The Uninvited (2009/I)

Directors:

Charles Guard
Thomas Guard

Writers (WGA):

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

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 | Forest | Evil Stepmother | Family Relationships

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
Troy Rudolph	...	Orderly #2
John Prowse	...	Butcher

Directed by
Charles Guard		(as The Guard Brothers)
Thomas Guard		(as The Guard Brothers)

Writing credits (WGA)
Craig Rosenberg		(screenplay) and
Doug Miro		(screenplay) &
Carlo Bernard		(screenplay)
Ji-woon Kim		(motion picture "Changhwa, Hongryon") (as Jee-Woon Kim)

Produced by
Doug Davison	....	executive producer
Casey Grant	....	co-producer
Michael Grillo	....	executive producer
Roy Lee	....	producer
Laurie MacDonald	....	producer
Walter F. Parkes	....	producer
Tom Pollock	....	executive producer
Ivan Reitman	....	executive producer
Riyoko Tanaka	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Christopher Young

Cinematography by
Dan Landin		(director of photography) (as Daniel Landin)

Film Editing by
Jim Page
Christian Wagner

Casting by
Debra Zane

Production Design by
Andrew Menzies

Art Direction by
Margot Ready

Set Decoration by
Dominique Fauquet-Lemaitre

Costume Design by
Trish Keating

Makeup Department
Gitte Axen	....	makeup artist
Donna Bis	....	hair stylist
Kevin Kirkpatrick	....	special makeup effects artist: lifecasting
Bart Mixon	....	special makeup effects artist
Christopher Mark Pinhey	....	special makeup effects artist
Bill Terezakis	....	special makeup effects designer
Maureen Terezakis	....	special makeup effects producer

Production Management
Abby Callahan	....	post-production supervisor
Casey Grant	....	production manager
Michael Grillo	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Bitonti	....	first assistant director: additional photography
James Bitonti	....	second assistant director (as James A. Bitonti)
Jim Brebner	....	first assistant director
Justin Elsworth	....	trainee assistant director
Megan M. Shank	....	third assistant director
Rhonda Taylor	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Vaughan V. Baker	....	key scenic artist
David Clarke	....	set designer
John Coven	....	storyboard artist
Sharon Dever	....	construction buyer
Michael Dundas	....	paint foreman
Andrew Glavina	....	signwriter
Harry Griffin-Beale	....	construction coordinator: re-shoot
Scott Holburn	....	on-set dresser
Leah Hong	....	graphic designer
Bryan Korenberg	....	property master
Charles Leitrants	....	construction coordinator
Andrew Reid	....	buyer: set dressing
Al Rourke	....	construction foreman
Troy James Sobotka	....	leadman

Sound Department
Michael J. Broomberg	....	foley artist
Naomi Dandridge	....	adr mixer
Carmen Flores De Tanis	....	assistant sound editor
Robert Fernandez	....	score mixer
David E. Fluhr	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Terry Garcia	....	assistant sound editor
Tiffany S. Griffith	....	dialogue editor
Jeffrey J. Haboush	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gary A. Hecker	....	supervising foley artist
Scott Hecker	....	supervising sound editor
Michael Hibberson	....	boom operator
Rick Hromadka	....	sound designer
Travis MacKay	....	adr recordist
Derek Pippert	....	foley editor
Miguel Rivera	....	dialog and adr supervisor
Philip Rogers	....	adr recordist
Greg P. Russell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeff Sawyer	....	sound effects editor
Karen Schell	....	sound
Roy Seeger	....	assistant sound editor
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Hugo Weng	....	dialogue editor
David Werntz	....	sound effects editor
Rob Young	....	sound mixer

