Synopsis:

Anna Rydell returns home to her sister (and best friend) Alex after a stint in a mental hospital, though her recovery is jeopardized thanks to her cruel stepmother, aloof father, and the presence of a ghost in their home.

The Freak's Rating: B : In 2002, I made multiple trips to the theater to see The Ring.  Now seeing Daveigh Chase, the iconic dark haired girl from the film weekly in Big Love, I still can't shake the image of her that scared the heck out of me.  It was terrifying, striking a nerve in a way that only edgy Japanese cinema (remade of course) could.  I remember seeing it another couple times on DVD, loving every second and not being able to wait until the final scene's scary impact.  The idea of remaking a Japanese horror film became all the rage in Hollywood, with films spewed out like The Grudge, The Grudge 2, The Eye and now The Uninvited.

American audiences cringe at jumpy, creaky ghouls jumping up in spooky places (e.g. - your television, next to you in bed, etc...).  For some reason brunette's with long stringy hair scare us as well.  If you throw in a twist ending, as most of these films do, you have us wrapped around your cinematic finger.

Emily Browning plays Anna, the heroine of the film.  Previously only being seen in Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events, Browning is relatively new to the acting scene.  She plays the part of Anna nicely, but is nearly shown up by Elizabeth Banks (who is in practically every film nowadays) and Arielle Kebbel.  Both the aforementioned girls hold up the supporting roles nicely.

The Uninvited has its fair share of scares and a par-for-the-course mix of direction, cinematography and score.  There are enough jumps to make it a good one to see with your friends for scares and a strong enough ending to keep you figuring it out long after you leave the theater.  In fact, I'm still thinking about it days later.  Anything that makes me do that is worthy of a recommendation.  There are flaws, but this is a good scare.

Brian's Rating: B : I'm right with Scott on this one.  It was a darn good thriller film, and not entirely forgettable like most of them are.  It does fall short with some plot mechanics that make very little sense, or at the very least, were not explained well.  Its not as good as the aforementioned "The Ring", but its still worth seeing.

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