The Uninvited – 2009
There is a fine line between a movie that is all about the twist, and a movie that is itself a twist. The latter almost always unfolds more intelligently and avoids the gimmicky aura that surrounds less effective horror/thrillers that are either preposterous at the climax or succumbs to far too much exposition of the workings behind the twist. While The Uninvited, a remake of the Asian film A Tale of Two Sisters, is by no means flawless, it is however tense, well acted and boasts one of the best and most unexpected twist endings since last years The Orphanage.
What makes The Uninvited so effective is its gradual snowballing of events, subtle revelations and seeming lack of intentional misdirection. Many horror films come off very manipulative, and lead the audience by the nose wherever is necessary to complete its twist. This debut film by the Guard Brothers on the other hand is anything but a pretentious swindle existing merely for a final hurrah. The Uninvited is straightforward and relies on revelations by those involved and only holds back what the main character herself cannot remember.
Some fires just won’t die. Such is true in the memory of young Anna (Emily Browning) who is haunted by the memory of night a year earlier that claimed her bed ridden mother. Concluding a stint at a mental hospital following the accident Anna returns to her father’s lakeside home for a summer of relaxation with her dad, Steven (David Straithairn) and sister, Alex (Arielle Kebbel). There is however an unwelcome presence in the home, her father’s new girlfriend Rachael who was a former caretaker of her mother (Elizabeth Banks). Coupled with her general dislike of dad’s new girlfriend, Anna feels something is wrong with Rachel, and with the help of Alex, the two uncover some troubling evidence. Alex is spurred further yet by the need to explain terrible nightmares and ghostly visions she experiences, which seem to carry a sinister message about her mother’s death.
