Winchester disappoints in the telling of a true spooky tale

Movie Title:      Winchester

Grade:  D

Rating: PG-13, 
1 hour 39 minutes

In a Nutshell:   I don’t like scary movies, but I was curious about this one because I grew up very close to the actual Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California.  

I wanted to see what the Spierig brothers would do with it. Whenever we would drive by the spooky mansion, I would shudder.  I was told the creepy stories of the house, but never actually visited the tourist attraction.  It is still one of the most haunted mansions in the USA.

With lots of jumps and scares, it’s a pretty clichéd horror movie.

Like many of the stairs at the Winchester mansion, the movie doesn’t go anywhere.   

By the way, this film is not connected to Supernatural: Season 1 - Part 1 [Region 2]   .

                                             

Tips for parents: 

• Some creepy, scary moments.
• Guns and death.

                                           

Uplifting theme: 

• “Sometimes we need a little help to see the difference between reality and illusion.” – Dr. Eric Price (Jason Clarke)
• “Fear only exists in your mind.” – Dr. Eric Price
• Those who die are still alive.

                                    

Things I liked:

• Helen Mirren is a national treasure that both England and America like to claim.  I was kind of surprised she would go for a movie like this.  She was great, as always.

Things I didn’t like:

• The first time you meet Jason Clarke's character, you see him with a bunch of prostitutes, so you think he's a scumbag, making it hard to feel connected to him throughout the entire movie.
• The real reason why Sarah Winchester kept building on to her house is actually changed in this movie.  Why?  As a little girl, I was told that she believed that if she kept building, the spirits would be confused and not harm her.  Very little of the movie was filmed at the real Winchester mansion because the rooms are too small and dark.
• The movie missed out on a real opportunity of showing what the house is really like.  There are stairs that lead to nowhere, windows in the floors, and doors that opened into walls. Creepy.  Lionsgate purchased the rights to the images in the mansion, so now tourists are no longer allowed to take pictures when they tour the home.  Lame.
• Pretty clichéd.

Interesting lines:

• “Instruments of death have a powerful connection to the afterlife.” -  Sarah Winchester (Helen Mirren)
• “Grief can be far more crippling than arthritis, Doctor.” – Sarah Winchester, who had terrible arthritis
• “There are worse things in this world to lose than that, Doctor.” -  Sarah Winchester talking about losing control of her company holdings in the Winchester rifle empire. 

@trinaboice