The story behind the Winchester house is a supremely interesting one, which had us crossing our fingers that this early February release would be decent. However, Winchester: The Film that Jump Scares Built (as we like to refer to it) wound up being the living embodiment of contemporary clichéd horror, with very little working in its favor — and it stars Helen Mirren! Essentially, it's an exploitation of a pretty fascinating true story that is shaped into yet another "spooky" haunted house film. The only good news is that it’s so bad that it almost becomes enjoyable… almost. Sadly, Winchester only manages to be an absolute groan fest of flimsy storytelling, hand-me-down scares, and hackneyed moments of tension and suspense. Events just seem to happen, and the story unfolds in uninspired and increasingly uninteresting ways. The Spierig brothers set up what could be interesting themes (illusion v. reality, absolution of guilt), but when everything's said and done, they're only interested in making a film about a big house that goes bump in the night.

Before we get to our #1 pick, we'd like to acknowledge the films that weren't quite disappointing enough to make our top 5:

The Little Stranger

Tully

Creed II

Tomb Raider

Mary Queen of Scots

American Animals

Hold the Dark

Without further ado, our pick for the most disappointing film of 2018 goes to...