The Uninvited stars Emily Browning (A Series of Unfortunate Events) alongside David Straitharn as the smitten father and Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) as the cutthroat channeler of evil…I mean stepmother figure. Arielle Kebbel (John Tucker Must Die) rounds out the cast as Browning’s sister. film is a remake of the Korean film A Tale of Two Sisters thus continuing the trend of bringing quality Asian horror films to the United States big screen horror franchise.
As the story goes, Anna (Browning) is released from a mental hospital following the untimely demise of her mother. Her father is now enraptured by the beautiful Rachel, the deceased mother’s nurse. Chaos is brewin’ though as questions start to pop up and the undead decide to reveal the awful truth via various creepy, evil venues that make for impressive cinematic moments but little else. The truly creepy aspect of this film however is the Stepford style looks of the main characters. Okay, it’s not quite Stepford but it’s just a few rungs lower. Most of the film isn’t all that scary but the plot is fairly good. Read into that what you will.
I would have much rather seen this as a suspense/drama film as opposed to a horror film (which winds up ultimately feeling more like a thriller than anything). Throughout The Uninvited you have an eerie feeling that you are getting plot-shafted. This is definitely not the worst horror film I have seen recently but it’s pretty mediocre when compared to films like Sam’s Lake and Dorothy Mills. Although I have to give a lot of credit to both the original ending and the alternate one, they make the movie.
If you are looking for a big budget horror film that plays mostly by the book then The Uninvited may be more up your alley than it was mine.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
