DreamWorks

The Uninvited is yet another in a long string of Asian films that are translated and retooled for American audiences. It’s been a rather strong and long running trend that was kicked off with the wildly successful The Ring, from the Asian classic, Ringu. But, for every effective spooky thriller that comes out of this Asian pipeline, there appear to be a dozen or more complete failures. Some American directors think that all they need to do is throw fast moving creepy ghosts at us and often have them inhabit some modern electronic device. Presto! You have a horror movie for the purposes of generated cash. I’m happy to report that The Uninvited is a fresh approach that relies on almost none of these tired conventions to work. There is no morality tale about our modern conveniences here. No ghosts haunt cell phones, beepers, computers, video games, DVD’s, or even toaster ovens. The appearance of spectral creatures is actually quite limited and will disappoint the viewer who is there for the quick scare moments. This film uses the technique sparingly, and ultimately more effectively. The truth is that The Uninvited is really not so much a ghost story as a thriller in the vein of The Hand That Rocks The Cradle. It gives us one of those rare endings that you won’t easily see coming at all. Most importantly, this movie completely shatters the mold of these Asian remakes by making it all about the characters; the human characters, that is. Based on the Korean film that roughly translates to Tale Of Two Sisters, this is a refreshing take on a stale theme.

Anna (Browning) is just getting out of a mental hospital. She’s been there for some time, following the death of her mother in a terrible house fire. She had been haunted by nightmares of that tragic night. Her doctors now think she will be able to cope and return home. Her father, Steven (Strathairn) is hopeful about bringing her home. There she is confronted by a harsh reality. Her mother had been infirm at the time of the fire. Now Anna has discovered that her mother’s former nurse, the very young Rachel (Banks) has moved into the house as her father’s lover and future wife. She notices that in her absence, her mother’s presence has been erased from the home as Rachel has redecorated and removed any connections to her dead mother. She takes comfort only in the company of her sister, Alex (Kebbel) who also hates the woman they see as an intruder in their home. Anna begins to have visions that her dead mother is warning her about Rachel and suspects the fire was not an accident. The sisters investigate, only to find that Rachel’s name is not a real one. Anna is convinced that Rachel killed her mother and will now do the same to her and her sister. When a local boy who claims to have information about the night Anna’s mother died turns up dead himself, Anna decides to get help. But no one appears interested in her story, and now Rachel knows she’s on to her. The film ends in a sort of typical cat and mouse game that ends up not being so typical after all.