Spring Break
Do not fear 'The Uninvited'
Marie Williams
Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: Features
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This film attempts to deliver a thought-provoking horror thriller with strong leading female characters. Instead, the viewer receives a somewhat nail-biting thriller with a side of moderate horror.
"I didn't jump once," said Eddie Sabat, a senior math education major and avid horror fan. "There was too much hype about the horror and it didn't meet my expectations."
The film begins with Anna (Emily Browning), who is reeling from the tragic death of her mother and has spent the last 10 months in a mental ward after an attempted suicide.
At the very start of the film, Anna is recalling a fairly scattered and traumatic dream to her psychiatrist that revolves around the night of her mother's accidental death, involving an explosion. Shortly after discussing her dream, Anna is stamped with a clean bill of health and issued a rapid release.
Anna arrives home and is reunited with the past she left behind, including her rebellious older sister Alex -- played by Arielle Kebbel. Rachael, her mother's ex-nurse -- now daddy's new fiancée -- is played by Elizabeth Banks. After a few quick introductions, the viewer gets the feeling that all is not right at the fancy homestead.
Soon Anna begins to have constant nightmares and hallucinations in the form of an extra-charred dead mother and creepy, pale-faced children.
During one of her hallucinations, Anna's mother accuses Rachael of murder in a very convincing "I'm dead and mad as hell" manner. This accusation sets up the rest of the film as Anna and Alex seek the truth about their mother's death and launch into their own private investigation.
"The Uninvited" rates high in suspense, stretching out the "who done it" question right until the very end.
The film dabbles into the foray of horror, mostly relying on the occasional grotesque ghost of Anna's mother and "wait for it" scenes to raise a few hairs.
"The Uninvited" consists of scenes that will either have you inching forward in your seat in sheer suspense or reaching for any available object to shield your eyes.
This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com.
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