Surprising to see nothing about this one in the search bar.

Anyway.

Having yet to see the Japanese original, it's difficult to compare this against its source, but this one caught me unaware.

To all intents and purposes, it's a standard horror flick but upon closer inspection, this film really does have a pretty deep core.

How did others feel about it? Who do you consider the true victim? Was it just a 'Sixth Sense' ripoff? Did the ending surprise you? I'm all ears!

Oh, and despite the clear depiction on-screen that Anna was coming to terms with her psychiatric problems (i.e. the odd aberrations from reality) - thus not aware of them from the outset, did anyone else think it was plausible that she did indeed know and was Machiavellian from the start? It would require a recalibration of everything presented, but it's something that is staying with me - irrespective of its likelihood.

Andrew

They had an oooooold Nes game called "The Univited" and it was one of the coolest games ever. Well, as far as point and click games go. Pretty good story to it.  I'm sure it has nothing to do with the topic, but the name just takes me back. "ha"

I thought it paled in comparison to the original [Soutch Korean, not Japanese]  movie. The twist in The Uninvited was too formulaic for my tastes. A Tale of Two Sisters, on the other hand, had several, multi-layered twists revealed gradually throughout the film. The Uninvited tried too hard not to be predictable, and thus it actually succeeded in BEING predictable. I don't know how that makes sense, but it's how I felt.

One thing I will commend, though, is the acting by the three female leads. They were all excellent and way over typical Horror movie standards.  

Sadly, the movie also failed to create likeable characters (much like RZ's Halloween). Everyone in the movie besides Anna was a piece of shit human being. And after the twist, Anna turned out to be the worst of the worst, anyway.

For a remake, it's not too bad. At least it is slightly better-paced than the original, but it's still quite inferior.

--Julio

I liked it. Good twist. Not great but good enough

I love the Tale of Two Sisters. Actually, I've liked all of the movies in that series. Is it a series? Or are they all produced by the same company? It's been a while since I've seen any.

Quoted from ReaperCreeper One thing I will commend, though, is the acting by the three female leads. They were all excellent and way over typical Horror movie standards.   Sadly, the movie also failed to create likeable characters (much like RZ's Halloween). Everyone in the movie besides Anna was a piece of s*** human being. And after the twist, Anna turned out to be the worst of the worst, anyway. For a remake, it's not too bad. At least it is slightly better-paced than the original, but it's still quite inferior.

Yeh, the acting was generally very good. It elevated the movie a little, I think.

The notion of whether or not a character is likeable or not is not really a concern for me. I mean, people in general can be very unlikeable. Husbands cheat, even when their wife is on her death bed, mistresses are selfish, and daughters can be horrible. That's reality, and - personally - I don't feel like I need to 'root' for someone in a movie, 'cos certain stories would just feel too twee if characters fulfil a preset caricature, y'know.

Out of interest, who do you think could have been a traditional protagonist in this movie, and how do you think this would have benefitted the narrative?

Balt,

Ahhh, the old games were the best. I mean, I think the Mega Drive/Genesis was the single greatest console of all time, but then I am known to be weird.

Andrew

Quoted Text Out of interest, who do you think could have been a traditional protagonist in this movie, and how do you think this would have benefitted the narrative?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "more traditional protagonist". I thought Anna was a good and perfectly likeable protagonist up until the twist, which is the whole point of the movie.

The supporting characters are the ones who I could not stand. Rachel somewhat gave me a better impression of her after the twist was revealed. If not likeable, she was at least worthy of some sympathy.

Matt was just a horny and naive motherfucker , but then again, all teenagers are. I did not care about him.

The father was scum (although I can partly understand his actions -- the grief must have been too strong. I think he was just looking for comfort with Rachel) and the sister was a skank. Now, there were positive sides to her as well, but they were overshadowed by her bitchiness and overall uneducated demeanor. Throughout the film, she showed she cared for her sister, but as we all know now, we really can't know if that was true, either considering most of what we saw of her was a hallucination.  

I guess this bothered me the most because in the original movie, the sister and the dad were actually good people that you could worry about.

I agree that people aren't perfect and can make mistakes. That is only natural and it is good when it reflects on movie characters, but people are also capable of great kindness at times and this film rarely ever focused on the characters' good sides, showing most of them instead as cardboard, uninteresting characters. That was my problem.

