Movies

The Uninvited Review

Anna Rydell (Emily Browning) returns home to her sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel) after a stint in a mental hospital, because she witnessed the death of her mother in a horrific fire. Soon after her return, Anna gets a visit from the ghost of her mother telling her that Rachel, her father’s new girlfriend, has evil intentions. Together, she works with her sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel) to try and convince her father that something is amiss.

This thriller was far better than I expected. Originally I expected to be startled a few times and have a Grudge- type plot play out, but that was not to be. After watching the trailer, I thought it might be more like The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, but that wasn’t to be either. Just when you thought you have everything figured, The Uninvited pulls the rug out from under you.

Browning does very well as the girl thrust from the familiar to unfamiliar, and Banks proves she can play the villainess as well as a dumb blonde in an Apatow movie. The direction and plot are quite good, and the twist at the end fooled me, as I thought the movie was headed in a different direction entirely.