Winchester

Inspired by true events, Winchester follows turn-of-the-century doctor Eric Price (Jason Clarke) as he agrees to travel to a sprawling California mansion and analyze the mental health of the grieving widow (Helen Mirren’s Sarah Winchester) residing there – with spookiness ensuing as Eric becomes more and more convinced that the estate is also home to a seriously disgruntled ghost. It’s clear immediately that filmmakers Michael and Peter Spierig aren’t looking to deviate too far from the haunted-house formula, as Winchester contains virtually every touchstone and cliche with which the genre is associated – including unreasonably deliberate pacing, a proliferation of eye-rolling jump scares, and a mid-movie emphasis on the central character’s investigation into the spirit’s past. The latter inevitably establishes itself as the movie’s most aggressively underwhelming and flat-out needless attribute, as there’s never a point at which the viewer is able to work up even an ounce of interest in Clarke’s character’s exploits – which is surprising, certainly, given the actor’s decidedly above-average work here (and this is to say nothing of Mirren’s typically commanding turn). And although the narrative’s been peppered with a few decent sequences – there is, for example, a pretty compelling interlude involving a possession – Winchester ultimately comes off as an especially lackluster entry within a crowded and mostly disposable horror sub-category.

*1/2 out of ****