The Uninvited

A mild improvement over its nigh unwatchable predecessor, 2003’s A Tale of Two Sisters, The Uninvited nevertheless comes off as a typically chaste, hopelessly dull contemporary horror effort that seems to have been designed to appeal solely to bubbleheaded teenagers. The movie follows troubled youth Anna (Emily Browning) as she returns home to her sister (Arielle Kebbel’s Alex) and father (David Strathairn’s Steven) after a stint at a mental hospital, though it’s not long before both Anna and Alex begin to suspect that something’s not quite right with their dad’s new flame (Elizabeth Banks’ Rachel). There’s little doubt that The Uninvited primarily plays out like a movie-of-the-week mystery, as screenwriters Craig Rosenberg, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard place a relentless emphasis on the siblings’ ongoing investigation into the mysterious death of their bedridden mother (Maya Massar) – yet the viewer is left at arm’s length from Anna and Alex’s efforts right from the get-go, as the two characters are left undeveloped beyond their most superficial attributes. It’s equally clear, however, that the rampant lack of subtlety within the script plays a substantial role in the movie’s downfall, with the inclusion of several laughable plot developments and twists sure to leave even the most laid-back viewer furiously rolling their eyes in derision (eg Rachel doesn’t even seem to be trying to hide her maliciousness from Anna). And while the admittedly out-of-left-field twist ending is impressive in its audacity (even if its doesn’t make a whole lot of sense), The Uninvited ultimately fits comfortably aside its myriad of underwhelming Asian-horror-remake brethren (ie One Missed Call, Pulse, etc, etc).

** out of ****