The actors - especially the mother - seemed quite sincere in their roles, but the story itself didn't really make any sense. It all seemed so random - just random ghosts at random times coming after random people in random ways and doing random things with them, all for no apparent reason. The characters were pretty much text-book cookie-cutter. There were entirely too many full-on face shots where the heads of the characters filled up the entire screen, back & forth between them. I never realized how annoying that could be, but I've never seen that kind of shot so over-used before. There is no discernible story, just a bunch of disjointed, discombobulated "fragments". Not very well plotted. If you don't care too much about story but just like seeing people scream & ghosts go, "Boo!", this will do it for you. But if you're looking for an interesting or engaging story of some sort, this really doesn't cut it.
58 Reviews
I Can't believe I watched the whole movie.
atinder13 December 2009
I will stat with plot A family moves in to look after the Winchester mansion for a few months, and soon find themselves terrorised by vengeful spirits. With the help of a paranormal investigator they'll unravel the mystery of the house
The mum and day are driving to the new home with their daughter in the back seat.
There have near accident as they almost get hit by a car but soon get to house and unpacked and strange things start happen, they find out that house is haunted.
The acting in this movie was so HORRIBLE (Is so bad that it's make the word horrible look good)
And How old is the daughter?, she look like 15 year old girl but she acts like spoilt whiny five years old.
There is only one good thing I can say about this movie was the twist was good but it already been done few times now.
2/10
The mum and day are driving to the new home with their daughter in the back seat.
There have near accident as they almost get hit by a car but soon get to house and unpacked and strange things start happen, they find out that house is haunted.
The acting in this movie was so HORRIBLE (Is so bad that it's make the word horrible look good)
And How old is the daughter?, she look like 15 year old girl but she acts like spoilt whiny five years old.
There is only one good thing I can say about this movie was the twist was good but it already been done few times now.
2/10
Not worth watching unless totally bored.
scottmannen117 October 2009
This movie was downright brutal to watch. I have a very tolerant ability to watch B horror films; however, this one is particularly bad. The acting is worse than brutal, the story is beyond bad with zero back story provided upfront and early on and the direction is...wait a second there was even a director here- if so I doubt he would want his name on this stinker.
I really tried to watch this one, but I had to turn it off about halfway through due to total boredom and due to how completely bad this one is. Don't waste your time on this one- not even to rent.
Because there is no history provided and no story outlined very well at the beginning of this movie, it basically just starts into a freaky horror show of ghosts and ghouls whom you have no idea who or whats going on. I mean- unless you know about the infamous Winchestor mansion and its rumoured history you will really be scratching your head wondering wtf is happening here. To be honest I know the history and I still was asking myself wtf is happening here.
Avoid!
I really tried to watch this one, but I had to turn it off about halfway through due to total boredom and due to how completely bad this one is. Don't waste your time on this one- not even to rent.
Because there is no history provided and no story outlined very well at the beginning of this movie, it basically just starts into a freaky horror show of ghosts and ghouls whom you have no idea who or whats going on. I mean- unless you know about the infamous Winchestor mansion and its rumoured history you will really be scratching your head wondering wtf is happening here. To be honest I know the history and I still was asking myself wtf is happening here.
Avoid!
The acting was scarier than the ghosts.
OllieSuave-00720 September 2010
With all the horror movies made in the USA involving a haunted house, you would think one that features one of the most famous haunted places in the world (Winchester Mystery House in San Nose, CA) would feature a unique and compelling story. However, this film fails to deliver that notion and instead is a campy, low-budget, and unoriginal movie.
This film was Winchester in name only, elaborating very little on the real-life Winchester Mystery House. Sarah Winchester, the heiress who kept construction on the house going non-stop for 38 years to appease the spirits of those killed by the Winchester firearms, was portrayed as just a lost soul looking for her long lost daughter (why she could not find her daughter in her own darn house is beyond me). There was no effort in elaborating the history behind Sarah Winchester nor the many different rooms, secret chambers, doors and hallways in the house. If you're going to have the Winchester Mystery House portrayed in a film, at least make the characters explore the many different and eerie aspects of the house like the staircase that leads up to the ceiling, door to nowhere, the séance room, Winchester's bedroom, the garden, the 7-11 staircase, emphasis of the number 13, etc. Also, make the effort of having the house located in a city like in real life, rather than sequestered in the woods. Detailing and emphasizing the history and mystery of the house will make the film more unique and original. Instead, the lack thereof makes the film dull and stands out as just another low-budget, ghost-on-the-loose horror flick.
Lastly, the acting is absolutely horrible - lack of substance, emotion, depth and drama. It looked as if the actors were ill-prepared for their roles and made very little effort in portraying their characters. I had to cover my eyes a few times just because the acting was so terrible. I have to single out the actress who played "Susan Grenier." I think she is the worse actor in the film who, at times, tries too hard to be realistic (i.e., forcing out tears when she cries).
Overall, if you're bored and looking for a good horror movie to pass the time (like I was), you might be better off choosing to watch something else!
