Winchester

Name: Winchester
Genre: Biography, Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Horror
Released: February 2, 2018
Duration: 99 min
Rating: 28
Cast: Alana Fagan, Alice Chaston, Angus Sampson, Bruce Spence, Dawayne Jordan

2018

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 77 Ratings

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4.4

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4.4	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 77 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

CBS Films | Release Date: February 2, 2018 | PG-13

Starring: Alana Fagan, Alice Chaston, Angus Sampson, Bruce Spence, Dawayne Jordan, Eamon Farren, Emm Wiseman, Finn Scicluna-O'Prey, Helen Mirren, Homero Lopez, Jason Clarke, Jeff Lipary, Jeffrey W. Jenkins, John Lobato, Laura Brent, Michael Carman, Rebecca Makar, Sarah Snook, Thor Carlsson, Tyler Coppin, Xavier Gouault

Summary: On an isolated stretch of land 50 miles outside of San Francisco sits the most haunted house in the world. Built by Sarah Winchester, (Helen Mirren) heiress to the Winchester fortune, it is a house that knows no end. Constructed in an incessant twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week mania for decades, it stands seven stories tall andOn an isolated stretch of land 50 miles outside of San Francisco sits the most haunted house in the world. Built by Sarah Winchester, (Helen Mirren) heiress to the Winchester fortune, it is a house that knows no end. Constructed in an incessant twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week mania for decades, it stands seven stories tall and contains hundreds of rooms. To the outsider it looks like a monstrous monument to a disturbed woman’s madness. But Sarah is not building for herself, for her niece (Sarah Snook) or for the brilliant Doctor Eric Price (Jason Clarke) whom she has summoned to the house. She is building a prison, an asylum for hundreds of vengeful ghosts, and the most terrifying among them have a score to settle with the Winchesters.… Expand

Director: Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig

Genre(s): Biography, Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Horror

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 99 min

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Critic Reviews

RogerEbert.com Simon Abrams

Feb 2, 2018

What Winchester lacks in originality its creators amply make up for in execution. Read full review

A.A. Dowd

Feb 2, 2018

The real problem is that all that speculative fun has been shaped into a rather clunky, derivative bit of supernatural claptrap: a haunted house movie curiously low on mystery or honest scares. Read full review

Justin Chang

Feb 2, 2018

No matter how many non-sequitur jolts they manage to squeeze into these jumpy proceedings, the ability to sustain a sense of dread, to create tension that lasts beyond the immediate moment, seems dispiritingly beyond their grasp. Read full review

Stephen Dalton

Feb 2, 2018

Mirren always brings a touch of class, of course, even to deluxe schlock like this. But Clarke is something of a blank leading man while the secondary characters are mostly pale phantoms sleepwalking through a thinly drawn plot. Read full review

Marc Savlov

Feb 7, 2018

You’d think the sordid history of the Winchester house would have inspired a more evocative or even entertaining haunted house story but the Spierigs rely far too much on the sort of shock-cut du jour that has become the lazy and boring norm for so many PG-13 “horror” films of the past 15 years. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Feb 2, 2018

A staggeringly pointless supernatural non-chiller featuring some very tiresome jump scares. Read full review

Peter Travers

Feb 5, 2018

It shouldn't happen to anyone, much less a Dame – not a movie of such barreling awfulness as Winchester, which strands the great Helen Mirren in a gothic house of cards that collapses on actors and audiences alike. Read full review

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User Reviews

meydianarizki21

Oct 17, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There are some things that I don't like about this film, namely the stories that should be packaged for real, but there are some stories written by the director so this film seems no longer based on a true story. Especially at the Winchester mystery house, in San Jose, California there are tours that can visit Winchester Palace. Why not just film in the original palace?… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

