Winchester, The House That Ghosts Built Movie Review

Last Sunday a friend and I went to see the movie Winchester at the movie theater. This is, in and of itself, a big deal for me. I rarely go see movies at the theater, but this one sounded good. And it was!

This movie was based on true facts and told the story of Sarah Winchester, wife to the heir of the Winchester gun empire. She lived in a monstrosity of a house in 1906 in San Jose, California.

She continually added on rooms to the house for the spirits of the dead who had been killed by Winchester guns. Spirits guided her to draw specifications of the rooms they were killed in. Then she had the rooms built so the spirits could live in the rooms till they passed on to the other side.

I don’t want to give away spoilers so won’t say too much more about the movie itself except to say that more than once I screamed. It’s that scary!

Movie Specs

Movie: Winchester
Release date in the U.S.: February 2, 2018.
Rating: PG-13
Length: 99 minutes
No spoilers!

Based on a True Story

Winchester is based on the true story of the Winchester family. Yes, that family, the people who made the Winchester rifle. This fact and the house that is featured in the movie may be the only parts that are true. I’m not certain but am pretty sure lots of this is fiction or developed from a nugget of a story. If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I mean.

The Winchester Family

The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was founded in 1866 in New Haven, Connecticut by Oliver Winchester. Early rifles made by the company included the 1866 Winchester and the Henry.

Oliver Winchester died in 1880 leaving the rifle company to his son and heir, William Wirt Winchester. William died just four months later in 1881, and Sarah Winchester, William’s widow, inherited the business and massive income from the rifle manufacturing. She used the funds to build the Winchester house in San Jose, California in 1884.

Photo Credit: By Taber Photographic Co. (I.W. Taber?) - History San Jose Research Library, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11192936

The Winchester Mystery House

Like cities that play such a large part in movies, the Winchester house filled a huge role in the movie. Cities are oftentimes considered to be a character in the movie, and the house in the movie Winchester may as well have been the central character of this movie. This gigantic house was front and center in nearly every scene.

This monstrosity of a house is huge! Here’s a photo of the real house located in San Jose, California. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a California Historical Landmark.

According to Wikipedia, “Since its construction in 1884, the property and mansion were claimed by many to be haunted by the ghosts of those killed with Winchester rifles.”

Photo Credit: The original uploader was Gentgeen at English Wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/santaclara/win.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1661430

The Winchester House as a Museum

The Winchester house is now a museum and tourist attraction. Check out their website here: http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/

Museum hours are from 9 am daily with varied closing times. Tours of the mansion last 1 hour and 5 minutes, and ticket prices range from $20 to $39.

The Cast of Winchester and My Take on Winchester

One reason I wanted to see Winchester was because Helen Mirren plays Sarah Winchester. She is a phenomenal actor, and she was great as Sarah Winchester.

The entire movie had an eerie feel to it. How could it not with all the dark wood and dim lighting and a veiled Sarah Winchester walking through the halls of the house at night carrying only a lantern?

Sarah Snook played Sarah Winchester’s niece, Marion Marriott, and Jason Clarke played Dr. Eric Price.

One of the creepiest characters in Winchester has to be Sarah Winchester’s great nephew, Henry Marriott played by Finn Scicluna-O’Prey.

If you like creepy movies, and like to be scared, I think you’ll love Winchester.

What Others Have to Say About Winchester

Of course not everyone will like every movie. Here are some of the rankings other review services have given the movie Winchester:

Rotten Tomatoes: 1 star
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): 5.3 out of 10 stars

Will you watch Winchester?

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