Winchester

"In retrospect, the brief spark of ingenuity that the Spierig Brothers exhibited in 2014’s lovably loopy Predestination probably had more to do with the conceptual ballsiness of Robert A. Heinlein’s source text than anything. With a recent lacklustre attempt at franchise revival in Jigsaw, and now this goofy ghost thriller, it’s become even clearer that they’re the undistinguished genre travellers that they’ve always been: clearly big, avid fans of sci-fi and horror, with little of consummate craft nor consistent vision of their heroes."

"Sarah may not be crazy, but the film seems slightly nuts."

"There's a great film to be made out of the Winchester story, but sadly this isn't it."

"Ho-hum apparitions appear and disappear without a trace. Ms. Mirren and her representatives are probably hoping the movie will do likewise."

"A staggeringly pointless supernatural non-chiller featuring some very tiresome jump scares."

"The Exorcist this ain't."

"It shouldn't happen to anyone, much less a Dame - not a movie of such barreling awfulness that it strands the great Helen Mirren in a gothic house of cards that collapses on actors and audiences alike."

"Having laid out an unusually intricate and politically charged puzzle, "Winchester" proceeds to solve it in the clunkiest, most perfunctory way imaginable."

"Winchester draws on a fascinating true story but then simplifies and sensationalises it to fit creaky, clunky horror conventions."

"You’d think this was a surefire success. Sadly, you’d be wrong."

"Despite an intriguing premise, Winchester misses the mark. Its anti-gun message is a shot in the right direction, but lazy fright tactics and a contradictory ending leave it firing blanks."