There was a time when it seemed that Asian horror was fresh and new. Ghost stories of people seeking revenge from beyond were all the rage there for a while, and then Hollywood got a hold of the trend. Sure, Gore Verbinskis remake of The Ring felt inspired and filled us all with a fear of dubbed video tapes, but with each successive remake from the tedious Dark Water to the atrocious One Missed Call the trend seemed to get worse and worse. This is what makes The Uninvited such a surprise, even if the movie itself isnt exactly groundbreaking, as the picture actually manages to stay pretty watchable throughout without boredom setting in too often.
A remake of the Korean Horror film A Tale of Two Sisters, the movie revolves around a pretty decent performance from young Emily Browning as Anna Rydell, a girl dealing with the tragic passing of her recently deceased mother. Coming home from the hospital after a failed suicide attempt, Anna finds her world torn asunder as her father (David Strathairn) has moved on into the arms of her mothers former nurse, Rachel (Elizabeth Banks). Not dealing with the situation very well, things get worse when Anna starts seeing the ghost of her dead mother and other mysterious children, all of whom point to Rachel as the person responsible for their deaths.
Although the ghost sequences leave something to be desired, somehow The Uninvited manages to work, mostly due to the performance by Emily Browning and a pretty nuanced outing by Elizabeth Banks. Mind you, the movie isnt spectacular by any stretch of the imagination, but working a sort of Nancy Drew-like motif, the movie stays interesting and never gets too predictable. Browning is confident onscreen and never feels lightweight, even when matched with Banks or Strathairn, who are both stalwart here. The film even comes up with a pretty decent emotional center within the relationship between Anna and her older sister Alex, played in the film by Arielle Kebbel.
While nowhere near as enthralling or bloody as the film its based on, The Uninvitedstill entertains and manages to even eke out a few scares. Playing on a very kid-friendly level, and yet surprising at times with some disturbing images, the movie is gorgeously shot and well acted, and its script is pretty well put together. While the picture doesnt exactly mark a resurgence in these type of remakes, neither does it embarrass itself like the American versions of Pulse or the sequels to The Ring. For those looking for some light entertainment, you could do much worse, especially if you go looking into this genre for your fun.
This Blu-ray print for the film is pretty terrific, giving a lush image clarity to the movies terrific cinematography. Colors are bright and the transfer is nearly flawless throughout, with little to no artifacting.
The films sound is also quite good, and is pretty important in a Horror film like this, where all the little creaks and lurches from scene to scene help to build suspense.
Unlocking The Uninvited – Clocking in at around 19 minutes or so, this Featurette is a pretty standard “making of” extra. With a slew of interviews and behind the scenes footage, its not bad, but nothing really insightful either.
Deleted Scenes– You get four deleted scenes that go about 5 minutes.
Alternate Ending
Expecting the worst from this movie, I was pleasantly surprised that The Uninvited managed to keep my interest throughout and even surprised me in a place or two. The movie has some decent performances and looks great, but just dont expect too much in the scares department. The Blu-ray looks nice, but the extras are pretty light, so overall dont look for too much with this release.
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Dreamworks presents The Uninvited. Directed by: the Guard Bros. Starring: Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel, David Strathairn, and Elizabeth Banks. Written by: Craig Rosenberg and Doug Miro. Running time: 87 mins. Rating: PG-13. Released on Blu-ray: Apr. 28, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