Grade F
This film was Winchester in name only, elaborating very little on the real-life Winchester Mystery House. Sarah Winchester, the heiress who kept construction on the house going non-stop for 38 years to appease the spirits of those killed by the Winchester firearms, was portrayed as just a lost soul looking for her long lost daughter (why she could not find her daughter in her own darn house is beyond me). There was no effort in elaborating the history behind Sarah Winchester nor the many different rooms, secret chambers, doors and hallways in the house. If you're going to have the Winchester Mystery House portrayed in a film, at least make the characters explore the many different and eerie aspects of the house like the staircase that leads up to the ceiling, door to nowhere, the séance room, Winchester's bedroom, the garden, the 7-11 staircase, emphasis of the number 13, etc. Also, make the effort of having the house located in a city like in real life, rather than sequestered in the woods. Detailing and emphasizing the history and mystery of the house will make the film more unique and original. Instead, the lack thereof makes the film dull and stands out as just another low-budget, ghost-on-the-loose horror flick.
Lastly, the acting is absolutely horrible - lack of substance, emotion, depth and drama. It looked as if the actors were ill-prepared for their roles and made very little effort in portraying their characters. I had to cover my eyes a few times just because the acting was so terrible. I have to single out the actress who played "Susan Grenier." I think she is the worse actor in the film who, at times, tries too hard to be realistic (i.e., forcing out tears when she cries).
Overall, if you're bored and looking for a good horror movie to pass the time (like I was), you might be better off choosing to watch something else!
Grade F
Truly awful. Please don't waste your time
WebKinect16 October 2009
I wont bother going into too much detail regarding the story as thats already been covered but if you try to imagine a really cheap bad horror from the 70's then you'll have it.
Winchester House itself is a relatively unknown haunted house but in the same vain as the Ammmityville house. I don't know whether the movie is supposed to be based around the true events that happened there or not but its respected enough that Most Haunted have actually done an investigation there.
The acting here is beyond laughable. For instance at one point one of the 'spirits' drag the daughter into a closet right in front of her mother while the mother stands there watching and only shows any shock at whats happening when the daughter is actually in the closet and the door slams. Was she not horrified by some ghost actually grabbing her daughter and dragging her from behind for 20 feet? Then you have the supposed 'psychic' who shows no knowledge whatsoever about the spirit world! The SFX look like they were done on your home PC using MS Paint or something lol. The direction and score are all horrible and the script so bad that its almost funny.
I had high hopes for this, expecting a new Ammityville or something and all i got was a couple of non intended laughs. If you are wanting a good horror with a creepy backdrop, a couple of jumps and something scary then go and watch the Teletubbies because thats a damn site scarier and much better acted lol.
Winchester House itself is a relatively unknown haunted house but in the same vain as the Ammmityville house. I don't know whether the movie is supposed to be based around the true events that happened there or not but its respected enough that Most Haunted have actually done an investigation there.
The acting here is beyond laughable. For instance at one point one of the 'spirits' drag the daughter into a closet right in front of her mother while the mother stands there watching and only shows any shock at whats happening when the daughter is actually in the closet and the door slams. Was she not horrified by some ghost actually grabbing her daughter and dragging her from behind for 20 feet? Then you have the supposed 'psychic' who shows no knowledge whatsoever about the spirit world! The SFX look like they were done on your home PC using MS Paint or something lol. The direction and score are all horrible and the script so bad that its almost funny.
I had high hopes for this, expecting a new Ammityville or something and all i got was a couple of non intended laughs. If you are wanting a good horror with a creepy backdrop, a couple of jumps and something scary then go and watch the Teletubbies because thats a damn site scarier and much better acted lol.
One haunted house experience you'd want to forget
TheLittleSongbird17 May 2013
The Asylum have made a lot of real clunkers, and Haunting of Winchester House adds to that long list. I don't think it is quite down there as one of the absolute worst, but that does not stop it from being a movie with almost no redeeming features. The worst asset is I agree the acting, the worst being from Lira Kellerman and Patty Roberts who act in a very forced and artificial way throughout. Kimberly Ables Jindra is the least bad, she has moments where she is touchingly sincere but it is nothing special or memorable and she like everybody else fails to rise above her material. That's hardly a surprise though, because the dialogue is so inane and awkward that you want to vomit even thinking about it, and the characters are basically cookie-cutter cardboard cut-outs with no personality or development. The story also doesn't work, the telling of it is far too fragmented, random and predictable and it would have been scarier if the pacing hadn't felt like I was riding on the back of a snail, and that the scares didn't feel like a mish-mash of pre-existing horror/haunted house movies with none of the suspense, tension or thrills. Even though it is a haunted house movie, the origin of how it came to be so here was just not there, so everything just felt really underdeveloped, seeing as the movie is nearly an hour and a half there is no excuse for that. It looks very amateurish, the special effects look fake and are utilised far too obviously, the lighting gives the movie a very murky look and the camera shots are so fast and full of face shots and close-ups that it makes the action incoherent. And the music and sound effects are really overdone and just overbear everything. All in all, really as awful as I'd heard and a movie I wish to forget in the long run. 1/10 Bethany Cox
it should be illegal to make crap films like this one.
collinstheyank27 October 2009
this is possibly the worse movie ever made. the actors are horrible. the director, producer and actors should be shot in the head. literally. especially the guy that plays the husband. whats more, is it cost me 3.99 and 2 hours of my life to watch this crap. actually, i want to shoot myself in the head to get make the awful memory of this film go away. and whats up with Leroy Brown, paranormal detective. some idiot actually issues checks to these people. if i had they're addresses i would send them hate mail. Is OK if you don't publish this because this has inspired me to start a blog. and maybe a class action suit against people who have anything to do with making movies that suck. i want to burn out my retinas.
