10 Terrible Horror Movies With Amazing Concepts

8. Winchester

Truth or Dare
Lionsgate

Winchester promisingly managed to secure the services of the great Helen Mirren to portray Sarah Winchester, the widow of legendary gun manufacturer William Wirt Winchester, who finds herself haunted by the victims of her husband's wares.

The movie's based-on-true-events hook is that Winchester ended up building an architecturally bizarre house in San Jose, California in an attempt to trap said ghosts, and the absolutely striking nature of the setting was nothing if not a ripe one for a spooky horror flick. Yet, from the exposition-riddled script to the avalanche of moldy jump scares and excessively self-serious tone, Winchester makes bafflingly generic slop out of a killer idea.

Mirren, bless her, has screen presence to spare but horribly mangles an American accent - in turn netting her a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress - while co-stars Jason Clarke and Sarah Snook are given desperately little to do.

Winchester's worst crime, though? It's just so damn boring. With a sharper script and more attuned direction, this could've been a damn classic.

 
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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.