Plot: A couple and their teenage daughter move into the famous Winchester House. A house that has been rumored to be haunted by those that were killed by the Winchester guns. The spirits take their daughter captive and they must defeat the ghosts to get her back.
My Review: I’ve always been a huge fan of the house and the story behind it, but I’ve never been able to visit it. I was surprised to discover a movie had been made about it, and was excited to watch. But when the house is unveiled a few minutes into the movie its obviously not the famous Winchester House in California. In fact, the house is completely different (outside and in – no hidden rooms, doorways and stairs leading nowhere) and it looks like its computer generated! What a letdown! I figured maybe it would be some other sort of mansion called the Winchester house, but later in the movie they talk about Sarah Winchester and how she was haunted by the victims of the Winchester guns.
This couple moves in with their daughter to take care of the house, I’m guessing in the off-season since they state they are only there for a couple months. Within a short period of time things start happening. They see ghosts. But the ghosts aren’t really that spooky, in fact, they really just appear to be people in costumes. Sure, that’s all ghosts are in movies, that or CGI, but I guess I just wasn’t feeling their “ghostly” presence. They weren’t spooky in the least. There ended up being too many ghosts all over the place…and after finishing the movie I’m confused why they were even there…
All of the sudden at one point the couple starts bleeding in different spots on their body, they assume they are experiencing symptoms of house owners dying. So they decide they better find out how Mrs. Winchester died…but then they never go back to that, even when their symptoms come back awhile later…
I have some little nitpicks to add, but they are very spoilerish as to the end of the film. So beware!
In the end, I’m glad this was just a Netflix download. I didn’t waste $ or a rental on it. Apparently you can view this in 3D, so maybe its more enjoyable that way.
Gore/FX: There wasn’t any gore. The CGI/Green screen was pretty bad in the last 20 minutes.
Sexual Content: None.
Acting: It wasn’t very good. But I’ve seen worse, MUCH worse. The acting in this is tolerable. The paranormal guy (Tomas Boykin) was by far the best actor in the whole thing. Why does their daughter who appears to be about 14 act like she’s 5?
Overall: It was bland, boring, poorly written, and poorly acted out. It could have been a lifetime movie of the week back in the 80s. The idea of using the Winchester Mystery house for a haunted house movie is a good one, but it was not carried out well. Skip this one.
Rating: 
View The Trailer
Tags: California, CGI, couple, daughter, doorways, ghost, ghostly presence, Ghosts, House, Mrs. Winchester, Sarah Winchester, spooky, teenage daughter, winchester guns