Movies based on "true stories" usually take massive liberties with the facts, and The Haunting in Connecticut is definitely one of those films that dialed the drama up to eleven. You remember it, right? The 2009 supernatural thriller featured a family moving into a former mortuary to be closer to their son’s cancer treatment, only to find out the basement was basically a portal to hell. But while the ghosts and the "ectoplasm" scenes were pure Hollywood, the The Haunting in Connecticut cast brought a level of emotional weight that kept the movie from feeling like a cheap jump-scare fest.
The film actually performed surprisingly well at the box office, raking in over $77 million against a much smaller budget. It hit that sweet spot of late-2000s horror where the focus shifted from "torture porn" back to classic haunted house vibes. Honestly, looking back at it now, the casting was pretty inspired. You had a mix of seasoned Academy Award nominees and rising stars who actually made you care if they got dragged into a wall or not.
The Campbell Family: Virginia Madsen and the Emotional Core
Virginia Madsen led the film as Sara Campbell. At that point, she was still riding high from her Oscar-nominated turn in Sideways, and her presence gave the movie immediate credibility. She wasn't just playing a "scream queen." She was playing a mother terrified of losing her son to cancer, which arguably is scarier than any ghost. Madsen’s performance is subtle. She carries this weary, desperate energy throughout the film. Since 2009, she’s stayed incredibly busy, appearing in shows like Designated Survivor and Swamp Thing. She’s one of those actors who just works constantly, though many horror fans still associate her primarily with her iconic role in the original Candyman.
Then you have Kyle Gallner. He played Matt Campbell, the son battling cancer who starts seeing the dead. Gallner is basically the king of "troubled youth" roles in horror. If you’ve watched Jennifer's Body, the A Nightmare on Elm Street remake, or the more recent Scream (2022) and Smile, you know his face. He’s got this intense, wide-eyed look that makes him perfect for supernatural thrillers. In The Haunting in Connecticut, he had to go through hours of makeup to look sickly and eventually covered in etched symbols. He’s arguably had the most consistent career in the genre out of the whole group.
Supporting Players Who Stole the Show
It’s easy to forget that Elias Koteas was in this movie. He played Reverend Popescu, the man who tries to help the family navigate the spiritual mess they’ve moved into. Koteas is a phenomenal character actor—you might know him as Casey Jones from the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or from his long stint on Chicago P.D. He brought a certain "groundedness" to the film. Instead of playing a caricature of a priest, he played a man who was also sick, creating a bond with Matt that felt surprisingly real for a movie about corpse-stuffed walls.
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Martin Donovan played the father, Peter Campbell. His character arc was honestly the most depressing. He’s a recovering alcoholic struggling with the financial burden of his son’s illness. Donovan is a staple in Christopher Nolan movies now (Tenet, Insomnia), but here, he provided the skeptical foil to the supernatural events.
The rest of the kids?
- Amanda Crew played Wendy. She went on to be a lead in Silicon Valley as Monica Hall.
- Ty Wood played the younger brother, Billy. He’s still acting, recently appearing in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Why the Casting Worked Despite the Flawed Script
Let’s be real: the script for The Haunting in Connecticut isn't a masterpiece. It relies on some pretty heavy tropes. However, the chemistry between the The Haunting in Connecticut cast made the "family in peril" dynamic believable. When Matt is screaming in the shower because he thinks his skin is being cut, the reaction from Madsen and Crew feels visceral.
The movie focuses heavily on the idea of "necroscopy" and the desecration of bodies. To make that work without it being campy, you need actors who can sell the revulsion. The scene where they find the tin box full of eyelids—yeah, that’s a real thing in the movie—is played with such straight-faced horror that you almost forget how ridiculous the premise is.
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The Real Snedeker Family vs. The Campbells
If you really want to understand the performances, you have to look at the people they were portraying. The "Campbells" were actually the Snedeker family. In 1986, Allen and Carmen Snedeker moved to Southington, Connecticut.
The real-life details are actually darker and weirder than the movie.
- The house was a former funeral home (Hallahan Funeral Home).
- They found body tags and blood drains in the basement.
- The real son, Philip, was actually struggling with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
- The "Reverend" in real life was actually the famous demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The movie swapped the Warrens for the fictional Reverend Popescu, likely for licensing reasons or to keep the focus on a more singular religious figure. But the actors had to portray a family that was being torn apart by both a medical crisis and a spiritual one. Carmen Snedeker has stated in interviews that Virginia Madsen captured her desperation well, even if the movie added a bunch of "Hollywood" scares like the house burning down (which didn't happen in real life).
Where the Cast is in 2026
It has been quite a while since this movie hit theaters. If you're looking at where the The Haunting in Connecticut cast is today, they've mostly moved into prestige television or indie horror.
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- Kyle Gallner is currently a "certified" horror icon. His performance in Strange Darling (2024) and his recurring presence in the Scream universe has made him a fan favorite at conventions.
- Virginia Madsen recently pivoted into more voice work and recurring roles on streaming dramas. She remains an advocate for the film, often speaking about how the mother-son bond was what drew her to the script in the first place.
- Amanda Crew has transitioned into directing and photography alongside her acting career. She’s become a prominent voice in the tech-comedy space due to the legacy of Silicon Valley.
The Legacy of the Film’s Production
Production took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, despite the title. Canada’s tax credits have birthed many "American" horror stories, and the cold, grey atmosphere of Winnipeg actually helped the film’s gloomy aesthetic.
Interestingly, the director, Peter Cornwell, hasn't done much in the feature film world since. This is a common trend with horror directors of that era; they often make one big splash and then move into special effects or television. But Cornwell’s choice of cast is what keeps the film on cable TV rotations every October. Without the gravitas of Madsen and Koteas, this would have been a "straight-to-DVD" bargain bin find.
Examining the Claims of "True Events"
The movie claims to be based on "true events," but researchers like Joe Nickell have debunked much of the Snedeker story. They suggested that the family’s stress, combined with the son’s medication, might have contributed to the "visions."
However, when you're watching the film, that doesn't really matter. The actors treat the ghosts as a literal threat. The way the The Haunting in Connecticut cast handled the "ectoplasm" scenes—which involved a lot of practical effects and gross-out textures—showed a commitment to the bit. There’s a specific scene where the ghosts are "breathing" into Matt; that was a grueling shoot for Gallner, involving rigs and physical discomfort that he’s talked about in retrospective interviews.
Actionable Takeaways for Horror Fans
If you are planning a rewatch or diving into this lore for the first time, keep these points in mind to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch for the Performance Over the Plot: Focus on Virginia Madsen’s portrayal of grief. It’s the most "real" thing in the movie and makes the supernatural elements feel higher stakes.
- Compare with "A Haunting": Before the movie, the story was featured on the Discovery Channel show A Haunting. Watching that episode alongside the movie shows exactly where the screenwriters added "flair" (like the eyelid thing).
- Track Kyle Gallner’s Career: If you like his work here, check out The Cleansing Hour or Dinner in America. He has incredible range that started with these early horror roles.
- Visit the Real Location (Virtually): The house in Southington still stands, though it has been renovated. Don't go there in person—the current owners are notoriously tired of tourists—but you can find the floor plans online to see how different the actual mortuary layout was compared to the movie set.
The film serves as a perfect time capsule of 2000s supernatural cinema. It’s not quite "elevated horror" like we see today with A24, but it’s a massive step up from the slasher reboots of the same era. The The Haunting in Connecticut cast is the primary reason it still holds up as a solid Friday night watch. They took a potentially silly script about "ghost-writing" on skin and made it a story about a family's breaking point.