Review: The Uninvited (2009)

"The Uninvited" is a remake of Kim Ji-Woon's South Korean blockbuster hit "A Tale of Two Sisters".

The story begins with teenager Anna (Emily Browning), who has been in a psychiatric facility for the past couple of months, presumably because of her suicidal tendencies after her terminally ill mother dies in a tragic fire. Upon her release, her father (David Straithairn) picks her up and takes her home, but Anna's happiness is short-lived when she discovers her father has formed a romantic attachment with Rachel (Elizabeth Banks), Anna's mother's nurse and caregiver who is now playing the role of soon-to-be stepmom and living in the family home.

                                         

Anna's only ally and confidant is her sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel), a free-spirited and rebellious teen who also dislikes Rachel. When Anna experiences visions of her deceased mom's ghost, she comes to believe that the fire that killed her mom was no accident but a deliberate act perpetrated by Rachel. Anna also seems to be "haunted" by three pale children and the siblings' investigations turn up the possibility that Rachel may have been the nanny that murdered them many years earlier.

I’ve seen enough horror movies to guess what will happen in the end, but this one threw me off which is exactly why its great!

The effects are quite ho-hum in terms of scare factor - the crawling entity has been done to death (pun intended) in so many other horror movies, especially in Asian horror, that the effects have worn off for me. The ghost children are pale but not very creepy.

I thought this movie was really good. Not scary but all around suspenseful. It has some twist and turns and a very surprising ending. It maybe predictable to you if you have seen the original Tale of Two sisters as this is a remake of it.

             
The Uninvited is a well shot and supremely paced film ... I recommend that you check it out.

I will give this one 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Review: Friday the 13th (2009)

First off, I was not going to watch this film because I didn't think a remake would be any good but... 

Despite the title of the film being "Friday the 13th," this is NOT a remake of the 1980 classic. It is more of a film based on the first four Friday the 13th films.

I was a fan of the older films and some were better than others, but nevertheless they were classic films that helped shape the way horror films were made. I was hoping that a remake would keep the same magic that the original series had.

This movie was amazing!! It had profanity, drug use, violence, gore, suspense, and nudity. These were the staples of the films in the 80s, so it was good to see that this "remake" didn't wander too far from its roots.

My understanding that the main reason anyone would watch a Friday the 13th movie are blood and boobs. This movie delivers both starting within ten minutes.

The main focus of the movie covers two separate groups of party hungry beer thirsty kids who wind up getting slashed to pieces by Jason Voorhees. The real story line of the film revolves around Clay who is searching for his "missing" sister Whitney. The search obviously leads right to the forest's legendary masked terror. The "remake" is well-done on all fronts, with a solid story threading through rip-roaring horror blood and carnage, and a high level of sexuality featuring a gorgeous female cast. The biggest change is with Jason himself.

The character has been changed. While he's still a machete wheeling figure but it's not the same Jason as was in the previous saga. Jason is faster, more brutal, and less bumbling. He seems to have lost some of that no thought killer instinct that made him such an icon back in the 80s.

I found Jason to be a bit more violent and foreboding in this movie than in some predecessors. The characters in this movie were routine, but still interesting, even the story was good. I am sure there are some people who will complain about this movie.

Here are a few things that I had issues with this film.

#1 shaky camera syndrome. (it is played out stop it)

#2 Jason burns one victim alive. Jason does not torture ... he is a cold, ruthless killer.

#3 Jason does not keep victims alive and hold them prisoner. Again he is a cold, ruthless killer.

#4 Jason shows a lot more intelligence in this movie. Jason is not smart enough to pull off some of the things he does in this movie.


Bottom line … gratuitous nudity, sex scenes (with morality lessons), someone wanders off by themselves in the dark, completely pointless deaths, corny jokes (requisite for fun horror movies), a solid amount of blood spatter and flying brain chunks, good shock/jump scenes, and pretty good special effects. Awesome!!

Why reinvent the wheel? (the reason it's not a 5-star)

Body count 14 (13 of which are killed by Jason).

If you are a fan ... WATCH THIS MOVIE! It will not disappoint at all.

I'll give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.