Frighteningly bad

SET in the US state of Georgia, not only is this the stupidest title for a flm ever, it is defnitely not a sequel to The Haunting in Connecticut.

Aren’t Georgia and Connecticut two completely different US states? And don’t sequels continue or develop a predecessor’s story? It seems logical for the flm to be called, well I don’t know, The Haunting in Georgia.

It’s been four years since I watched the Haunting in Connecticut. I remember being in disbelief when I found out it was based on a true story … how naïve was I to think the word ‘based’ merely meant there was a family who moved into a new home in Connecticut with a son dying of cancer and they made a flm about it.

So, it was only natural that this time around, before wasting 100 minutes of my life, I researched how genuine the story actually is. Surprisingly, it’s about 40 per cent true, not that there’s proof for any of it, but personally that was enough to drag me to the cinema.

The movie immediately starts with a scare tactic. Lisa Wyrick (Spencer) is sitting on the edge of her bed looking fearful as she starts to hear voices and a shadowy fgure in the corner emerges.
 
She takes medication to control her visions and a young girl, who viewers come to realise is her daughter Heidi (Lind), comes into the room and snaps her back to reality. Heidi speaks of a new home they are moving to.

Moments later, scenes of a beat-up car driving through the countryside take the audience to a seemingly perfect little cabin tucked away in the backwoods of Southern Georgia, that has been renovated by dad Andy (Michael Murray).

When Lisa’s sister, Joyce (Katee Sackhoff) stops by for a visit, we discover that they both possess a ‘veil’, a gift that allows them to interact with the dead … and you guessed it, it’s been passed down to Heidi too.

Heidi begins talking to ‘ghosts’, one in particular named Mr Gordy, and the family slowly starts to uncover a history of secrets about their home and the area in which they are living.

Yes – been there … done that! As with every horror story, there’s plenty of predictable twists with scares you can see coming a mile away; lights fickering, whispers in the distance, a scare around every corner and doors slamming. The movie poster will probably terrify you more than the flm itself.

It’s hard to believe that this is based on true events as it is completely unrealistic. However, the one thing the movie has to its credit is a solid cast.

Lind as little Heidi is the most impressive. She carries the movie even when she’s standing on her own with just a spotlight over her head.

Murray unfortunately hasn’t developed his acting skills since he aired on the teen drama One Tree Hill … I guess it’s a good thing he just had to run around and attract a younger market.
Spencer and Sackhoff did the best they could with the script they were given and were believable as concerned and loving characters.

To top it all off, the most ridiculous ending ruins this flm’s chances of ever reaching the top ten horror ficks of the year, even with its competitors being just as bad. Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia is a good time waster if you’re willing to lose faith in the true story genre.

*Showing in Cineco, Saar Cineplex, Seef