GinaK

Feb 5, 2018

Having adored the Spierig Brothers 2015 film Predestination (“an unpredictable thrill ride” and “mind-bending trip” with an “awesome” performance by Ethan Hawke), I was expecting a totally different kind of film – an original one that might do with horror what Predestination did with timeHaving adored the Spierig Brothers 2015 film Predestination (“an unpredictable thrill ride” and “mind-bending trip” with an “awesome” performance by Ethan Hawke), I was expecting a totally different kind of film – an original one that might do with horror what Predestination did with time travel. Nope. Winchester is a tame, nicely crafted and very well-acted haunted house film with no originality whatsoever. I gave it as high a grade as I did because I wasn’t bored and the house itself is interesting, but if you know the Spierig’s first film or love films like The Haunting of Hill House, it is extremely disappointing.… Expand

3 of 6 users found this helpful33

TheQuietGamer

May 14, 2018

A great setting and strong character work keep things going in the face of cliché scare tactics. The majority of my enjoyment with the movie came from Jason Clarke's very charming performance. Sharp dialog makes his interactions with the other characters entertaining and The Spierig BrothersA great setting and strong character work keep things going in the face of cliché scare tactics. The majority of my enjoyment with the movie came from Jason Clarke's very charming performance. Sharp dialog makes his interactions with the other characters entertaining and The Spierig Brothers have crafted a satisfying plot arc for him that ties in well with the main issues they've got going on in the Winchester mansion.

I found myself very invested in the plot as the characters were intriguing (even if some were given too little to do). The actual horror element left me wanting though. While an effective recreation of the early 1900s visually, there is a notable lack of any sort of haunting atmosphere. The directors try their best to get a rise out of you with their well-crafted jump scares, but made them too overly telegraphed and predictable to give viewers anything more than a minor jolt. Mix that in with the slow pace and you have what many will find to be a rather boring watch.

It managed to hold my interest with it's writing though. Things can be a bit goofy in some areas, but I liked how Winchester managed to take actual events and built it's own little horror story around them. Despite the generic approaches taken to try and freak audiences out, it's a solidly executed movie. The Spierig Brothers have proven themselves as talented directors that are capable of bringing their visions to life onscreen. They've just more than not often found themselves in need of better material to work with. This film is unfortunately another example of that, although there are some good qualities to it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Aproxx

Aug 14, 2018

What's this?

I don't know.

I have nothing to say other than the weird rooms are great... and the story is boringly well told

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

moviemitch96

Feb 20, 2018

Quite frankly, the scariest aspect of this film was me wondering just how Dame Helen Mirren could've possibly got involved with this mess. If I had to guess, the coveted Winchester name was probably the only thing that caught her eye. This film really isn't worth getting into, so I'll justQuite frankly, the scariest aspect of this film was me wondering just how Dame Helen Mirren could've possibly got involved with this mess. If I had to guess, the coveted Winchester name was probably the only thing that caught her eye. This film really isn't worth getting into, so I'll just say that overall, not only is it rather tedious, it's not scary in the slightest, as it's one of those films where you see the scares coming from miles and miles away, and Dame Mirren and Jason Clarke's talent are completely wasted.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

GreatMartin

Feb 2, 2018

“Winchester” is based, very loosely based, on the true story of Sarah Winchester, widow of William Westchester, whose family started the famous Winchester rifle.

After his death, Sarah was left very rich and lived in a 150+ room house that she constantly worked on it having construction“Winchester” is based, very loosely based, on the true story of Sarah Winchester, widow of William Westchester, whose family started the famous Winchester rifle.

After his death, Sarah was left very rich and lived in a 150+ room house that she constantly worked on it having construction done 24/7. The house, today, is a California magnet for tourists.

With such a large house, directors Michael and Peter Spierig, who also helped Tom Vaughn write the screenplay, it all seems to be confined to the same walls, rooms, hallways, windows, stairs and the one big bell clanging.

The main story is about Sarah being haunted by the ghosts of the people killed by Winchester rifles and that story is a bunch of clichés that is filled with violence and not a scary moment.

When Helen Mirren’s presence can’t make a movie better you know you are in a movie worth skipping.… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

imthenoob

May 16, 2019

I stopped watching after 40 minutes. After a couple of weak, and predictable, jump scares along with the terrible "acting" by the cast, I was just turned off by it. And it's not exactly dripping with originality either. It's your typical paranormal film, That's it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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