The Uninvited (2009)
Written By: AR
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director(s): The Guard Brothers
Writers(s): Craig Rosenberg, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard
Producer(s): Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, Roy Lee
Date Released: January 30, 2009
Cast:
Emily Browning as Anna
Elizabeth Banks as Rachel
Arielle Kebbel as Alex
David Strathairn as Steven
Rating = 2.5/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
After witnessing her mother’s death ten months ago, Anna (Emily Browning), was admitted into a psychiatric facility after the incident gave her frequent nightmares and caused her to self-harm. The therapist is convinced of her of lack of recollection about that night is just a way of her mind protecting itself from the traumatic memories, that she is deemed ready to be discharged. She returns home to discover her mother’s nurse, Rachel (Elizabeth Banks), is now her father’s live-in girlfriend. As the visions of her mother’s corpse and three mysterious children who seemed to be warning her about something are becoming more frequent and disturbing, the more convinced Anna and her sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel) that Rachel is not who she really says she is. But things may not always be what they seem.
Gore Factor
The film relies on suspense and thriller to scare the viewers rather than on gore. On several occasions, Anna has dreams and visions of the corpses of her mother, a boyfriend, and three mysterious children who are trying to communicate something to her. The corpses are depicted with realistic make-up and several bloody wounds and lacerations all over their bodies. With a few exceptions of those scenes and some blood splashes, there is not a lot of blood and carnage in the movie.
The Grave Review
The Uninvited (2009) doesn’t hold a candle to the original hit Korean horror movie (Janghwa, Hongryeon), A Tale of Two Sisters, it was adapted from but is still an engaging psychological thriller that would delight viewers. The director of the movie managed to take the viewers for a thrilling ride. Being able to see the whole movie from Anna’s point of view allows you to only see what’s happening from her perspective. You find yourself rooting for her and her sister in her struggle to uncover the real identity of Nurse Rachel Summers who you are led to believe killed their mother to have their father all to herself. Every suspicious encounter and overheard conversations ramp up the tension between the sisters and the nurse.
Emily Browning is deservedly the star of the film. She manages to portray an innocent daughter who just wants to protect her family. But when the twist is revealed, you are both surprised and amazed at the hints and foreshadowing the director and her acting managed to subtly infuse in the last hour of the movie. Elizabeth Banks also commendably depicted a character that could both be interpreted as a concerned stepmother or a woman with a hidden murderous past seamlessly.
However, the film is unnecessarily and unreasonably ominous. A lot of the times you feel like there is really nothing important going on, yet the soundtrack and camera direction says otherwise. The story could have used a tighter and better plot to enhance the movie.
Overall, it is a highly entertaining film with an unforeseen twist at the end that would leave the viewer satisfied.
Because of the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives The Uninvited (2009) two and half graves out of five graves.
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