Inspired by the real-life Winchester Mystery House and the events that led to its construction, “Winchester” tells the story of a doctor that is called upon in order to assess the mental health of Sarah Winchester, the widow of William Winchester and the holder of close to half of the Winchester Company’s stocks. As soon as the doctor arrives, he quickly realizes that something is not right with the house.
After its release date on Feb. 2, viewers were unimpressed with the story as a whole. According to rottentomatoes.com, the critic consensus states, “Like a grand staircase within the famous mansion that inspired it, Winchester appears poised to get a rise out of audiences, but ultimately leads nowhere.”
The movie is definitely not the scariest movie to ever grace the film industry. It has its scares and moments where the tension and unease were higher than others, but there are movies that install the lasting sense of unease much better than “Winchester” does, unless seeing pristine Winchester rifles roughly falling on the floor frightens you. What the movie does best is show the scale of the seven-story colossal maze that is the Winchester Mystery House. Overhead shots make the building look like a sprawling complex, and the fact that construction crews are shown to be working around the clock only adds to the sheer scope of the “building that ghosts built.”
by James Walley
