The Uninvited (2009/I)

Directors:

Charles Guard
Thomas Guard

Writers (WGA):

Craig Rosenberg (screenplay) and
Doug Miro (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Fear moves in

Plot:

Anna Rydell returns home to her sister (and best friend) Alex after a stint in a mental hospital, though her recovery is jeopardized thanks to her cruel stepmother, aloof father, and the presence of a ghost in their home.

Plot Keywords:

Nurse | Boathouse | Seeing Dead People | Nightmare | Syringe

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Emily Browning	...	Anna
Arielle Kebbel	...	Alex
David Strathairn	...	Steven
Elizabeth Banks	...	Rachel Summers
Maya Massar	...	Mom
Kevin McNulty	...	Sheriff Emery
Jesse Moss	...	Matthew Hendricks
Dean Paul Gibson	...	Dr. Silberling
Don S. Davis	...	Mr. Henson
Lex Burnham	...	Iris Wright
Matthew Bristol	...	David Wright
Danny Bristol	...	Samuel Wright
Heather Doerksen	...	Mildred Kemp
Alf Humphreys	...	Priest (as Alfred E. Humphreys)
Ryan Cowie	...	Orderly #1

Also Known As:

A Tale of Two Sisters (USA) (working title)
Apparition (USA) (working title)
Der Fluch der zwei Schwestern (Germany)
Les intrus (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violent and disturbing images, thematic material, sexual content, language and teen drinking.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA | Canada | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44547) | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Ireland:16 | Singapore:PG (edited version) | Sweden:15 | Germany:16 | France:U (with warning) | Mexico:B | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

A variation of clever camera angles and forced perspective helped maintain the illusion Elizabeth Banks was several inches taller than Emily Browning who in reality is only two inches shorter.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Anna is at the Party, Rachel tells her to take out the trash. When she opens the trash can, You can clearly hear the lid open, so when she finally closed it, how come there wasn't any sound?

Quotes:

[first lines]
Matt: I love you... I have a condom.

Movie Connections:

References The Other (1972)

Soundtrack:

The Songs That We Sing

Welcomed surprise in form of psychological thriller-horror

To say that this movie is nothing like newer horror flicks would be a lie, it contains a fairly big part that is same as in every newer American thriller-horror. I have already seen the same or almost the same story about a dozen times before, this type of story can be also used in crime-dramas, natural-thrillers, and supernatural thriller-horrors which this movie is. So after i realized what the story is all about, which took me couple of first minutes, i thought this movie is gonna be predictable, boring and full of clichés, and it apparently wasn't. The thing that bugs me the most about 'The Uninvited' is those "scary" scenes that look exactly the same as in every Japanese style horror flick(e.g. 'The Grudge', 'The Unborn', 'One Missed Call'), seriously when are they gonna make some original scary scenes with original scary stuff and not just the same ol' same ol' "sound goes eerie and louder, signal for a pale screaming person to come out of the dark, make a scary face and disappear", i think every horror fan had just about enough of that. Despite those cliché scary scenes, story takes a very smart and interesting twist at the end, and that is something that not all new horror movies have. Acting is very well done, fairly below usual cheesiness in these kind of movies which is very much appreciated. A "MUST SEE" thriller-horror for all the hardcore new style horror viewers, and also recommended for everyone else.

8/10