What A Waste!
jpgil19 October 2009
Such good film and lighting was wasted in the making of this move. How long did it take to actually make it? Tow weeks? A good movie not only takes time and money but also the end result in that is working hard to find the right actors. Patty Roberts played the daughter and I feel that she looked way too old to be playing that part. Not only that her acting skills are horrid. Maybe spend a bit more time searching for a different movie that is actually scary and did not only cost a few thousand to make. I can say after watching this film... I did not have nightmares or check under my bed. I would not waste my money watching this movie...trust me, maybe you can find it on a clearance rack sooner than later and not feel as guilty having spent a dollar buying it then spending more to rent it. I may buy a few to use as wrapping tape.
Hideous movie
scriptspring-594-68058716 July 2011
Apart from getting the history of The Winchester House completely wrong, there is no substance in the story, the characters are not well developed, so you don't really care what happens to them, and the trite horror movie set-ups are the very definition of campy. It isn't scary and you can't even laugh at it as a suitable schlock flick. A complete waste of an hour and a half.
For those of us who are familiar with the actual Winchester House in San Jose, CA, the house portrayed is not the actual house, nor is it in its actual location. How hard would it have been for the makers of this film to have done even a little bit of research to get the content in the ballpark?
I love the genre, so this comes from someone who can appreciate a good horror movie. Unfortunately, this isn't one!
For those of us who are familiar with the actual Winchester House in San Jose, CA, the house portrayed is not the actual house, nor is it in its actual location. How hard would it have been for the makers of this film to have done even a little bit of research to get the content in the ballpark?
I love the genre, so this comes from someone who can appreciate a good horror movie. Unfortunately, this isn't one!
low budget bad acting!
meaghan-kitts11 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I've seen a lot of movies in my lifetime and this is by far the worst. It's a combination of Beetlejuice (the parents wrecking the car) The 6th Sense (a guy who can talk to dead people) Rose Madder ( the house ) The Others ( dead people who don't realize they're dead yet )
The acting was horrible. The child who looks like she could pass easy for 16 yrs old, acts like an 8 yr old child. The parents acting could have been A LOT better... and one line struck me as odd in the whole movie.... "We don't have any money." "Of course you don't" This was in the middle of something that had NOTHING to do with money...so it was like WHAT are they talking about.
There is NO story line what so ever until you get to the very end when the mother finds the dead girl in the case.
Supposedly about people dying from guns...but that story line was NEVER finished. The story line about the dead child was never began, until the living little girl went missing and then you didn't even KNOW it was part of the story until it was all ready over.
Overall, if you are really bored and you're looking for a laugh, then this flick will do just that.
The acting was horrible. The child who looks like she could pass easy for 16 yrs old, acts like an 8 yr old child. The parents acting could have been A LOT better... and one line struck me as odd in the whole movie.... "We don't have any money." "Of course you don't" This was in the middle of something that had NOTHING to do with money...so it was like WHAT are they talking about.
There is NO story line what so ever until you get to the very end when the mother finds the dead girl in the case.
Supposedly about people dying from guns...but that story line was NEVER finished. The story line about the dead child was never began, until the living little girl went missing and then you didn't even KNOW it was part of the story until it was all ready over.
Overall, if you are really bored and you're looking for a laugh, then this flick will do just that.
was this a student project?
aprylrooni28 April 2010
I think that most of the dialouge and pertinent information might have been cut and left on the editing floor. It was great to play a drinking game, take a drink every time you are confused or there is lack of continuity. The story might have made sense if he characters had conversations with each other. The set must had been limited to filming in one hallway of the house 90% of the time. The ending was OK though, I suggest fast forwarding through the whole movie and watch the last 20 minutes, you will see all that you need to see because they recap everything that happened after the movie reaches the climactic ending. Or, stock up on your beer and get ready to get drunk while you watch.
Absolutely, positively, the best damn film I've seen in my 81 years on this beautiful earth.
joshuastevenson-0209318 July 2019
Action from the very beginning, I may as well have been physically and painfully glued to my chair because there was no way I was missing a second. In fact, at one point, my wife had fallen down the stairs! But I just sat there yelling a running commentary of what was happening to her as she lay there crying into the carpet. Incredible acting. The suspense was immensely frightening and the jump scares were out of this world. I am very concerned about the condition of my seat cushion after I soiled my freaking pants. Anyway, it deserves more than 10 stars no doubt about it. Absolutely outstanding, hooking, storyline and dialogue-it was almost like I was on crack again. But those days are behind me I assure you, but it was nice to get another high after all these years. As the kids would say: I recommend this motion picture af.
a good B movie
peter_lumley24 February 2011
Despite a low budget and mediocre acting with blue screen effects that make you laugh, this movie is actually quite good. Not many movies these days are actually scary. In an age where sawing someone's head in two makes people yawn, it seems time to bring back some old fashioned scares.
