So, a few weeks ago, I was getting confused. Right around the same time, two horror films were making the rounds—THE UNBORN and THE UNINVITED. I’ve seen them both now, and I can definitely tell them apart; neither film is spectacular, or really even very memorable, but THE UNINVITED is definitely the better of the two. For most even casual viewers of horror, there aren’t many surprises here, but it’s a decent story and it’s actually pretty well acted.
About five or ten minutes in, I began to get a sense of déjà vu. It wasn’t just that the plot was rote wanna-be horror predictable—I really had seen it before. Seems THE UNINVITED is actually a remake of a Korean horror film from way back in 2003 called JANGHWA, HONGRYEON (or A TALE OF TWO SISTERS—if you have the option, see it first. It’s full of some truly frightening and beautiful imagery, and though the storylines are similar, the original does it better, as is almost always true). The main thrust of both is that while a young girl—in this case, Anna (Emily Browning), is off sorting out her psychosis after the death of her mother, said mother’s doting nurse has now become Dad’s (David Strathairn) doting girlfriend. Only Anna and her sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel) suspect that Nurse Rachael (Elizabeth Banks) is up to no good—and that she may have been involved in the death of their mother.
It’s hard for me to call this a horror movie. It’s an OK movie, mildly entertaining, but there’s nothing scary going on. A few weird looking kids in a couple of dreams and visions (and why, by the way, do these kids look like they’re straight out of a much older photo?), and some suspenseful bits here and there, but really, the scariest thing in the film was how bitchy Rachael seemed to be. Even if I hadn’t seen the original Korean film upon which this was based, I think I would’ve guessed every twist; subtlety is not its strong suit, and I found myself trying to figure out if the “twist” was something else, because it was so dang obvious I didn’t think it could possibly be what I was thinking. Of course, it was. The story is surprisingly coherent, and the acting isn’t bad—Browning seems to have channeled early-“90210” Brenda Walsh, but it kind of works, and Banks is a credibly ambiguous bitch/possible murderer. It all comes off too safe with an air of mystery, like Horror Lite or some Lifetime movie about bad step-mommies. It won’t make you jump, it won’t give you nightmares, and I’m pretty sure you can walk out to your car afterwards in the dark with nary a thought for your safety or soul.
Overall, I saw this yesterday and barely remember it. On the other hand, there are images and scenes from A TALE OF TWO SISTERS that still haunt me to this day. See the original and skip this pallid, colorless adaptation unless you get some free tickets.
– Amber Goddard
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
