FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

GazerRise Fantastic!

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

ebossert The first time I watched "The Uninvited" (2003, Korea) I thought it was boring. The second time I watched it I thought it was good but needed approximately 20 minutes edited out. Last night I watched it for the third time and was captivated from start to finish. It's truly one of the most effectively depressing films of the past decade, and is essential viewing for lovers of slow-burning, psychological, dramatic horror films with heaping quantities of character development.The key to enjoying this film is to pay attention to the subtle details. Even the most ordinary dialogue is used meaningfully here. These characters have experienced horrific acts of death and violence in their pasts and have also experienced dysfunctional relationships with others. These dysfunctional relationships are communicated in a fragmented, nonchronological manner that's similar to most East Asian horror films. There's also some slight ambiguity, but only in little patches that can be filled quite easily with some common sense and logic. It's important to achieve that understanding though, because absent this understanding the viewer will never be able to appreciate the characters' suffering nor the motivations for their actions. And let me tell you, these are some of the most gloomy, disheartened, and interesting characters you'll ever see.The acting is what we've come to expect from South Korea, first rate. Ji-hyun Jun gives one of the best performances of her entire career. She's utterly convincing in an atypical, dark role that establishes her diverse acting range once and for all. Her depression isn't presented in a typical, psychotic, over-the-top manner. It's a very restrained exhibition, even in those few cases where she suffers a mental breakdown of sorts. The film uses her character's interaction with others, a steady tone, and a longer running time (2 full hours) to slowly but surely communicate her despair to the viewer. It's impossible not to sympathize with her and hope for her recovery. The quality of acting doesn't begin and end with Ji-hyun though. Everyone comes off looking well here.Another important point to make is that the entire foundation of this film is human suffering inflicted by humans. Contrary to what one might expect, there's really no ghostly activity present at all. Even the opening 30 minutes, which makes the film seem like it's going to travel oft-explored ghostly themes, can be interpreted as entirely psychological. Almost all of the horror sequences focus on disturbing historical events involving horrific accidents or murders that are presented in disturbing ways despite the absence of graphic violence. It might seem like an oxymoron to say that "The Uninvited" has more balls than the slew of vacation torture movies of recent years, but it really does trump those movies in pure guts because the acts of violence here are inflicted upon very fragile, defenseless victims. Some sequences are, in fact, jaw-dropping because most filmmakers (and their producers) are too timid to show such things.This is a damn good film that somehow fell between the cracks during the oft-referenced (but not entirely accurate) period known as the "hey day" of Asian horror (circa 1998-2005). I never hear it mentioned or referenced, but it deserves more attention than overrated, boring tripe like "Gozu" (2003). Watch both films and it's fairly obvious that "The Uninvited" is the better of the two in almost every conceivable aspect of film-making.

Gambitt I thought I would comment to address the disparity between the relatively favorable comments and the modest rating of 5.8 (as of April 2008) of "The Uninvited." First off, as others have noted, this movie isn't really a horror, at least not in the way most people think of modern Asian horror. It's much more of a psychological thriller. I don't know why it is marketed as a horror, perhaps to cash in on the sizable j-horror crowd. Though I don't personally care that it was not a j-horror (which all seem derivative to me anyway), conflicting expectations were probably one reason this movie got such poor ratings.The second reason is that the plot was ridiculously complicated and confusing. The main character is haunted by recent deaths of two girls on the subway. Yet the plot also concerns the murder trial of two(?) infants by a lady who may have played a role in the death of the subway girls. Meanwhile, the lady has the ability to help others recall traumatic events from their early childhoods. Consequently, the movie jumps all over in place and time. Is this another flashback? Where are we now? Wait, scenes x, y, z were all in one day? Is this for real or in his imagination? What does X have to do with Y?? Who is character abc anyway? This was one of the most difficult movies I have ever watched to keep track of connections between different characters and events.Now I can appreciate a movie with open-ended plots and countering interpretations, but there comes a point where a story is simply poorly told. And this is aggravated by the long run time, over two hours (despite the fact that the DVD box says 96 minutes). Very few movies, IMO, have any business going over two hours, and this was not one of them.Yes, the movie is nicely shot, with some interesting visuals and good atmosphere, but style can only bolster strong substance. Others have compared this movie to The Sixth Sense, but I would compare it more to Unbreakable.

refresh daemon The Uninvited is a frustrating film because it has a lot going for it, including a great premise, beautiful production values, a great eye for picture and even capable actors. The problem is that, like many of the weaker Corean films, the script itself suffers from a bit of a convoluted, misdirected and sometimes pointless story. Not to say that there aren't good ideas and even characters in the story, but the story itself is weak because it doesn't really follow a meaningful trajectory and sometimes seems to double back on itself.Nonetheless, there's a lot that's positive about the film. The Uninvited has tremendous power in the way that it creates its atmosphere. There is clearly a sense of uneasiness and brooding even without the supernatural elements. The art, set and production design is often excellent in both being art, but also seeming to fit right into the reality of the setting. The director and director of photography together have an amazing eye for lighting as well as camera direction and some of the mis-en-scene reveals are quite potent.Also, I was impressed by the actors; the protagonist, played by Park Shin-Yang, who I'd only seen before in a gangster versus monk comedy, surprisingly carries his everyman suffering with visions aptly and Gianna Jun (Jun Ji-Hyun) plays surprisingly well the quiet and depressed psychic well. All the side players cover their roles well too.The story itself does have a lot going for it. Dealing with past trauma as well as the effect of knowing terrible truths. Unfortunately, the inability to focus on the characters and their decisions, the sometimes contrived and unexplained ways to introduce problems, and the lack of narrative or emotional resolution cause it to be quite a frustrating view in the end.I can't recommend The Uninvited, but if you don't necessarily need a strong story and want to witness a rather striking work that explores the above-mentioned theme while gathering a rather impressive atmosphere, you could check this out. Passable on those merits, but not choice viewing due to a weak story. There needs to be a stronger division of labor in Corea--good directors that are weak writers need to be paired with stronger writers. 6/10.

Star_Red The Uninvited starts out very slow, with a hesitating, introverted main character, which all puts a test on your patience, but hold on and you will be rewarded with a genuinely horrifying viewing experience, which lets you forget all previously seen so-called horror movies by US studios.I do not like gore or cheap shock scenes that make you jump for a moment, but prefer subtle, realistic psychological horror instead, and this is what The Uninvited delivers: A sense of true horror with one specific sequence that is so disturbing and surreal in its whole execution, but realistic and gripping at the same time, you will not be able to shake off this creepy atmosphere out of your head afterwards.Having said this, The Uninvited has a few flaws. The pacing is extremely slow, the storyline has too many sub-plots, most of which felt unnecessary to the main plot, and some images seem borrowed from other horror films. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a subtle, slow-burn horror with a stark, disturbing center-piece, you should give The Uninvited a try.