Based on the legendary Winchester house this movie provided those old school thrills with very little gory violence. The threat is consistent and sustained allowing the viewer to feel threatened where other horror movies would back off. Despite all the negative aspects to the film it is enjoyable to watch and the fact it is so cheap actually helps. Hollywood often gloss over horror making it unscary, this goes the whole way to provide good entertainment.
a worthwhile watch
Based on the legendary Winchester house this movie provided those old school thrills with very little gory violence. The threat is consistent and sustained allowing the viewer to feel threatened where other horror movies would back off. Despite all the negative aspects to the film it is enjoyable to watch and the fact it is so cheap actually helps. Hollywood often gloss over horror making it unscary, this goes the whole way to provide good entertainment.
a worthwhile watch
Avoid this ... Especially if you like haunted house films
larawoolley1 September 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Oh no. I wasn't going to write a review because I don't really like writing negative reviews - however ...
This film is so awful. I can't begin to describe how awful it is. The acting, the effects, the story line ... Everything. The acting is so bad, I don't know whether the actors were terrible or the script was terrible. Maybe it was both. It wasn't even funny bad acting; it was just plain bad. Cringe.
The effects were so bad I was shocked to learn this film was made in 2009. Seriously, the 80s had better effects. The ghosts weren't scary, the noises were irritating and let's face it, stupid. Nothing creepy about this film.
The story line ... What story line? I don't know why the house was haunted. I don't know why things were happening. I was irritated by the characters and hoped that horrible things happened to them.
The film needs far more work. It has the basis for a pretty good film, but it just feels so rushed.
Sorry to any writers, directors, actors etc of this film; you did a bad job I'm afraid. I wish I could give less than 1/10.
This film is so awful. I can't begin to describe how awful it is. The acting, the effects, the story line ... Everything. The acting is so bad, I don't know whether the actors were terrible or the script was terrible. Maybe it was both. It wasn't even funny bad acting; it was just plain bad. Cringe.
The effects were so bad I was shocked to learn this film was made in 2009. Seriously, the 80s had better effects. The ghosts weren't scary, the noises were irritating and let's face it, stupid. Nothing creepy about this film.
The story line ... What story line? I don't know why the house was haunted. I don't know why things were happening. I was irritated by the characters and hoped that horrible things happened to them.
The film needs far more work. It has the basis for a pretty good film, but it just feels so rushed.
Sorry to any writers, directors, actors etc of this film; you did a bad job I'm afraid. I wish I could give less than 1/10.
I've never laughed so hard in my life
xxjoneskid25 January 2011
Okay there were countless reasons why this movie was atrocious. But i can honestly say that it was placed in the wrong genre. I really think it belongs in the comedy section of a movie store / netflix. The acting was HORRIFIC. The movie was supposed to last 1 hour 25 minutes but it took my sister and I almost 3 hours to watch because we had to stop and rewind and continue to laugh at the terrible acting attempts. First of all the family that arrives at the house moves in, eats dinner and falls asleep. When they wake up in the middle of the night they are WEARING THE SAME CLOTHES!!!!!!! not sure why no one notices this, but it definitely adds to comedy aspect of the movie.
The daughter was supposed to be 7 years old or something but she was taller than the mother and looked like she was about 17 years old. And WTF happened to that woman who flew backwards into a tree after creating the magic dove soap circle. Or the trashbag baby car seat.
The fathers side burns where awkward as hell and the mother sad to say was definitely the best actress in the movie which pretty much says it all.
This movie was LOL funny and if it were in the comedy section I would give it a 10 out of 10.
The daughter was supposed to be 7 years old or something but she was taller than the mother and looked like she was about 17 years old. And WTF happened to that woman who flew backwards into a tree after creating the magic dove soap circle. Or the trashbag baby car seat.
The fathers side burns where awkward as hell and the mother sad to say was definitely the best actress in the movie which pretty much says it all.
This movie was LOL funny and if it were in the comedy section I would give it a 10 out of 10.
More unoriginal rip-off crap from The Asylum.
poolandrews27 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Haunting of Winchester House starts as Susan (Lira Kellerman) & Drake Grenier (Michael Holmes) plus their young daughter Haley (Patty Roberts) move into their new home, a big old place called Winchester House. However all is not well as they get a visit from a strange man named Harrison Dent (Tomas Boykin) who claims to be a psychic & see be able to see ghost's which the Grenier family have a hard time believing. Well until they spend their first night at Winchester House as they see all manner of ghost's, ghoul's & to add to their problems Haley is kidnapped. Susan & Drake have no option but to call in an expert, namely Harrison Dent who doesn't seem so crazy after all. Can they save Haley & put the tortured soul's haunting Winchester House to rest once & for all?
