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 | Eurocopter Ec 120 | New England | Seeing Dead People

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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:

'The Uninvited' is a remake of a 2003 Korean Horror film Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003) (literally "Rose Flower, Red Lotus") or "A Tale of Two Sisters," starring Su-jeong Lim and Geun-Young Moon. It was directed by Ji-woon Kim and is the highest grossing Korean horror film to date.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Pay close attention to the bags of groceries and the box of supplies that Matt delivers to the dock. Although the bags are apparently full and the box contains some heavy looking items, it's obvious by the way the girls easily lift and toss them around that they indeed contain nothing but empty boxes, bottles, etc.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Informers/The Soloist/Tyson (#1.9)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

The Songs That We Sing

Clever Psycho-Drama

This was a pretty good fright flick. It kept the viewer engaged right up to the ending and while it seemed somewhat formulaic in terms of plot development and things that go bump in the night, it had plenty of scary moments and more than served its purpose, which was a few hours of entertainment.

Most of the movie deals with the relationship of sisters Anna and Alex with Rachel, the girlfriend of their father. Anna thinks Rachel murdered their late mother and possibly was behind some earlier unsolved murders. However, Anna was recently released from a mental institution and has some emotional issues that raises more suspicions about her than about Rachel. On the other hand, Rachel has some questionable aspects about her past that don't seem quite right. This guessing game continues until the dramatic ending.

The screenplay was very good, the cinematography captured the rocky coastline of Maine nicely, and the film was helped by good performances from Elizabeth Banks as Rachel, David Strathairn as the father, and Emily Browning as Anna.

This was a good horror movie well worth checking out.