Scarecrow-88 Groan. Here's another yawner with so many loud bangs and "this is the time to freak out or jump" cues (the soundtrack is quite noisy and never- ending), it doesn't have time to breathe. Slaves were supposedly rescued by a stationmaster considered a hero in Southern history, but the film points out how this wasn't the case. A taxidermist by trade, it was told down through generations he helped provide refuge and escape for slaves, only with help by a ghost named Mr. Gordy (talking to a child, the daughter of lead Abigail Spencer) do we learn the real truth. An ancestor of Mr. Gordy, the stationmaster did some horrible misdeeds with his taxidermy skills. With Chad Michael Murray (of One Tree Hill) as Spencer's husband (he's all complacent and okay with his daughter's talking to Mr. Gordy, for whom she's the only one who sees him) and the sexy-as-hell Katee Sackoff as Spencer's sister (escaping bad relationships with men and sober from the drink) in the cast, all eventually dealing with the ghosts of the slaves of Pine Mountain and the evil spirit of the stationmaster, with frequent visits to a well where a special hidden room reveals some unpleasant examples of taxidermy in secret.Cicely Tyson is made up to almost resemble a corpse, her eyes discolored and for whatever reason she has horse teeth in her mouth. I was clueless as to why she's made up this way. Her character had relatives that vanished and were never seen again; later, the film shows us where they've been "kept" for quite some time. This is one of those unnecessary characters that knows a child knows. It is like that scene in The Shining when Scatman Crothers addresses "the shine" with Danny Lloyd in the kitchen; Tyson seems to know that the little girl has the ability to see what many others can't. It is basically what Sackoff told the child earlier, but Spencer tries to fend off their embracing of this gift.The film commits fully to "ghost fades" and constant appearances of apparitions popping up practically in every damn scene! Sackoff deserves better than to be lying on the floor with thread strings protruding from her mouth, needled to the roof of an abandoned trailer. Surprising to see a talent like Spencer in something abysmal as this "depiction of a true story". She sees her dead mother and has a "gift" where dead people are visible to her (as they are for the kid and Sackoff) all the time, as pills seem to help very little. Chad just kind of goes with the flow, not all that concerned that the women in his life see dead people. It is all nonchalant and meh to him, although he does rise to the occasion when his daughter's life is in jeopardy. There is a Baptist version of an exorcism (obviously there's *got* to be an exorcism, right?) that does little to help stop the ghosts from hanging around. You do get to see the child finally receive help riding her bike as Mr. Gordy gives her a push. Yeah. And what's up with that title? Sheesh. Why tie yourself to an even worse ghost film? The direction is too busy with all the ghostly visits and warnings of the boogeyman to tell a story in a way that feels like editing ADHD style.You get near drowning in a bathtub, puked out maggots and roaches, rotted corpses, sack-head racists performing taxidermy on a taxidermist, slave corpses in a well, slave ghosts leading a way to their current resting place, a ghoul whose hideous face is stitched to a potato sack, and numerous spectres unafraid to hide themselves. This is a lot of effects, both in what you see and hear, but it is all tiresome instead of scary.

loomis78-815-989034 A young family moves into a historic Georgia home which is being haunted by a ton of spirits. Lisa (Spencer) has the gift of seeing ghosts since she was a child and has passed it down to her child Heidi (Lind). Heidi is communicating with a spirit named Mr. Gordy (Grant James) and even though Lisa has the gift, she doesn't want it and refuses to believe her daughter. Lisa's sister Joyce (Sackhoff) is annoyed by this as the houses' past is tied to the hiding of slaves. The movie takes on a mystery angle as the family and audience isn't sure if Mr. Gordy's spirit is friendly or evil. Connecticut in Georgia? OK, this in name sequel only is based on a true story, but it's hard to tell what parts that might be. This is certainly watchable as a supernatural spook show especially early on as shadows and things move in the background. Young actress Emily Alyn Lind as Heidi turns in a very strong performance. All though the movie is competently made the movie never really rises above mediocre chills and the mystery angle just isn't that compelling. In the end it serves as a watchable time waster.

sasha-m-robinson The Haunting in Conneticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2012) It wasn't until about halfway through the film that I realized this sequel, in a bold/confusing/weird move, has absolutely nothing to do with the original, aside from the very tenuous plot connection of a family moving into a house where they experience the paranormal consequences of the actions of the previous tenants. On the one hand, not much more could likely have been milked out of the first family's story- on the other hand, we've seen sequels try to continue and up the ante on the paranormal activities of the same ghosts on different people. This was definitely a different choice- and apparently one that will be continued in the 3rd installment in the series, apparently set in New York.In this sequel, ('inspired', 'based on', whatever, a true story) a family with a history of paranormal sensitivity moves to Georgia, followed shortly by the mother's sister, who is also prone to seeing spirits. When the two women were girls, they were often terrified by a "dark figure" only they could see and could sense was evil. Shortly after, the family's young daughter starts to have conversations with an invisible man and her mother begins to worry that her own neuroses are being visited upon her daughter. After consulting with several different types of experts, the family begins to learn the history behind their property and why their daughter might be experiencing these visitations. Partly through research and partly by accident they learn some uncomfortable truths about the violent past of the area and its inhabitants. Things I liked: -The setting. The deep, woodsy south is always a great setting for scares! -The little girl. Her performance was the only one not utterly forgettable- not overdone, engaging, etc. -The ultimate resolution: good setup for a haunting- not incredibly original but not overly hackneyed.Meh: -The adults. Sorry Chad. Not likable or interesting enough to root for. -Basically the whole middle. I don't even remember half of the experts or why we're supposed to care that the Mom had similar experiences as a little girl- and I'm totally confused as to how they're supposed to be related when it was a different house??Overall, I THINK I liked it as well as or better than the original, which counts as success for a sequel, right? Or also shows that the original wasn't terrible but wasn't all that great either. I think I pretty much liked and disliked all the same components.Like this review? Read more at romyandmichele.blogspot.com

makkalulu I thought this movie was one of the best 'horror' movies I have seen. It has to be made clear at this point that this is not a 'slasher' movie, in fact there is no slashing in it at all. Hence there wasn't much 'gore' and blood spilling, but that is not to say there wasn't any horrifying imagery, actually it was quite memorable and imaginative in that regard. There wasn't much new in terms of scares but there were plenty and the makers put great effort in keeping you on edge throughout by keeping you guessing what would come next. The acting was entirely acceptable and although I was worried at first that certain characters would get annoying they turned it around by the end. The two things the movie managed to achieve extremely well were atmosphere and historical context. At the end of the day even the best horror movies rarely compare well to great movie from other genres and generally only work if you 'let yourself believe' as such this movie achieved everything it could want to achieve. It's fits well onto a list with similarly well executed films such as The Awakening, Silent Hill 1, The Orphan and Sinister and was much better than a lot of the uninspired rest. Btw, yes, the naming was silly and almost made me not watch this but that doesn't take away anything from the actual movie itself. Also it didn't feel like a 'based on a true story for the sake of it' kind of movie and I was surprised, but din't really care to find out at the end.