Photographed, written & directed by Mark Atkins this was apparently the first film by the hacks at The Asylum to cash-in on the current 3-D fad as well as ripping-off The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) as well as stealing it's big twist end from The Sixth Sense (1999) & The Others (2001) as it's pretty much a mixture of the two. Basically Haunting of Winchester House is yet more crap from The Asylum that has a terrible script that uses just about every haunted house cliché in the book from creepy shadow's to ghost's to doors opening on their own to objects mysteriously moving & a old building that has some sort of dark past although here the script is so weak it gets nothing more than a cursory mention. The character's are all horror film clichés to, from the terrified family to the one who know's exactly what's going on & tries to help although Haunting in Winchester House is notable in that it has very few character's in it at all. There's the family, Harrison Dent, two expendable cops & the ghost's & that's about it. There are no sub-plots & the gradual unveiling of the haunted house's dark past where everything comes together just isn't there, we never really learn the deal behind Winchester House at all. At under 85 minutes at least it's short but it felt to me like there were endless scenes of people walking around the same house in the dark looking for a child who was only upstairs in the attic all the time, it just got very boring very quickly. I was going to give Haunting of Winchester House just two stars out of ten but with the twist ending I'll go for four out of ten, not because the ending is great & unexpected because it's not & it's a total rip-off but because I was surprised in the fact that a film made by the creatively void The Asylum even bothered to try & have a twist so that in itself surprised me even though I suspect The Asylum went along with it when they realised they could save money by reusing footage from earlier in the film to explain the twist rather than the fact it had any artistic or creative merit.
Pretty much all of Haunting of Winchester House is lame, there's this deaf ghost's who scrapes his fingernails along a chalk board & something about a ball that keeps rolling around but there's little in the way of tension, atmosphere or scares. I didn't watch this in 3-D (I am blind in one eye for a start) but just looking at the way it's shot there's nothing here that stands out as like it was shot with 3-D in mind. Although the film takes it's inspiration from a supposedly real life haunted Winchester House nothing substantial from the real haunting make sit here. Claiming to be 'Uncut' & 'Unrated' this is yet another attempt to sucker you into paying money for this as there's virtually zero blood or gore here, no nudity & only a few minor swear words.
Probably shot on the usual sub $500,000 budget most Asylum atrocities are Haunting of Winchester House looks cheap with bad production values & a very flat dull look to it. Don't be fooled by the cool DVD cover or the lure of 3-D. The acting is pretty bas as usual although that black guy's quite funny at times with his overacting.
Haunting of Winchester House is par for the course as far as The Asylum goes, a cheap quickly produced rip-off of a bigger film that steals all it's ideas from elsewhere & adds nothing of it's own. It's not even fun or gory to watch & I doubt the 3-D is any good either. One to avoid.
Photographed, written & directed by Mark Atkins this was apparently the first film by the hacks at The Asylum to cash-in on the current 3-D fad as well as ripping-off The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) as well as stealing it's big twist end from The Sixth Sense (1999) & The Others (2001) as it's pretty much a mixture of the two. Basically Haunting of Winchester House is yet more crap from The Asylum that has a terrible script that uses just about every haunted house cliché in the book from creepy shadow's to ghost's to doors opening on their own to objects mysteriously moving & a old building that has some sort of dark past although here the script is so weak it gets nothing more than a cursory mention. The character's are all horror film clichés to, from the terrified family to the one who know's exactly what's going on & tries to help although Haunting in Winchester House is notable in that it has very few character's in it at all. There's the family, Harrison Dent, two expendable cops & the ghost's & that's about it. There are no sub-plots & the gradual unveiling of the haunted house's dark past where everything comes together just isn't there, we never really learn the deal behind Winchester House at all. At under 85 minutes at least it's short but it felt to me like there were endless scenes of people walking around the same house in the dark looking for a child who was only upstairs in the attic all the time, it just got very boring very quickly. I was going to give Haunting of Winchester House just two stars out of ten but with the twist ending I'll go for four out of ten, not because the ending is great & unexpected because it's not & it's a total rip-off but because I was surprised in the fact that a film made by the creatively void The Asylum even bothered to try & have a twist so that in itself surprised me even though I suspect The Asylum went along with it when they realised they could save money by reusing footage from earlier in the film to explain the twist rather than the fact it had any artistic or creative merit.
Pretty much all of Haunting of Winchester House is lame, there's this deaf ghost's who scrapes his fingernails along a chalk board & something about a ball that keeps rolling around but there's little in the way of tension, atmosphere or scares. I didn't watch this in 3-D (I am blind in one eye for a start) but just looking at the way it's shot there's nothing here that stands out as like it was shot with 3-D in mind. Although the film takes it's inspiration from a supposedly real life haunted Winchester House nothing substantial from the real haunting make sit here. Claiming to be 'Uncut' & 'Unrated' this is yet another attempt to sucker you into paying money for this as there's virtually zero blood or gore here, no nudity & only a few minor swear words.
Probably shot on the usual sub $500,000 budget most Asylum atrocities are Haunting of Winchester House looks cheap with bad production values & a very flat dull look to it. Don't be fooled by the cool DVD cover or the lure of 3-D. The acting is pretty bas as usual although that black guy's quite funny at times with his overacting.
Haunting of Winchester House is par for the course as far as The Asylum goes, a cheap quickly produced rip-off of a bigger film that steals all it's ideas from elsewhere & adds nothing of it's own. It's not even fun or gory to watch & I doubt the 3-D is any good either. One to avoid.