Visual Effects by
Simon Ager	....	digital compositing artist
Graeme Baitz	....	lead rotoscope artist
J. Cody Baker	....	digital intermediate assistant (as James Baker)
Michael Boggs	....	scanning manager
Justin Brekke	....	digital film I/O technician: CIS Vancouver
Brian Fisher	....	lead digital compositing artist
Chad Lee Fox	....	previs artist
Steven Hodgson	....	on-set supervisor
Alicia Johnson	....	visual effects coordinator
Tom McHattie	....	digital compositing artist
Christine Petrov	....	digital compositing artist
Gary Poole	....	digital compositing artist
Chris Roff	....	visual effects producer
Casey Rolseth	....	previs artist
Lorraine Rozon	....	visual effects producer
Curtis Tsai	....	data I/O: CIS Vancouver
Mike Washburn	....	rotoscope artist
Bruce Woloshyn	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Byron Briscoe	....	stunt double
Kimberly Chiang	....	stunt performer
Laura Lee Connery	....	stunt double: Elizabeth Banks
Marny Eng	....	stunt coordinator
Maja Stace-Smith	....	stunt double: Arielle Kebbel

Camera and Electrical Department
Rob Brady	....	lighting technician
Stephen S. Campanelli	....	camera operator
Dean Collins	....	key rigging grip
Drew Davidson	....	gaffer
Shane Dobie	....	best boy electric
Dan Fraser	....	lighting technician
Kimberly French	....	still photographer
Sean M. Harding	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
James S. Harvey	....	lighting technician
Phil Klapwyk	....	dimmer board operator
Kim Olsen	....	key grip
Tyler Woeste	....	second assistant camera
Keith Woods	....	rigging gaffer

Casting Department
Heike Brandstatter	....	casting: Canada
Andrea Brown	....	extras casting director
Andrea Brown	....	extras casting
Tiffany Mak	....	casting assistant
Coreen Mayrs	....	casting: Canada
Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson	....	adr voice casting
Tannis Vallely	....	casting associate
Chrissie S. Vides	....	casting assistant (as Chrissie Armstrong)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Silke Guglielmo	....	truck costumer

Editorial Department
Michel Aller	....	first assistant editor
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Leigh Folsom	....	first assistant editor
Shaun Paul Gordon	....	post-production coordinator (as Shaun Gordon)
Nick Monton	....	digital intermediate producer
Wendy Nomiyama	....	post-production assistant
Tyler Ruocco	....	editorial production assistant
Kevin Stermer	....	apprentice editor
Ian Turpen	....	digital intermediate scanner: Company 3

Music Department
Pete Anthony	....	conductor
Pete Anthony	....	orchestrator
Bruce Babcock	....	conductor
Bruce Babcock	....	orchestrator
Kristen Baum	....	score coordinator
Richard Bronskill	....	auricle programmer
Mark Buys	....	score coordinator
Tom Calderaro	....	supervising music copyist
Christy Crowl	....	choir conductor
Greg Dennen	....	music recordist
Jennifer Hawks	....	executive in charge of music
David Klotz	....	music editor
Jon Kull	....	orchestrator
Sean McMahon	....	orchestrator
Thomas Milano	....	supervising music editor
Jasper Randall	....	choir contractor
Peter Rotter	....	orchestra contractor
David G. Russell	....	composer: additional music
David G. Russell	....	synthesizer programmer: score
Jimmy Schafer	....	score synth programmer
Samuel Joseph Smythe	....	score programmer
Andrew Spence	....	score programmer
Richard Temple	....	synthesizer programmer: score
Jonathan Timpe	....	score coordinator
Gregory Tripi	....	music programmer
Brandon K. Verrett	....	score coordinator
Max Blomgren	....	synthesizer programmer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
David Holm	....	transportation captain
Scott Irvine	....	transportation coordinator
Dave Miller	....	driver: cast

