The Uninvited (2009)

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.

Directors:

Charles Guard, Thomas Guard

Writers:

Craig Rosenberg (screenplay), Doug Miro (screenplay),

Stars:

Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel, David Strathairn

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emily Browning	...	Anna
Arielle Kebbel	...	Alex
David Strathairn	...	Steven
Elizabeth Banks	...	Rachel
Maya Massar	...	Mom
Kevin McNulty	...	Sheriff Emery
Jesse Moss	...	Matt
Dean Paul Gibson	...	Dr. Silberling
Don S. Davis	...	Mr. Henson
Lex Burnham	...	Iris
Matthew Bristol	...	David
Danny Bristol	...	Samuel
Heather Doerksen	...	Mildred
Alf Humphreys	...	Priest (as Alfred E. Humphreys)
Ryan Cowie	...	Orderly

Storyline

After the death of her ill mother in a fire, the young teenager Anna tries to commit suicide and is sent to a mental institution for treatment. Ten months later, Anna still cannot remember what had happened on the night her mother died. Her psychiatric Dr. Silberling, however, discharges her telling that she has resolved her issues. Her father and successful writer, Steven, brings her back home in an isolated mansion nearby the coast. Anna finds that her mother's former nurse, Rachel Summers, is her stepmother now. Anna meets her beloved sister, Alex, swimming in the sea. She discovers that Steven has not delivered the letters and CDs that Alex had sent to her. As time moves on, Anna is haunted by ghosts and she believes that Rachel killed her mother. Alex and Anna decide to look for evidences to prove that Rachel is the murderer and Anna discovers the truth about the fire in the boat house.

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Plot Keywords:

nurse | boathouse | name on door | hanging a picture | diner | 

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Taglines:

Fear moves in

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [au] Official site [fr]

Country:

USA Canada Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Tale of Two Sisters

Filming Locations:

Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£343,378 (UK) (24 April 2009)

Gross:

£927,501 (UK) (8 May 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, Cold Spring Pictures, MacDonald/Parkes Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'The Uninvited' is a remake of a 2003 Korean Horror film A Tale of Two Sisters (literally "Rose Flower, Red Lotus") or "A Tale of Two Sisters," starring Su-jeong Lim and Geun-Young Moon. It was directed by Kim Jee-Woon.

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Goofs

When Alex and Anna are looking online for information about the Wright children murders, they come across an article which ran in a local paper about the event. The story mentions that the children were apparently "heavilly" (incorrectly spelled) drugged when they were killed.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

References Vertigo (1958)

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Soundtracks

"My Party"
Written by Caleb Followill, Nathan Followill, Jared Followill and Matthew Followill
Performed by Kings of Leon
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

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