Film review: The Haunting in Connecticut

* (15)DIRECTED BY: PETER CORNWELLSTARRING: VIRGINIA MADSEN, MARTIN DONOVAN, ELIAS KOTEAS, KYLE GALLNER

STICKING with the absurdity of religion, here's another example of the damage currently being wrought on movies (see last week's Knowing) in the name of the Lord, who as this film likes to remind us, works in mysterious ways – which is convenient when you've got a hokey story you want make some cash from. The Haunting is Connecticut is certainly that. Based on a true tale, it wants to turn us into true believers. The sermonising begins almost from the off when the cancer-stricken teenage son (Kyle Gallner) of the cash-strapped, rosary-bead-carrying Campbell clan (headed by Virginia Madsen and fellow indie stalwart Martin Donovan) starts having hellish visions of their new house, a former funeral home with a sinister history. The film flirts with some red herrings to explain away his visions, but soon leaves us in no doubt that we're supposed to suspect higher powers are at work. Worse, it has the audacity to scold sceptics by issuing a warning to anyone who doubts the story's veracity, which is a bit rich given it can't even convince as the latest in a long line of duff Amityville Horror rip-offs.