The Uninvited
Charles & Thomas Guard

She sees dead people. And that is never a good sign.
After her release from a mental hospital, Anna (Australian actress Emily Browning) returns home to find her father (David Strathairn as the distracted dad) canoodling with Rachel (Elizabeth Banks), the live-in nurse who used to take care of her ill mother.
Having died in a mysterious fire, mummy dearest now appears in visions to Anna, warning her about Rachel. The increasingly distraught Anna’s only ally is her sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel).
The British film-makers, the Guard brothers, pile on the cliches, from shadows flitting behind closed doors to the obvious use of minor-key music. Pretty soon, things get boring.
In the final act, the twists come fast and furious. But The Uninvited is never fully convincing.
An uneven remake of the award-winning Korean mystery thriller A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003), it is notable only for Browning’s taut performance as the frightened and seemingly helpless Anna.
(ST)