Product: The Uninvited (2003)
Rating: 4.0
Creepy Korean psychological thriller/horror
"The Uninvited" is a compelling Korean psychological thriller with a dash of horror in it. The movie is quite slow in pacing, but patient viewers will be rewarded with a compelling second half. The story centers around a despondent man Jung-Won, an interior decorator who is anxious about his impending marriage. He falls asleep on the subway train one evening and wakes up just in time to get off the train, but not before he sees two young girls asleep on the seat next to him. The next day, he hears news on the radio that two young girls were poisoned on the subway and finds himself being haunted by them - he returns home and finds the two dead girls sitting at his new dining table. He begins to question his sanity, but then he meets a depressed housewife Yun [Jeon Ji-Hyun from "My Sassy Girl"] who is troubled by a traumatic incident in her past. When he takes Yun back to his place, he realises that Yun is also able to see the two specters, as she tells him to put his two kids to bed!Jung-Won tries to get Yun to help him solve the mystery of the haunting and eventually with her help, he discovers some troubling aspects in his own past. Meanwhile, his life is a mess and he suffers a series of personal setbacks. Yun too experiences a lot of heartache, and when Jung-Won meets Yun's husband, Moon-Sub, he discovers some horrific facts that center around Yun. The final scene makes a very disturbing image in one's mind.The second half of the movie is better paced than the first half. The acting is credible all-around, though Jeon Ji-Hyun's performance as Yun here is not as commendable as her performance in "My Sassy Girl" [rather flat really]. The creepy aspects of the movie are rather subdued [compared to the graphic horror of movies like "Audition"] and in fact, "The Uninvited" is high on psychological horror and atmosphere, and has more to do with the mind and how tortured individuals cope with their personal tragedies."The Uninvited" may appeal to fans of psychological horror movies.