Winchester (2018)

Winchester (2018)

PLOT - Loosely based off the story of Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester rifle company, and the massive mansion she built up until her death in 1922. In 1906, a doctor with a tainted past has been hired to investigate Mrs. Winchester, who legend has it suffered a mental breakdown after the loss of her infant daughter, and husband years before. Finding aid in a psychic, she was informed that her family was cursed by the haunted spirits of  those killed by the Winchester rifle have returned to haunt her, seeking revenge. Being told that she would live as long as she continued to build onto her massive mansion on the West Coast, Mrs. Winchester hired construction crews to work 24/7 building rooms upon rooms. Here the doctor visits, to test her sanity, and seek the truth if Mrs. Winchester is indeed insane, or telling the frightening truth.

"He's coming..."

LOWDOWN - I have always been fascinated by haunted house movies. Legend Of Hell House, Burnt Offerings, The Haunting, Poltergeist, House, The Conjuring, and The Amityville Horror films. These types of movies have been around for decades, and still every once in awhile have the ability to surprise us all with still staying frightening. I downright adore slow-burn 1960's and 70's horror movies, mostly Hammer. I think of such films as Night Of Dark Shadows, or House Of Dark Shadows. Movies with these gothic characters, stunning structures where the house itself is a character of it's own, and the frighting story showing that sometimes Hell can indeed be a place on Earth. One of my favorite haunted house movies is Burnt Offerings. I really can't explain it, but I love this stylish beautiful unsettling story of a house that has a life of it's own. It's been years since I've found a haunted house movie this visually stunning.

Until I saw Winchester.

I have always heard the legend of Sarah Winchester, and the mansion in San Jose. I've watched countless documentaries over this unusual house, where the woman who owned it constantly had it under construction. Doors opened to nowhere, stairways to nothing, windows in the middle of the floors, countless rooms, endless hallways, and rooms that certainly appeared to speak a lifetime. In fact, Winchester inspired Stephen King to write one of my all time favorite miniseries Rose Red. Basically it tells the same story. A woman heard from a psychic that she would love forever if she continued building onto her home. What's interesting about Winchester, is that this actually happened. Sarah Winchester was convinced her family was cursed by the rifle that brought so much fortune. Becoming a hermit to her huge West Coast house. Suffering great loses such as her infant daughter, and husband, she went back to her original 8 room farmhouse, and decided to spend the rest of her time constantly building, trying to trick the spirits she thought were haunting her, as well as supplying a friendly, comforting location for the harmless ghosts that she claimed surrounded her. Designing tools, rooms, and inventions decades before their own time, Winchester was certainly a very interesting and curious woman. She was smart, strong willed, and with unlimited money continued to build onto her house which had 100+ rooms by the time of her death in the 1920's. All ready you have the perfect set up for a great horror movie. King did it with Rose Red with psychics, with Winchester they used the great Earthquake of 1906 as a foundation. 

We follow a doctor who certainly has a haunted past of his own. Without going into spoilers, he himself has suffered great loss, which has resulted in him spiraling down into a dark abyss of whores, drugs, and avoiding the horrible trauma that he suffered many years ago. Characters like this are always very interesting. I love a checkered flawed leading man. Jason Clarke does a decent job, but I've never warmed up to him as an actor. He did a fine job but I honestly think the casting was a little off with him. 

Helen Mirren seemed a little lost here as well. Trust me, I LOVE her, but having such a massive star in this film, she seemed a little lost as well. Some lines she delivered were a little cringe worthy and cheesy. I think she looked the part perfectly, but her chemistry with Clarke were a complete loss. It's a shame, but movies like this really do rely on great performances. Sadly this film lacked them.

The real highlight, at least in my eyes was the performance of Eamon Farren. I'll be the first to admit, he's the main reason I went to go check out this movie. I adored him in such projects as Chained, and Twin Peaks The Return. I was highly interested to see he was appearing in a feature length film released in the states. Yet again, I'm not going into detail on Farren's part, but it was much larger than I expected, and as always he really brought one hell of a frightening performance. In fact, I would go so far to say he's one of the highlights in the entire film. Farren is cetrinaly finding his legs in Hollywood, and his sharp facial features, and ability to legit do any accent ever really shows that he was born to appear in a movie like this.

The last half of the movie really picks up as the film is a slow-burn. It goes to show horror doesn't need to be all blood and guts. Sure it's PG-13, but doesn't feel it. Even the opening titles screams classic 1960's Hammer horror. The house is a character of it's own, and the breathtaking outside shots of it goes to show what a true marvel the structure is. It truly makes you feel as an audience member that you're exploring the place yourself!

Besides some lame CGI and a few cheap jump scares, this is a very unsettling creepy movie. There are some great twists, a few heartbreaking scenes, and a great showdown. Not the best movie, but a fine reminder that shows that these types of movies still pack a punch. I'll be seeing it again for sure! So in closing, Winchester is a fun take on a really cool piece of history (love the connection to the earthquake!) It's even inspired me to hopefully someday soon visit the actual house and check it out. So if you are a fan of history, and slow-burn scares, this is one haunted house movie worth checking out ASAP!

4 Stars!