Winchester

          Winchester is about the infamous Sarah Winchester and her crafty abode which has garnered attention over the years. Her house is usually brought up when discussions of the paranormal take place. With her story, the location, and Helen Mirren (who plays Mrs. Winchester herself) this movie is sure to be a massive success...right?
          Okay, let me get something out of the way first. Yes, I have been told that I tend to align with critics most of the time, but I feel as though with this film, it isn't that hard to agree with critics and see where they're coming from. Remember when The Conjuring came out and blew everyone's mind because it was the most crafty horror film since The Exorcist? I saw that same potential with this story about the Winchester household and it had all the tools necessary. A unique location and a terrifying, meaty enough backstory, but the movie never rises to anything even remotely above predictable jump scares. The story is loose and the main character, Eric Price, has a backstory that seems to not have had an effect on him at all. Its as if they gave him a backstory, but they forgot to write the script with that backstory in mind. The climax is underwhelming meaning that there is barely a build-up. When the final showdown between the main baddie ghost and the residents of the house comes, its resolved in the laziest way. Also, the oddities with the nephew are never explained along with many other things.
          The acting is fine. I expected more from the Academy Award-winning Mirren, but she, along with the other actors, is trying a bit hard for the formal, vocabulary heavy accent that characterizes early 1900's America. The bad writing is to blame as well and the actors are doing all they can, but the writing proves to be the Achilles Heel of the film.
          The only redeemable qualities of the movie are the location and the costume design. The movie never explores the rest of the house and they switch between a couple of rooms and some hallways for the entirety of the duration. It's a creepy location and it is an advantage, but the movie fails to inject you with that fear and eerie sense of vulnerability, much like The Conjuring did ( I may be a bit biased since The Conjuring is one the greatest horror films of all time in my opinion). The costumes fit the era and certainly look like they took some time. Its pays off by helping the believability of the time period, but that doesn't help the film much, story-wise.
          Overall, this movie fails to realize its full potential and instead reduces itself down to cheap scares and easy resolutions that make this something you would skip if you saw it playing on HBO in the future. 2/10