# Uninvited (2024 film)

Uninvited is a 2024 Philippine mystery crime thriller film co-produced and directed by Dan Villegas from a story and screenplay written by Dodo Dayao. It stars Vilma Santos, Aga Muhlach and Nadine Lustre. In the film, a mother seeks revenge on a billionaire at his birthday party for being responsible for her daughter's death.
The film is part of the ten official entries of the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival.

## Plot

Lilia Capistrano attends the lavish 55th birthday party of corrupt billionaire Guilly Vega at his mansion. She plans to kill Vega for the death of her only daughter Lily a decade prior. Scouting the party, she encounters her targets: Vega, his apathetic wife Katrina, his drug-addicted and rebellious daughter Nicole and her boyfriend Mark, his right-hand man Jigger Zulueta, and his enforcers Celso Batac and Randall Ballesteros. Vega also invites his political enemy, Colonel Red, to show off to him. Uninvited to the party, Lilia adopts the identity of Eva Candelaria, a donor who had donated a large sum to Katrina's foundation.
Lilia was a teacher who lived with her only child Lily, a college student who is dating her childhood sweetheart Tofy. During a study date, Lily and Tofy were abducted by Vega's scouter Jomar Maitim. Maitim, Batac, and Ballesteros bring Lily to Vega to be raped while Tofy is tortured. Afterwards, the enforcers kill the couple and dump their bodies in a grassland where they are discovered.
Devastated following their children's deaths, Lilia and Tofy's mother Norma meet and deduce that Vega was responsible following a tip from Norma's police officer cousin; Vega would send his men to abduct teenage girls for him to rape, before they would be killed or let go, bribing their families into silence. Another victim of Vega, Tanya, commits suicide, and her father Elmer gives Lilia a list of Vega's lackeys. Lilia swears revenge on Vega and his men, and begins her plan by killing Maitim by running him over with a car.
Cracks begin forming among Vega's inner circle. Nicole tells Mark that she resents her father for his various crimes but only stays with him because of his wealth. Katrina rebuffs her husband's seduction prior to the party, as she is dissatisfied with him and is secretly having an affair with Zulueta. Having tailed his wife's affair for some time, Vega kills Zulueta.
Lilia steals a carving knife from the party's catering and kills Batac when he is alone before taking his gun. Ballesteros, who had deduced Lilia's identity and informed Vega, engages in a gunfight with her, accidentally killing Mark and injuring Nicole in the crossfire. Lilia manages to kill Ballesteros before holding Nicole at gunpoint, planning to kill her as "a daughter for a daughter." Nicole reveals that she is a victim of her father as well, having been sexually abused by him since she was a child. Having overheard the gunfire, Vega arrives and holds Lilia at gunpoint, forcing her to stand down. Nicole offers to take Lilia's gun and kill her herself, but she instead shoots her father, enabling Lilia to stab Vega to death. Prompted by Nicole to flee, Lilia leaves the party, satisfied at finally avenging her daughter's death.
In a mid-credits scene, Red discovers Vega's lifeless body and gloats over it.

## Cast
### Main Cast

* Vilma Santos as Lilia Capistrano / Eva Candelaria, a woman who poses as a socialite to crash Guilly's party to avenge her daughter's death.
* Aga Muhlach as Guilly Vega, a billionaire who hosts a lavish party for his own birthday. He murdered Eva's only daughter a decade ago before the start of the film's main story.
* Nadine Lustre as Nicolette Chantal "Nicole" Remegio Vega, Vega's drug-addicted daughter who resents her father.

### Supporting cast

* Tirso Cruz III as Colonel Red Zaldarriaga, Vega's former friend-turned-enemy who was invited to the party.
* Mylene Dizon as Katrina Vega, Vega's unsatisfied wife who runs a foundation.
* Gabby Padilla as Lilia Nieves "Lily" Capistrano, Lilia's late daughter.
* Elijah Canlas as Christopher Norman 'Tofy' Almario, Lilia's boyfriend.
* RK Bagatsing as Jigger Zulueta, Vega's right-hand man.
* Lotlot de Leon as Norma Almario, Tofy's mother and close friend to Lilia.
* Ketchup Eusebio as Jomar Maitim, Guilly's pimp.
* Cholo Barretto as Celso Batac, Guilly's ruthless henchman and bodyguard.
* Gio Alvarez as Randall Ballesteros, A corrupt police officer who is Guilly's cooperate fixer.
* Ron Angeles as Mark, Nicole's boyfriend who supplies her with cocaine.
* Nonie Buencamino as Elmer Gatdula, the father of another victim of Vega.
* Samantha Samarita as Tanya Gatdula, the late daughter of Elmer who is also another victim of Vega.

## Production

Uninvited with a working title of Project Red, was co-produced by Mentorque Productions and Project 8 Projects with Dan Villegas as its director and Dodo Dayao as its writer. While Dayao is credited as Uninvited's writer, co-star Vilma Santos provided significant output for the film's story. Due to Santos' candidacy for Batangas governor in the upcoming 2025 Philippine elections, production of the film was expedited.Uninvited also marks as Villegas' return in film directing since Hintayan ng Langit in 2018.
Mentorque has hinted that it has proposed several film projects for Santos as early as May 2024. Among these proposals were for a thriller film and Santos expressed interest to star in a type of project that she has never done before. In August 2024, Mentorque announced its collaboration with Project 8 Projects for a "dark" film starring Santos. Santos describes the film as a happening in 24 hours which starts nice but ends as "dilapidated". Lustre agreed to work in Uninvited after learning that Santos and Mulach are involved in the film. Lustre remarked that her role as Nicole is "very extreme" and is largely a "polar opposite" on how she acts in real life.
Principal photography was already underway for the film as of September 2024. Production for Uninvited needed to be finished by the end of the month to be an eligible entry for the second batch of films for the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival. The title of the film was announced in that month. Uninvited was filmed in several houses with the scenes edited in post-production to make it seem like they were set in one huge mansion.
The production team claims that Uninvited is the first film in the Philippines to be filmed with a pair of custom-built Cooke Optics Anamorphic Full Frame Special Flare lenses fitted in an Arri Alexa 35 digital cinema camera. CMB Film Services procured the equipment with the preferred specifications given by cinematographer Pao Orendain. The studio says the cost of the lens alone is enough to produce another film by itself.
The production team rejected the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board's recommendation to cut out some scenes for a more lenient rating, from R-16 to R-13.

## Release

Uninvited was released theatrically on December 25, 2024, as one of the entries for the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival by Warner Bros. Pictures. In addition, Viva Films handled worldwide sales for this film. The film is also scheduled to premiere at the Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) in Los Angeles on March 6, 2025.
It is also planned to be screened in cinemas outside the Philippines during the film festival's run. The organizers have allowed screenings for the film, provided that it would not be streamed online during the exhibitions' runs.

## Reception
### Accolades

Accolades received by Uninvited :
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Actress | Vilma Santos | Nominated |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Supporting Actress | Gabby Padilla | Nominated |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Supporting Actress | Nadine Lustre | Nominated |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Cinematography | Pao Orendain | Nominated |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Original Theme Song | "Hahamakin ang Lahat" | Nominated |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Float | Uninvited | Won |