A house in need of caretakers.
michaelRokeefe22 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Based on an actual haunted house once owned by the Winchester Rifle estate. It is said to be haunted by the ghosts of carpenters and others contributing to the constant refurbishing and additions to the original house. This project went straight to video; that should tell you something. Not just a low budget, but lame acting and miserable story line. Director Mark Atkins also is responsible for the screenplay about a family that moves into the Winchester mansion as caretakers soon realizing that they need the help of a paranormal investigator. Vengeful spirits make sure no one is welcome.
No real scares, no nudity, no sex, no gore...adds up to not much of anything. Maybe a waste of time? Cast includes: Lira Kellerman, Michael Holmes, Thomas Boykin, Kimberly Ables Jindra and Patty Roberts.
No real scares, no nudity, no sex, no gore...adds up to not much of anything. Maybe a waste of time? Cast includes: Lira Kellerman, Michael Holmes, Thomas Boykin, Kimberly Ables Jindra and Patty Roberts.
truly bad acting
obabybaby19 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I have to agree with the others, this movie had the potential to be really good, with the Winchester story, etc. All of that said, the acting is horrible and that's really being nice. As someone already mentioned the daughter seems to be a teenager, very well developed and close in size to the mom, but colors and plays with dolls as if she is much younger. I did think the young girl who played the ghost brought something to her role, she conveyed something without having any lines, not just that dull 'duh' look that was seen on some others throughout the film.
The movie jumps right into the odd things happening and there is no build up to the story, I had a hard time trying to piece everything together, but at the end I realized that it was a spoof of several suspenseful movies I have seen before - although they had great acting.
Overall, unless you and your friends are looking for some laughs and something to goof on, don't watch this one
The movie jumps right into the odd things happening and there is no build up to the story, I had a hard time trying to piece everything together, but at the end I realized that it was a spoof of several suspenseful movies I have seen before - although they had great acting.
Overall, unless you and your friends are looking for some laughs and something to goof on, don't watch this one
What was I thinking?
Henbaine14 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Browsing my video store and finding nothing but the usual cheap,low budget jobs and copious tacky remakes,I stumbled across a pretty old school scary looking cover,boasting to offer "a terrifying true story" ooh goodie! I grabbed it rushed home to watch it excitedly as I love a good horror.
Sadly though, all I can say to that now is this-if only they had put the same amount of effort made on producing the front cover as they did the actual movie, it may well have been a lot better-by that I mean actually worth the £3.95 I paid and an hour or so of my life wasted on viewing time.
From just after the opening title,the movie comes over quite over the top and predictable,introducing what you could pretty much guess to be a ghost within about 5 seconds followed by some truly scary acting (and by scary,I mean scary bad!) And Pan to the modern day...
A family staring woefully from each other to the "good will" pile of children's items, then back to each other with silent yet over emphasized pain was just unnecessarily drawn out-to some even more painful attempt at a backing score. Not only that,but after watching the whole film, seemed utterly irrelevant and was not even mentioned again.
All three lead actor's performances were pretty cringe worthy and awkward to watch throughout and the token "paranormal investigator" only served to make viewing all the more slow and disjointed.
I really couldn't feel anything for the characters at all emotion wise,(Yes,I know it's a horror which never has been a genre where you get massively developed characters with huge background stories etc taking up chunks of plot that's saved for the scares)but to actually get into the horror feel,you have to at least give kind of a dam what happens to the characters surely? All I could see was actors painfully droning through a script half trying to be somewhat convincing.
The special effects,while not bad as such,were not really what you would expect these days given technological advances of today either- but maybe that was the whole point??
I won't go too into the plot, I will let people see for themselves, but I will comment however lastly, on the ending. Now I have seen this twist executed pretty well in films before over the years and originally it was a fall of you chair, hand over mouth shocker.But not this time. The voice over and flash backs at the end explaining that blah blah blah and blahhh have all been done before by now to the point that it was tediously predictable.They didn't even try and make it slightly different or mix things up a bit.The same tired formula strikes again!
In short, I would love to be able to actually say some good things about this movie, but honestly I think the best part was when I returned it to the store and drove back home vowing to never watch it again!!
Sadly though, all I can say to that now is this-if only they had put the same amount of effort made on producing the front cover as they did the actual movie, it may well have been a lot better-by that I mean actually worth the £3.95 I paid and an hour or so of my life wasted on viewing time.
From just after the opening title,the movie comes over quite over the top and predictable,introducing what you could pretty much guess to be a ghost within about 5 seconds followed by some truly scary acting (and by scary,I mean scary bad!) And Pan to the modern day...
A family staring woefully from each other to the "good will" pile of children's items, then back to each other with silent yet over emphasized pain was just unnecessarily drawn out-to some even more painful attempt at a backing score. Not only that,but after watching the whole film, seemed utterly irrelevant and was not even mentioned again.
All three lead actor's performances were pretty cringe worthy and awkward to watch throughout and the token "paranormal investigator" only served to make viewing all the more slow and disjointed.
