital, Matt accidentally met a priest named Popescu(played by Elias Koteas) who apparently also has cancer. From their conversation, Matt found out that Popescu could also see the existence of ghosts or spirits. According to him, it is because of the condition of their body that is sick, it makes them more easily affected by negative energy. Matt told him about his experience and Popescu suggested that Matt stop dodging. The only way to stop the ghost from bothering him is to know what he wants. Matt had to dare to ask so that the ghost could take care of his unfinished business.

Even though he had ventured, but Matt still didn't understand what the ghost wanted. While his vision has gotten worse and turned into a kind of possession. He seemed to see the shadow of a boy his age and a bearded old man who was writing something on someone's body that looked dead. The old man also cut the corpse's eyelids until his eyeballs were visible. But the vision was never perfect, Matt always awoke in the middle of his vision. While the ghost who disturbed him was getting more frequent and closer to him. His figure is horrible with a face full of scars like burns.

Matt suffered a lot and the pain got worse. Wendi, his cousin of the same age, tried to persuade him to tell him what he had in mind. Matt told him everything he had seen and Wendi decided to find out more by doing research in the regional library. From there Wendi learned about the haunted house story. It turned out that the house was a mortuary house, where a makeup artist would bathe and decorate the bodies before being buried. The makeup artist named Aickman (played by John Bluethner) lives with a teenage boy named Jonah(played by Eric J Berg) who works as his assistant. It turned out that Jonah had paranormal abilities. He can communicate with the soul of the deceased and is willing to do it to anyone who wants to pay.

Many victims' families asked for their help in communicating with their relatives and the mortuary was increasingly famous. Aickman turns greedy and wants to get more profits. He then studied ancient magic that used corpses as its medium. He then stole all the bodies handed over to his corpse and filled their coffins with sandbags. The bodies were written with a kind of spell, their eyelids pulled out and hidden inside the house.

They carried out this ritual so that Jonah's paranormal power would be even greater. And indeed, if Jonah had previously only been able to communicate alone with spirits then tell the results to the families of the victims. After the ritual, his strength increases. He can summon the ghost directly and give a vision to his family. At one time, suddenly in the house found the bodies of people who were visiting, all of them burned to death including Aickman. But Jonah's body was never found.

Wendi and Matt then decided to ask for Popescu's help to drive away the ghosts who were roaming the house. But he acted wrongly. He did manage to drive one spirit out of the house, which he later realized that the spirit was Jonah the paranormal. Jonah then told Popescu the real situation. That in fact, he was the one who had been acting as the guard of the house. He died at an event where the ghost he called was stronger than him. All ritual participants were killed except him. Aickman had stolen about a hundred bodies and stored them in the house. They were spirits full of anger because Aickman had tied them with magic spells so that they could not rest in peace. Jonah was the one who guarded Campbell's family all this time,

Popescu who knew this immediately called Campbell's family to notify them to leave the house immediately, because the house had become a dangerous place for them to live. But Sara and Peter are going to the hospital because Matt suddenly fainted. Wendi was told to stay look after the other children. At the hospital, Matt meets Jonah's ghost and repeats the same story.

Matt, who already knew that his illness had been cured, decided to do something. He returned to the house and told Wendi and his siblings to come out. Matt then destroys the basement wall which is his room and finds many corpses placed overlapping inside the wall. The bodies did not rot because Aickman used a lot of formalin to preserve it. Matt then burned the entire body in hopes, the fire would erase all the spells Aickman had written on the body so they could be free from the influence of magic.

In the process it was seen that the burning spirits then gathered and stood around Matt. Then together they touched Matt's head. In a state of resignation, Matt could only fall to his knees and close his eyes, while the fire had spread through almost all parts of the old house. Sara manages to enter by breaking through the fire and finds Matt lying on the floor. He saw many corpses in the room but could not see the spirits standing around Matt. He pulled Matt's body under the table to protect it from the burning boards that were falling. They were saved by the fire department.

Matt fainted then realized and saw Popescu's father, mother, and pastor nearby. Popescu saw a shadow coming out of Matt's body when he regained consciousness. The image was Jonah who then stood beside Popescu, but Matt could no longer see his presence. After being examined by a doctor, Matt was declared miraculously healed. His stage four cancer is gone without a trace. It seems that it has something to do with the event where the crowd of spirits lay their hands on Matt's head. Matt thought that was when the spirits took cancer from his body, as a thank you.

Movie Trailer

Release: March 27, 2009
Director: Peter Cornwell
Writer: Adam Simon
Cast: Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gardner, Martin Donovan, Amanda Crew, Elias Koteas
Studio: Lionsgate