Korea has firmly established itself as Hollywood’s newest farming ground for adaptations. The source has shifted over the last few decades through Europe and then moved and settled comfortably in Asia, most notably in China and Japan. Now it’s Korea’s turn, but it doesn’t come without a price: as often as not Hollywood makes a stinker out of an excellent Korean film. With remakes of the cult classic Oldboy and monster masterpiece The Host on the Hollywood horizon, there’s plenty of studios still snatching up the smallest Korean horrors and remaking them for American consumption (because we can’t stand reading subtitles…). The Uninvited is the most recent in a long string of adaptations and, while it uses twists that closely echo a few horror films that surfaced mere months before it, it still manages to scare better than most of the drivel that hits theaters.
The uncertainty besets the audience from the start: Anna (Emily Browning), our protagonist, has just departed an insane asylum after vaguely described events took the life of her mother. Returning to the home of her father (David Strathairn) she reunites with her bitter, promiscuous older sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel) who resents her absence since the accident. Together the two sisters begin to confront their discontent with Rachel (Elizabeth Banks) who tended to their mother before the accident and has become the love interest of their distant father. From here on out the film plays a series of mind games and toys with the audience’s perception of how their mother died. Did Rachel kill their mother? Who is Rachel? Why did she change her name?
Viewed apart from the horror film culture which surrounds it The Uninvited satisfies. You may guess the ending, but the ghoulish nightmares and typically jerky horror editing makes the film’s journey from uncertainty to the final reveal an interesting watch. The characters are typical and generic but the story gives them more depth than most horror films ever even consider. Unfortunately the film’s debut only two weeks before the My Bloody Valentine remake (with the same true of their DVD releases) imperils the film’s twist. The Uninvited merits watching, but make sure you do so before seeing My Bloody Valentine.
Emily Browning has an odd look about her. She can’t really carry a film unto herself which might explain the presence of veterans Elizabeth Banks and David Strathairn. Really I’m just surprised Banks and Strathairn appeared in this movie at all – they’ve both done their fair share of clunkers, but considering the reputation of horrors to be hit-or-miss January-release horror films tend to scrape the bottom of the barrel when it comes to talent. Browning proves to be the weakest link in the bunch. Without Kebbel’s performance the final twist would have fallen flat – the same goes for Strathairn. For the duration of the film my mind was somewhat annoyed at the irrationally distant nature of Strathairn’s character considering the circumstances – but the final reveal actually explains everything, which is really quite rare in horrors these days. Instead of the twist destroying everything the film worked to achieve just for a shocking finale, The Uninvited’s ending actually makes sense. What a nice change.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
“Unlocking The Uninvited” features the typical cast and crew celebration of their creation. The brotherly director duo Charles Guard and Thomas Guard discuss why The Uninvited breaks ground in the horror field. But does it? Not really, but it does prove to be more entertaining and bearable than most new horror flicks. The featurette has its value but it comes across as somewhat too self-aggrandizing most of the time. The “alternate ending” seems an exciting prospect until you actually see it. While at first promising of a new twist which would cast the movie’s events in new light, the ending proves to be after the reveal meaning its impact is minimized. The deleted scenes are about as satisfying as the alternate ending – you won’t miss much if you skip them.
"The Uninvited" is on sale April 28, 2009 and is rated PG13. Horror. Directed by Charles Guard, Thomas Guard. Written by Craig Rosenberg & Doug Miro. Starring David Straitham, Elizabeth Banks, David Strathairn, Arielle Kebbel, Emily Browning.
