Das Haus der Dämonen 2

Claiming to be based on a true story, "The Haunting in Connecticut 2" follows a young family who have just moved into a new home in Georgia. Not long after their arrival, the daughter, Heidi (Emily Alyn Lind) begins to see people in and around their home. One ghost who seems to be extremely menacing is Mr. Gordy, who is discovered to be the last inhabitant of the home. The family also learns that their house was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. The station-master who lived there saved the lives of many slaves, but was discovered and killed. As the ghosts become more threatening and begin getting physical, it is only a matter of time before Heidi is hurt, or even killed.

This film can be described in four simple words. Dumb title, good movie. I had extremely low expectations for "Ghosts of Georgia". Direct-to-VOD horror movie sequels are usually pretty bad as it is, but with a first time director, I definitely didn't expect much. Luckily I can say that I was very pleasantly surprised. By no means is this a great movie, but it is certainly enjoyable.

The plot is actually pretty original and very creepy. The most impressive part is the fantastic back-story. I loved the way it used a part of American history to serve as the back-story. The flashback scenes were pretty well-done, but the non-stop camera cuts got old after a while.

The acting is pretty impressive given the type of movie. Abigail Spencer's character is very annoying, but her acting is pretty good. Chad Michael Murray was... well he was Chad Michael Murray. Katee Sackhoff definitely brought a lot to the movie. She was a comic-relief, but was also very serious when needed.

However, the most impressive performance was by Emily Alyn Lind, who played Heidi. Just like Megan Charpentier in "Mama", Lind carries "Ghosts of Georgia". It is important to have a good child actor, especially when they are on screen almost the entire time, and Lind doesn't disappoint. She really effectively conveys how terrified she is, without going over the top.

Director Tom Elkins does a pretty solid directing job, especially for his first film. While the direction is a little rough around the edges, he did a better job than most would. For the most part, Elkins managed to keep a high level of suspense. Unfortunately most of the jump scares were aided by sudden bursts of music. Plus the constant switching from black and white to color at the end got annoying and nauseating very quickly.

Overall, "The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia" was an above-average horror sequel, with many exciting twists and turns. The movie managed to keep my attention the whole time, and I would've watched it for another hour. It's not a great movie, but it's fun, and that's all I care about. I will be looking forward to a sequel, especially if David Coggeshall comes back as the writer.

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First off, let's just get something out of the way. "The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia" never had a chance to succeed. With a paradoxical title like that, audiences are given a red flag immediately. If the producers of a movie can't decide on a better name for a film, then how could they make bigger decisions during production? Just pick a name! Was "Ghosts of Georgia" any more generic than "The Haunting in Connecticut?" The reason I sound so frustrated is because it deserves better.

The Wyrick family moves into a country house in Georgia. Their daughter, Heidi, soon begins telling her parents she talks to a man who warns they're in danger. Upon investigating, they find out their house is located on land once owned by a stationmaster of the Underground Railroad. The souls of the slaves are restless and begin haunting the family for unknown reasons.

Director Tom Elkins and writer David Coggeshall put together quite an impressive ghost story with "The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia." While "based on a true story," it's obvious some creative license is utilized to spice things up. However, there are some genuinely frightening moments that will resonate with viewers. Let's just say Elkins and Coggeshall know our innermost fears and exploits them.

The entire cast of "The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia" put forth their best efforts and embrace their individual characters. You can tell they took the material seriously and ran with it. Chad Michael Murray plays the father of the family. Abigail Spencer takes on the role of the mother. Katee Sackhoff portrays Spencer's free-spirited sister who comes to live with them. Emily Alyn Lind is perfect in as the little girl Heidi. She embraces the role straight-faced with an air of authentic innocence.

"The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia" is a good supernatural tale that should have been released in theaters like its predecessor. There are nice twists to the story, the acting is good, and the scares are genuinely creepy. Maybe it's selfish, but I was looking forward to seeing the movie on a big screen in a quiet atmosphere where it could have my full attention. Seeing the movie at home will provide genre fans with a satisfying experience, too.

This is loosely based on real events, which doesn't help explain the completely absurd title. Research into the Wyrick hauntings won't ruin the film for you however as the only comparison to recorded events are the names of the characters.

As with any horror movie these days there are plenty of stock thrills: ghosts in white dresses, waking from a dream to find you are still in a dream, swings that move by themselves etc. The best thing about this film is that the characters are quite likable and you do become invested in their welfare. There's enough twists and turns to keep you guessing at the real nature of the evil. The breakout star is Emily Alyn Lind, who is so adorable that you want to reach into the movie and rescue her yourself, her plight not helped by her somewhat inconscient father who encourages her friendship with an old dead guy if it means directions to hidden treasure. His commitment to his daughter is only outweighed by his commitment to their hapless rescue dog.

The two female leads are nicely balanced. All the women in this 'see dead people', and it's how they handle it that is the crux of the film, their conflicting reactions and opinions driving the plot forward as the truth is revealed. This is obviously low budget, shots of the forest using various filters providing the atmosphere, the gore is minimal and the special effects fairly low key, but enough here to give you a tingle, even if it's only the fact that Mr Gordy really did appear to Heidi and he gets his photo in the end credits.

A small family moves into a home in Georgia only to discover they are not alone. Soon they realize that the house holds a mysterious past...

Although I do not understand the title or the need to call it a sequel I thought this movie was good. It offered a solid background story with outstanding acting. The movie starts well paced and keeps going until the end. The climax I found to be a bit outlandish but good and the ending offers a good resolution the story. The horror scenes are well placed and not overdone. The set ties in well with the story and the production quality is excellent. This film will satisfy the horror movie junkie and is well worth your time.

I'm not really sure why they called this movie The Haunting in Connecticut 2 when all of it takes place in Georgia, other than to tie it to the equally not scary The Haunting In Connecticut from a few years back, but my best advise is to pass on this one until you can see it for free on cable because you will get more scares out of this story on cable on Destination America. We were pleasantly surprised when this story began and the little girl started talking about seeing a Mr. Gordy and realized that this story was based on a haunted house story we saw on the Destination America series A Haunting. Sorry to report, the episode on A Haunting is twice as scary as this clunker with probably a tenth of the effects budget. Abigail Spencer is pretty good as the mom who sees dead people and it's good to see Katee "Starbuck" Sackhoff in something other than Battlestar Gallactica, but this movie generates almost no scares and builds virtually no tension. And once you get to the meat of the back story and it tries to get all serious, you're just left with little to be afraid of. So take a pass and check out A Haunting for more frights and a much more realistic story.