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THE UNINVITEDMovie Reviews
Horror thriller about two sisters who are plagued by gruesome visions and a possibly even more gruesome reality when their father remarries following their mother's suicide. Cast:Emily Browning, Elizabeth Banks, Arielle Kebbel, David StrathairnDirector:Charles Guard, Thomas GuardRelease Date:January 30, 2009DVD Release:April 28, 2009From:DreamworksRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 27 min
The Uninvited played to mixed reviews. • Peter Hartlaub wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle, "...a nice throwback to the days when scary movies featured pretty good actors, a plot that holds together and a couple of creepy-looking ghost kids." • And Wesley Morris wrote in the Boston Globe, "...brutally inane... a mess of styles and stolen ideas..." More Reviews Below...
The Uninvited Positive Reviews (24 Reviews, reviews below)
Adam Markovitz, Entertainment Weekly: POOR(cg) "Horror standbys like mangled corpses and stone-faced children pop up regularly, but sibling directors Charles and Thomas Guard haven't quite nailed the genre's rhythms..."(See all of Adam Markovitz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 88 words, 01/30/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...well-paced and offers enough jolts and twists to keep an audience sufficiently on the edge of their seats... Events have an effectively off-putting ambiguity."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 307 words, 01/30/09
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Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "...pretty much your classic been-there, done-that scenario: evil stepmother, clueless father, imperiled teen.... David Strathairn looks completely stranded..."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 414 words, 01/30/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a well-crafted film that weaves a story not as predictable as it might seem.... When a movie like this is done well, it's uncommon. 'The Uninvited' is done well."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 610 words, 01/29/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "...a big finish doesn't always make up for everything that came before... Until then, it's basically 80 minutes of things jumping out and making loud noises."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 505 words, 01/30/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The script ties the original scenario in a couple of ill-advised knots, and by the final third 'The Uninvited' has turned into a film existing mainly for its long-delayed twist."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 473 words, 01/30/09
Chuck Wilson, LA Weekly: GOOD "...the mix works... We've seen it all before, but that doesn't diminish the accomplishment of first-time directors (and brothers) Charles and Thomas Guard..."(See all of Chuck Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 197 words, 01/29/09
Barrett Hooper, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The original was spookier and just plain weirder, playing more deeply on the themes of alienation and repression... does offer a few genuine chills and surprising scares..."(See all of Barrett Hooper's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 248 words, 01/29/09
KEY CITIES (10 Reviews)
Mike Mayo, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "First-time directors Thomas and Charles Guard give the action a glossy polish and a properly measured pace. They also maintain the right narrative balance."(See all of Mike Mayo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 291 words, 01/30/09
Peter Hartlaub, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a nice throwback to the days when scary movies featured pretty good actors, a plot that holds together and a couple of creepy-looking ghost kids."(See all of Peter Hartlaub's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 613 words, 01/30/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "By the end, it's genuinely compelling. But despite the scares along the way, the rest of it doesn't make an especially compelling case for doing the work to get there..."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 467 words, 01/29/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a spooky, if narcotic, psychological thriller... doesn't startle and shock so much as it lulls you into a series of unsettling, hallucinogenic set pieces."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 428 words, 01/30/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: POOR(cg) "...brutally inane... a mess of styles and stolen ideas, including a plot twist that would make M. Night Shyamalan roll his eyes and dialogue straight from a CW scene generator."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 481 words, 01/30/09
Kara Nesvig, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: WEAK(cg) "...provides a few small gasps and jumps and a soundtrack of squeamish violins like most of its contemporaries, but it's 87 minutes of disappointment and cliché."(See all of Kara Nesvig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 199 words, 01/30/09
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: WEAK(cg) "...a by-the-numbers thriller... goes through its motions efficiently, if soullessly.... A plot twist at the end is unexpected, for a second -- but it's one we've seen before."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 369 words, 01/30/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: EXCELLENT(cg) "Taut, nervy performances, lean, unobtrusive direction and a smattering of wit in the script make this the rare horror picture that rises above cheesy 'gotchas' and gore."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 603 words, 02/06/09
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...will feel much less derivative to viewers young enough not to have seen any of the remakes of spooky ghost stories from Japan like 'The Ring' or 'The Grudge'..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 345 words, 01/30/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (4 Reviews)
Chuck Wilson, LA Weekly: GOOD "...the mix works... We've seen it all before, but that doesn't diminish the accomplishment of first-time directors (and brothers) Charles and Thomas Guard..."(See all of Chuck Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 197 words, 01/29/09
Shaula Clark, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE(cg) "Viewers coming to this remake cold might be wowed by its final twist, but compared to 'Two Sisters' ' elegant, labyrinthine mindfuck, 'The Uninvited' is downright clumsy."(See all of Shaula Clark's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 180 words, 02/05/09
Barrett Hooper, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The original was spookier and just plain weirder, playing more deeply on the themes of alienation and repression... does offer a few genuine chills and surprising scares..."(See all of Barrett Hooper's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 248 words, 01/29/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: MODERATE "Some major talent has been lavished... the plot borrows as freely from Hitchcock and Henry James as from the Bard of Avon, and doesn't make scrupulous sense..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 237 words, 01/30/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Dennis Harvey, Daily Variety: WEAK "Weak even by the standard of uninspired recent Asian-horror remakes... more likely to induce snickers and yawns than shudders and yelps."(See all of Dennis Harvey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 579 words, 01/30/09
Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "The directors and producers have spoken in lofty terms of the Freudian influences on their movie, but in truth it's just a gimmicky thriller that doesn't play fair..."(See all of Stephen Farber's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 495 words, 01/30/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: MODERATE "Some major talent has been lavished... the plot borrows as freely from Hitchcock and Henry James as from the Bard of Avon, and doesn't make scrupulous sense..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 237 words, 01/30/09
22.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Uninvited's reviews are separated by an average 22.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Uninvited (24 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Uninvited's reviews cover 33.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 9,445 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 394 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Uninvited Coverage, Volume & Length (24 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 0.0 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Uninvited's reviews on average broke 0.0 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Uninvited's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Uninvited (24 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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