I really couldn't feel anything for the characters at all emotion wise,(Yes,I know it's a horror which never has been a genre where you get massively developed characters with huge background stories etc taking up chunks of plot that's saved for the scares)but to actually get into the horror feel,you have to at least give kind of a dam what happens to the characters surely? All I could see was actors painfully droning through a script half trying to be somewhat convincing.
The special effects,while not bad as such,were not really what you would expect these days given technological advances of today either- but maybe that was the whole point??
I won't go too into the plot, I will let people see for themselves, but I will comment however lastly, on the ending. Now I have seen this twist executed pretty well in films before over the years and originally it was a fall of you chair, hand over mouth shocker.But not this time. The voice over and flash backs at the end explaining that blah blah blah and blahhh have all been done before by now to the point that it was tediously predictable.They didn't even try and make it slightly different or mix things up a bit.The same tired formula strikes again!
In short, I would love to be able to actually say some good things about this movie, but honestly I think the best part was when I returned it to the store and drove back home vowing to never watch it again!!
125 minutes you'll never get back
poizenregisters27 September 2011
Please for the love of god never take the time to watch this movie. Its really not hard to make a good movie from low budget that will ACTUALLY scare you, take Paranormal Activity for example.
The house is the only thing true about the story, which is cheesy to mislead people into watching it when they expect something totally different. Whats worse is the portrayal of the Winchester house from the outside totally looks like a scaled down version dollhouse with horrible blue screen special effects behind it. To think the movie starts with, like many horror movies of this genre, that it is based on true events is a shame.
My opinion - this movie should of gone straight to DVD, and someone should have used those DVD's for shot-put practice.
=============Please Read This Part If Anything=====================
I only watched it because it was on netflix, and when i looked up the trailer on youtube, the reviews there were good. However, i noticed all of the reviews talked about a scam site, which luckily i never visited. The site is known as sitemoovis.co.cc and i STRONGLY advise you do not visit it. I was smart enough not to do so, i went ahead and did some research to see if anyone got any malware or bugs from it and apparently some did. I should of been more suspicious when every review with that sites name in it was VERY good, and i realized something was off when the movie was VERY BAD. I just thought the IMDb community should know of this scam and stay away from it.
The house is the only thing true about the story, which is cheesy to mislead people into watching it when they expect something totally different. Whats worse is the portrayal of the Winchester house from the outside totally looks like a scaled down version dollhouse with horrible blue screen special effects behind it. To think the movie starts with, like many horror movies of this genre, that it is based on true events is a shame.
My opinion - this movie should of gone straight to DVD, and someone should have used those DVD's for shot-put practice.
=============Please Read This Part If Anything=====================
I only watched it because it was on netflix, and when i looked up the trailer on youtube, the reviews there were good. However, i noticed all of the reviews talked about a scam site, which luckily i never visited. The site is known as sitemoovis.co.cc and i STRONGLY advise you do not visit it. I was smart enough not to do so, i went ahead and did some research to see if anyone got any malware or bugs from it and apparently some did. I should of been more suspicious when every review with that sites name in it was VERY good, and i realized something was off when the movie was VERY BAD. I just thought the IMDb community should know of this scam and stay away from it.
Totally unbelievable
Leofwine_draca23 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
HAUNTING OF WINCHESTER HOUSE is a straight-to-video enterprise very similar to THE AMITYVILLE HORROR in terms of plotting. The location is, of course, one of America's most famous haunted houses, but when you find out this was made by The Asylum on a particularly low budget than you just know it's not going to be worth tuning in for. The usual family find themselves assailed by the usual badly-generated CGI spooks, but the whole thing is mannered and stilted, extraordinarily cheap-looking and totally unbelievable.
Bad Acting at times, but a SUPER SUPER good movie
fire-5817 November 2011
You have to watch this movie, I am warning that in the start the acting is for some reason really bad and forced.
Any way, so the story was great. it was really creepy and i jumped a few times. I have to say that i was entertained the entire times.
I would not say that this is a b movie more of a A-.
Some of the people that are "haunting" the house are really really creepy.
The whole movie was just put together in a good way creating a fun watch.
I think that you should watch it for sure. The ending is will shock you!
Any way, so the story was great. it was really creepy and i jumped a few times. I have to say that i was entertained the entire times.
I would not say that this is a b movie more of a A-.
Some of the people that are "haunting" the house are really really creepy.
The whole movie was just put together in a good way creating a fun watch.
I think that you should watch it for sure. The ending is will shock you!
Genuinely creepy.
paul_haakonsen13 January 2011
This movie was quite a surprise. Usually the movies made by "The Asylum" are mediocre, but this one was quite out of the normal standard.
The storyline and plot was intense and something you immediately got yourself immersed into, because it is compelling and interesting. The story takes you places in a good pace and it leaves you wanting more.
Now, I have been reading some of the reviews here already, and I will agree with what many have chiseled out, that the acting in the movie is not among the best of movie performances, but what drives and carries "Haunting of Winchester House" is not the acting, it is the story, the gloomy feeling of the place and the genuinely creepy sounds. Now, don't get me wrong, the acting wasn't all throughout bad through the entire movie, but there were points where it was painstakingly bad to look at. But the mood of the movie luckily made more than up for this fact.