Quoted Text I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "more traditional protagonist". I thought Anna was a good and perfectly likeable protagonist up until the twist, which is the whole point of the movie.

She was somewhat a pseudo-protagonist, though, don't you think? I mean, she carried out part of the role, but was in actual fact the antagonist. If she had been a traditional protagonist, then you would've identified with her when you left the film - however, with a sleight of hand, her true motives were revealed.

Rachel was a compelling character, for me. In the diner, she showed a subtle sensitivity that was engaging the notion all was not as had been presented. To me, the directors built up towards an ending, and yes, they could've focused more on the subtleties, but that would've diluted the ending. However, I agree more subtlety would've facilitated a fuller crescendo of emotions towards Rachel being revealed as the 'victim'.

Her sister was an interesting character, and the scene where they 'fell asleep' together did demonstrate a true feeling of love. That's where the movie - for me - is deeper than it appears, 'cos in the short space of real-time action, the sister comes across as slutty; so, was this representation of their relationship in the fantasy world a true recollection? Or did it show the yearning of Anna for a close sibling relationship?

I still don't get why you say kindness would've benefitted the narrative, though? My interpretation is that we saw the movie through the eyes of Anna, and yet, what we saw of the other characters was primarily through her distorted world view, so that draws a whole set of possible complexities as to how things really were.

I will definitely watch the original, but I do think it's a good thing for a remake to take its own path, and that is seemingly what happened here.

Andrew

The remake did not take its own path. It's literally just a rehash with trivial differences (older sister was the protag in the original, for example). The original movie is very slow-moving, but it has more than one twist and the twist that WAS in the remake was executed much better and subtly in the original film.

Quoted Text She was somewhat a pseudo-protagonist, though, don't you think? I mean, she carried out part of the role, but was in actual fact the antagonist. If she had been a traditional protagonist, then you would've identified with her when you left the film - however, with a sleight of hand, her true motives were revealed.

I don't believe so. Anna was the protagonist and the villian. Rachel was the antagonist and the "hero". We are on Anna's side up until the last few minutes. It's an unusual set-up, but it works and it's not the first time it has been used. If you have ever watched the animated show 'Death Note' (anyone who appreciates good mystery thrillers with intricate plotlines should watch it at least once, even if you dislike anime) you'd notice Light, is at his core, a clear-cut villian whereas his nemesis 'L' is clearly the hero, and yet the show treats Light as the protagonist despite him being the villian. 'L', on the other hand, is the hero of the story, but his arc develops as if he were the antagonist.

--Julio

That's cool, Julio.

I love to hear other views on movies that I like, so it's good to see other interpretations

No, I haven't seen that. I think the concept sound great, though. Anything that intelligently plays around with preconceived notions is great.

I am kind of a split, 'cos on the one hand I love to 'think' about my movies, and then on another, I just love to sit there and watch the antithesis of that and just be entertained.

I shall try and catch that cartoon.

Andrew

You'll really enjoy it. It has really intricate plotlines and, though a supernatural element is present, humans are actually the main focus.  Its English dub is pretty good too. Some Japanese series have horrible dubs but Death Note has a good one.

I finally got a chance to see this tonight and... Not impressed. I knew right when the sister dove off into the water and never resurfaced; she was a ghost or an apparition. It was made more obvious the next few scenes where she'd be in the room and no one but the sister would acknowledge she was even there.

Very much a SIXTH  SENSE vibe for me. For better or worse... I can't say I liked either very much.  I thought the ups and downs and lefts and rights were so deluding to the plot and they tried masking so many of their plot points up with scary or spooky imagery when it really, at the heart of the matter, had little to do with Ghost.

I knew after only a few scenes the "Care Giver" wasn't going to be the Villain. Why? Cos' they fought so hard so long to make you think she was. It's so easy to spot movie flaws anymore...

One thing that did baffle me, and please go back and confirm this for me... Why the fuck did the father's truck leak so much oil when he was leaving for NEW YORK?  That damn car had a huge oil spot sitting underneath it and then a trail as he was leaving... Was this intentional to throw us off and make us think he was going to die next?  If not, they really should have had a tune up on that thing.

In the end... It's a typical horror movie for todays crowd. Not my own.  

I seem to be alone with this film!

Oh, well - I did enjoy it.

Balt, you look badass in that avatar - a bit like a 'bouncer'.

Andrew