I remember seeing the trailer for this movie during a routine visit to the movie theatre (in fact, it may have been when I went to see Jigsaw, which was also directed by the same folk) and I immediately formed the opinion that this was going to be a fairly generic haunted house movie that would be rife with a bunch of jump scares. And honestly, that's exactly how it turned out.

I'm not terribly opposed to jump scares, but I just prefer them to be a little more tactfully used. While there are a few that might get you twitching in your seat, as a whole it becomes quite monotonous fairly quickly. Helen Mirren is a fine actress and Jason Clarke does well enough in his role, but I wouldn't call it their finest work and their characters alone aren't strong enough to push the needle on what is ultimately a hollow viewing experience.

Winchester will serve those looking for cheap scares but is ultimately cashing in on the wave of supernatural movies that have dominated the box office over recent years. If these type of movies are your thing, I'd recommend watching the original Insidious movie instead.