What I didn't fully understand was the directors obsession with having shadowy persons walk past the camera view. Sure it worked the first time, but it was done repeatedly over and over, to the point where it was just annoying to look at. There is nothing scary about some dark, silhouette passing through the view of the camera.
Also, the "ghost", and I use the term loosely here, well they were more like walking dead (not zombies as per se). Had they chosen to go with a more ghost-oriented approach, the movie would have had so much more depth and value. The "ghosts" were too physical. Had they been transparent, wispy, incorporeal projections of themselves, it would have added so much more to the movie. But in all fairness, the main "ghost" was sort of disturbing and scary nonetheless.
And the ending was amazing. That totally took me by surprise. I didn't see that coming. And an ending like that always sits well with me. I like it when movies are unpredictable and doesn't end in the traditional sugar-coated-Hollywood-fashion-ending that most movies do.
As a fan of hauntings and supernatural phenomena, I found "Haunting of Winchester House" to be quite interesting, and the movie turned out to be much more impressive than I had anticipated. If you like ghost movies, and can live with some, at times, less than mediocre acting, then you should definitely check out "Haunting of Winchester House", because it is really quite good. Truth be told, then I had goosebumps several times throughout the movie.
The storyline and plot was intense and something you immediately got yourself immersed into, because it is compelling and interesting. The story takes you places in a good pace and it leaves you wanting more.
Now, I have been reading some of the reviews here already, and I will agree with what many have chiseled out, that the acting in the movie is not among the best of movie performances, but what drives and carries "Haunting of Winchester House" is not the acting, it is the story, the gloomy feeling of the place and the genuinely creepy sounds. Now, don't get me wrong, the acting wasn't all throughout bad through the entire movie, but there were points where it was painstakingly bad to look at. But the mood of the movie luckily made more than up for this fact.
What I didn't fully understand was the directors obsession with having shadowy persons walk past the camera view. Sure it worked the first time, but it was done repeatedly over and over, to the point where it was just annoying to look at. There is nothing scary about some dark, silhouette passing through the view of the camera.
Also, the "ghost", and I use the term loosely here, well they were more like walking dead (not zombies as per se). Had they chosen to go with a more ghost-oriented approach, the movie would have had so much more depth and value. The "ghosts" were too physical. Had they been transparent, wispy, incorporeal projections of themselves, it would have added so much more to the movie. But in all fairness, the main "ghost" was sort of disturbing and scary nonetheless.
And the ending was amazing. That totally took me by surprise. I didn't see that coming. And an ending like that always sits well with me. I like it when movies are unpredictable and doesn't end in the traditional sugar-coated-Hollywood-fashion-ending that most movies do.
As a fan of hauntings and supernatural phenomena, I found "Haunting of Winchester House" to be quite interesting, and the movie turned out to be much more impressive than I had anticipated. If you like ghost movies, and can live with some, at times, less than mediocre acting, then you should definitely check out "Haunting of Winchester House", because it is really quite good. Truth be told, then I had goosebumps several times throughout the movie.
Don't waste you're time
Mantion12 October 2009
There are plenty of good movies out there. If you need to watch one you have already seen, just don't waste you're time on this one. The dialog is almost as bad as the acting and the plot isn't much better.
The ending was unpredictable, yet unoriginal. The movie will not startle you or make you jump. There are no jokes, I washed the dishes during the movie, just so it wasn't a complete waste of time. This movie actually made doing chores seem like fun.
This is not a cheesy movie, it is just zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Why they made it I don't know. The plot would be better for the twilight zone.
In conclusion if you need motivation to do the dishes or want to wish you were at work, watch this movie.
The ending was unpredictable, yet unoriginal. The movie will not startle you or make you jump. There are no jokes, I washed the dishes during the movie, just so it wasn't a complete waste of time. This movie actually made doing chores seem like fun.
This is not a cheesy movie, it is just zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Why they made it I don't know. The plot would be better for the twilight zone.
In conclusion if you need motivation to do the dishes or want to wish you were at work, watch this movie.
Don't spend money on this one
ljays2228 October 2009
Someone says in the comments that this movie won some awards? Seriously???? I can't believe it! We rented because the title caught our eye, we visited the real Winchester House in California once. After watching this movie, I must say they use 'based on a true story' very liberally! Other than the Winchester Rifle 'curse' and 'keep building' references, this has little to do with any of the Winchester House legend or family. Some people mentioned the acting... in fact I think the actors did pretty well with what was an obviously lame script. Even the greatest of actors would struggle with that stilted dialog ("we don't have any money" - LOL)! I do agree though that the casting of the daughter was a bad choice - she must have been a relative or friend of someone involved because she did look much older in appearance than the character age seemed to imply - it made many of her scenes confusing. And besides the weak script and casting - how about the lighting?!! so shadowed and dark..., it was hard enough to understand the scenes without adding poor lighting to the mix. I had a hard time following as the scenes went from one to the other without any continuity or sense whatsoever. The most fun was close to the end when interesting details about the caretaker family are revealed. Unfortunately the script also did not see through on this opportunity - the film could've been salvaged somewhat if it could have managed a real thought-provoking or thrilling final ending. Nice concept - but very poor execution. Too bad! Maybe someone can take on a real Winchester House story one day, and do it right!
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