Other crew
Sheri Buckham	....	accounting clerk
Bill Burns	....	location manager
Unjoo Lee Byars	....	main title producer
Charlene Callihoo	....	assistant accountant
Jason Crosby	....	marine coordinator
Alix Falkiner	....	assistant location manager
Dan Griffin	....	production assistant
Katherine Kohler	....	post-production accountant
Adam Kulick	....	representative: Goldcrest Pictures Limited
Susan Lambie	....	script supervisor
Peter Lapres	....	first assistant production coordinator
Eddie Lombardi	....	representative: Goldcrest Pictures Limited
Tom MacNeill	....	production assistant
Petar Mateiasevich	....	production assistant
James McBurney	....	production assistant
Lee Anne Muldoon	....	unit publicist
Tony Murphy	....	representative: Goldcrest Pictures Limited
Claire Oakley	....	assistant to the Guard brothers
Simona Pandele	....	production assistant
Laura Porkert	....	assistant location manager
Carmen Siegers	....	first assistant production coordinator: additional photography
Carmen Siegers	....	second assistant production coordinator
Shelly Strong	....	production executive
Kimberley Sutton	....	assistant: Mr. Grillo
Anthony Walters	....	representative: Goldcrest Pictures Limited
Scott Steyns	....	playback coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• DreamWorks SKG (as DreamWorks Pictures) (presents)
• Cold Spring Pictures (in association with)
• MacDonald/Parkes Productions
• Montecito Picture Company, The (as Montecity Picture Company)
• Vertigo Entertainment
• Medien 5 Filmproduktion (produced in association with)
• DWBC Productions (uncredited)
• Goldcrest Pictures (in association with) (uncredited)

Distributors

• Karo Premiere (2009) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2009) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures Entertainment (2009) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (2009) (France) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2009) (Chile) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2009) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• DreamWorks Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• DreamWorks Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Kadokawa Pictures (2010) (Japan) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• CIS Vancouver (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Company 3  digital intermediate
• Lakeshore Records  soundtrack
• Runway  post-production services
• Wildfire Studios  adr recording facility
• Wildfire Studios  sound post-production facility

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:

In the movie, Anna is meant to be fourteen/fifteen years old - in reality, Emily Browning was twenty years old at the time of filming.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end when Rachel has brought Anna back from the sheriff's office and flings her on her bed, her arms land so they are laying above her head. In the next shot when Rachel has her back turned, Anna's arms are at her sides even though she hasn't moved. When Rachel turns around again, Anna's arms are again over her head.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References The Other (1972)

Soundtrack:

The Songs That We Sing

A competent horror flick that has potential

Synopsis:Young Anna (Emily Browning) returns to her home after spending time in a mental hospital due to a tragic incident involving her family the year before. Upon her return she finds that a woman (Elizabeth Banks) has become her fathers new interest. Anna neither likes nor trusts the new woman and sets out to uncover just who exactly the woman really is.

About 3/4 of the way through this movie, I began to feel disappointed that this film did not live up to my expectations. Yes there were plenty of scares and all around "jumpy" moments. I even had to close my eyes a couple of times against what I knew was coming. But none of these were things I haven't seen before. Even the storyline was recycled from a dozen or so wicked stepmother films. Nothing new there. Ghosts, cemeteries, evil character eavesdropping, stock characters that don't have a clue of what is going on right in front of their face. This film contains all of these. But I'm not sure that the placement of such clichéd plot devices wasn't intentional. And as the film finally reached the ending, which I never saw coming, I realized that all these clichés actually worked in favor of what the plot was to reveal. The predictability of the story up until the ending is what lulled me into a sense of passivity; a sense that I didn't need to be looking for hidden signals or an indication that all was not as it seemed. And in doing that, I have to say that I look back and see that this film is actually better than I expected. The ending twist makes sense and if there are any plot holes that would make such a twist unfeasible, then I can't recall them. If they're there, they must be very minor.

This film could have been better than it was even still. In light of the surprise ending, it feels as if the whole storyline was a tad too rushed. If there had been an additional twenty minutes or so to really delve into the characters lives and thoughts, particularly Annas, then I think it would have made a bigger impact. It seemed like we were kind of thrown into the middle of a situation that already "was" without having a period of getting acquainted with the family. That being said though, I would recommend this film to any fan of suspense/horror films. The cinematography is stylish and the atmosphere is genuinely spooky. I can think of a lot worse ways to spend a couple hours.

My rating: 6.8/10