Oscar-winning actor Helen Mirren looks set to film in Australia for the first time in almost 50 years in a surprising role that is sure to raise hairs on the back of audiences' necks.

While her 1968 Australian movie Age of Consent certainly raised eyebrows due to her racy nude scenes, this latest movie role surprises because it will be her first dabble in a horror genre.

Mirren will play eccentric millionaire firearm heiress Sarah Winchester in the supernatural thriller Winchester, which is due to shoot in Victoria in early 2017 and undergo post production effects in Queensland.

The movie, by Predestination directors Peter and Michael Spierig, centres on the late-1800s true tale of how the Winchester Arms fortune-holder believed she was haunted by the souls killed at the hands of the Winchester repeating rifle, after the sudden deaths of her husband and child.