Film Reviews

The Uninvited

• Rating:
• Director: Charles Guard
• Starring: Arielle Kebbel
• Details: US/ 87mins (16)

When hearing that the infinitely underrated David Strathairn and Elizabeth Banks would be appearing in a film together, I was excited that this could be that rare thing; a genuinely smart, classy, horror production. While well made, and proficiently acted for the most part, this is a nonsensical, puzzling and often ridiculous film, with a conclusion so mind-numbly out of left field, the person in front of you may be doused in regurgitated coke.

Shenanigans centre on the recently traumatised Anna (Browning) who was holed up in the nut house, after her (already terminally ill) mother bought the farm in a tragic fire. Her recollections of the night are patchy to say the least, but she knows one thing - all is not what it seems. Her suspicions soon grow that her father's new missus (Banks) may have had something to do with her mother's death, so she and her estranged sister set about investigating her past, Scooby-Doo style. Meanwhile, Banks loudly humps Anna's perennially confused looking father (Strathairn), whilst acting in an inherently guilty manner. The deeper Anna digs, the more she wishes that she could've stayed in the nuthouse where it was safe.

It's one thing paying to see a stupid horror film that you pretty much knew from the get-go would have the smarts of a geriatric mongrel with a bout of Alzheimer's; but the inclusion of Banks and Strathairn fooled me into thinking that this might actually be something more. Sure, it does have certain moments of undoubted tenseness, but they are few are far between, and the plot continually jars; never really coming together the way it should. Browning is watchable in the lead role, both pretty and engaging, but Strathairn is completely wasted and Banks miscast and misdirected.

It really would've taken an extremely smart script to pull all these threads together with any rationality, but this umpteenth Asian horror remake has numerous supernatural elements that it could've easily worked better without. If you've seen one ghostly figure try to tell you something from the grave, you've pretty much seem then all. The Uninvited offers nothing remotely original, and wastes a fantastic cast.

Review by Mike Sheridan