The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)

The Haunting in Connecticut is directed by Peter Cornwell, based on the ‘true story’ of events paranormal activities experienced by the Snedeker family in the 1980’s. The film follows cancer struck Matt Campbell and his family who move into a new home, which they learn was previously a funeral house where the bodies of several victims were laid to rest. The family start to experience supernatural events which they blame on the side-effects of Matt’s treatment, later to discover that their existence is within the presence of several sprits who inflict fright and violence on the family members.

The film, although relying on the firm foundations of the horror genre, does perpetuate the viewer into a sense of history, showing us the past events (of the house) that has caused the haunting to occur. This historical element of the film, however, doesn’t serve to enrich the viewers understanding of the present events, but rather makes the film come across as too ambitious and self indulgent for the foundations that the script would allow. The script merely conformed to rather formulaic conventions of the genre, which when combined with elements of history makes certain parts of the film come across as unnecessary, perplexed and convoluted.

The film is also rather pretentious. It seems that every action that Matt undertakes from making lunch, sleeping, looking through windows etc has a consequence. While this may offer a fright in many horror films, the fact the film is based on true events doesn’t allow for this constant scare, which should have been more subtle and attuned to the story the film was based on. This is a similar mistake films such as The Amityville Horror (2005) made. When a film is based on ‘true’ stories like this, the suspense should stay true to the story and not to the conventions of the horror genre; as these films tried to conform to. Films based on true stories like this have a huge advantage over others and unfortunately this film did not use it to its advantage.

Despite these flaws in the film, it does offer some scares, emotion, suspense and enjoyment that we would expect anyway. The film, therefore offers exactly what you will expect, but nothing more. The concept the film based on: a ‘normal’ family moving into a new haunted home, made it impossible for this film to be original from the outset purely because of the type of film it had to conform to. This is proved though the heavy use of referencing to The Shining, Number 23 and The Amityville Horror which confirms the real ambition The Haunting in Connecticut was trying to achieve. Overall, the film does offer a good experience, but when watching it, just remember all the films you have seen like this before, making this seem strangely familiar.

17 Again (2009)

17 Again, written by Jason Filardi and directed by Burr Steers stars Zac Efron in this innocent comedy film. The film starts in 1989 during a basketball match at Hayden High School. Mike O'Donnell (Zac Efron) is 17 years old, and is there to see if he is worthy of a scholarship. His girlfriend, Scarlett, told him she was pregnant just before the game started, and in the middle of the game Mike runs out of the gym to be with her, giving up the chance for a scholarship. The film then ellipses in time, showing Mike as a 37 year old man regretting it all. Mike has been turned down for a promotion at work, and is living with his best friend Ned Gold (Thomas Lennon) after Scarlett evicted him from the house. After a series of coincidental events, Mike transforms back into his 17-year-old self by the mysterious school janitor (Brian Doyle-Murray).

17 Again has better performances then expected, and actually, there is something always boiling beneath the rather shallow screenplay. When Ned has to pretend to be Mike's father in order for Mike to apply for high school, the film fragments into a thoughtful romance, which always returns to comedy with a rather serious tone. 17 Again isn’t a sloppy comedy film designed for the girls to stare at Efron for hours, but uses his persona to dig deeper into life challenges that most of us assume to be futile or even impossible. In this way, Efron uses his role in this film to achieve many of our own personal desires and wishes which can only raise his own prolific profile as a flexible actor.

On paper, the film most certainly has the potential to be a predictable comedy film, but director Burr Steers zooms in on key moments which make the film sentimental and magical. When Mike goes to Scarlett’s house and dances with her in the living room, the scene captures all the qualities of the film: comedy, magic, emotion and beauty, showing just in one scene how thoughtful and creative the film actually is. Whether the audience will view the film for Zac Efron, the story, or the Hollywood dream, you are guaranteed to find your personal desire in there somewhere. What could have been a slushy and conventional film turned out to be imaginative and potent so what are you waiting for? View it before you get too old yourself!

Marley and Me (2009)

Who is Marley and Me? Is it John Grogan? (Owen Wilson), Jenny Grogan? (Jennifer Aniston), or one of their three children? Marley and Me follows the life’s of the Grogan family and their pet Labrador Marley who transforms from an innocent puppy to a fully grown nightmare. Parallel narratives soon develop between John Grogan and his family life, and John Groan and his work life as an aspiring journalist in Southern Florida. The tensions between the two immediately step away from the traditional Hollywood formula, showing a rather sentimental outlook to a normal family life that is centred so heavily around love and commitment, immediately transpiring Marley and Me into a sentimental family film.

Despite the ellipsis in time that the film focuses on, the notion of time in this film doesn’t worsen things or discard moments from the past, but time serves as a reminder of how precious life really is and how a family unit is so integral to contemporary American life. John and Jenny try for their first child only to discover that it died in the womb. They try again and they welcome their first baby boy to the family, and again another baby boy, and finally they have a girl. No this isn’t just too perfect and convenient, but rather sentimental and aspiring, transporting the viewer into Hollywood, but a Hollywood that the viewer can finally achieve in themselves- one of family values and animals. Why don’t we all give it a go?

As time passes and the children get older, so does Marley. The past, this time of innocence and memory is fading as the tears roll down the face of the viewer. Marley is taken to the vets initially because of a problem with his stomach. He is released and sent home where he belongs, as part of American life and a family unit. His health later deteriorates and he is ‘put down’ at the vets. The film, although simple on the surface, raises issues of American life, Hollywood dreams, the past and future and even the family film as a contemporary genre. Is Marley in fact more than a dog, is a representative of the first child that Jenny never had? Does this suggest that animals are an integral element to a perfect family unit? Marley and Me is poetic, loving and an aspiring contemporary family film. In the theatre, you feel transported to a family that is far from perfect, but they are ‘real’. This is such a central ideology to the film that no one is perfect but its being ‘real’ that matters, something that Marley represented. Even though Marley did die, his spirit will live on, showing how sentimental and poetic American cinema can truly be.