Didn’t see that coming
While I never saw the original Korean version of this film, A Tale of Two Sisters, I would imagine that it was probably slightly better. Originals, for the most part, tend to be a little bit more thought out and put together to spec. Remakes tend to want to retain the content from the original, but add a new way of doing things (so you’re not stuck with the exact same movie). Sometimes it is just better to leave the original the way it is.
With that said, let’s discuss The Uninvited…
From the get-go of the film, we learn that Anna has had some issues in her past. Her mother has died and she has cut her own wrists at some point. What has happened to her during the process has altered her perception completely. She doesn’t have a clear understanding of how her mom died, it’s as if her mind is blocking it out. Paired with her sister, Alex, they slowly begin to suspect that the ‘new mom-figure’, Rachel, might have had something to do with their mom’s demise. As they begin to uncover clues about Rachel and her true identity, Anna begins to experience seeing ghosts who are warning her of other people’s deaths, including her own. I will stop there, spoilers to come…
Okay, so my big issue with the film is that it leads you in so many different directions with what could have happened that it never allows you to suspect what did happen. You have different people dying, different clues about Rachel popping up that lead almost to nowhere. For a movie like this, it can be compared to (from a far distance) a movie like From Hell where the answer is right in front of you and you didn’t even know it. Unlike that hit film, The Uninvited leads you in different directions that successfully, and consistently, throw you right off the story’s path. It’s okay to do this, but for people to understand the ending and how they arrived their it really does make it too confusing. Even through a second showing of the film, I still didn’t see a solid connection to the end.
(SPOILER BEGIN)
Okay, so the ending has her sister being a ghost. That twist is really damn good, as it was completely unexpected. The problem here is that people will go back, like I did, and try to piece together the movie to lead up to this conclusion. Guess what? It doesn’t. That’s where the majority of my disappointment for the film comes in. The set-up was typical, you caught your audience trying to sleep their way through would seemed to be a teen-horror flick. If the story had just been a bit more on track and things done so subtly to make the end coherent with the rest of the story, this would have been another Sixth Sense easily. Because of the misdirection and the ‘never coming back’ to the story type of path, the movie doesn’t achieve the glory it was trying to set out to obtain.
(SPOILER END)
The Guard Brothers (please, just use your names) should have locked this story onto one path before the production even began. I understand that isn’t how Hollywood works (we would have blockbusters everywhere if so), but as directors they are fully responsible for putting together something good. Try again, you almost had it.
Loving how it looks until you’re blu in the face…
I recently reviewed Sin City which benefited greatly from the Blu-ray format. HD works well with blacks/whites, etc. Most of The Uninvited is dimly lit. For such a german-expressionistic shot film, it really does benefit from the Blu-ray love as well. You’ll find the scenes a lot more intense in HD then you would find on a DVD. The audio, which is the key to any good horror film, enhances the experience and makes you a nervous wreck. For those boobs out there who won’t go to Blu-ray because they believe it does nothing for movies, you’re idiots. I wouldn’t give up my Blu-ray player for the world. Okay, maybe for the world, but at the point I could get as many Blu-ray movies and players as I want. I’ll stop there.
As for features, here’s what you’re looking at:
– Unlocking the Uninvited
– Deleted Scenes
– Alternate Ending
Not to give it away, but the alternate ending was actually worth the wait. I can only say that about a handful of films that have alternate endings. I tell ya, they got this ‘end’ thing down pat with this film. Good stuff, and very nice in HD.
