The Uninvited

Audience Reviews

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Rey P Mar 26, 2019 Superior ghost story made in good Hollywood tradition with some good Gothic atmosphere, a bit creepy, but also good-natured. See more

Albus R Oct 30, 2017 It's hard to make a truly compelling ghost story, but The Uninvited succeeds in making more than a ghost film with the proper amount of spookiness thrown in. Historically significant for being one of the earliest films to treat the supernatural seriously. See more

Theodore L Apr 14, 2017 Watching Lewis Allen's THE UNINVITED for the first time is like watching a film by Jack Clayton, whose careful attention to detail creates an atmosphere in his films. Unlike Clayton's THE INNOCENTS, this overlooked 1944 near-masterwork is not very scary. It's certainly more chilling. In fact, there is not much suspense. Everything is relieved with a slight bit of comedy. But I believe that The Uninvited is more a film about deep inward feelings than a straight ghost story. Our characters our not truly terrified, but they do take the situation seriously. Back then horror was a gimmick. This film broke that mold. The story centers around two siblings, who purchase a house while on holiday, and make friends with the house's last living member of its original occupants. Her mother died there. Her mother presumably haunts the place. The two siblings are not quick to jump for the easy way out. They believe it can be "cured." This, of course, takes us on a figurative roller coaster. The last living member is a young woman, who feels she has not made peace with herself. She is drawn to the house, but does not know why. This of course, unmasks a web of lies she has been grown believing in. See more

Harry S Mar 2, 2013 A film that seemed to have everything going for it, great critical acclaim, stellar cast but upon viewing I found it a little underwhelming & tricky to follow. The story of a young couple purchasing a stunning & undoubtedly eerie seaside home for a steal price & as they begin to settle in it they see why it was so affordable. The story is patchy & little confusion,great effects & atmosphere throughout the film though. May appeal to some... See more

Anakin W Aug 14, 2010 Good for its era, but not particularly scary today.

Hagrid R May 31, 2010 I keep returning to this film because I want it to be something that it is not. I want it to be a spooky supernatural ghost story, along the lines of The Haunting (1963), and although it does include all the elements from the haunted house genre, the tone of the film consistently undercuts its spookiness. For one thing, there is Ray Milland, constantly joking and not really taking the supernatural (sobbing from somewhere in the dark house, sudden cold spots or a whiff of mimosas, doors slamming) seriously at all. His sister, with whom Milland has bought the house on the clifftop overlooking the sea on a whim, is a bit more concerned. But the film jauntily moves along (with some mickey-mousing on the soundtrack) to focus on a burgeoning romance between Milland (aged 38) and Gail Russell (aged 20), who is the daughter of the woman who used to live in the house who died mysteriously, falling from the cliff. It is the mother who is thought to haunt the house -- but this doesn't quite jell because of the malevolence of the spirit toward Russell. A seance is held to try to sort it all out and the plot thickens considerably (including the introduction of a possible lesbian subplot). With all these classic ingredients, The Uninvited should be a spine-tingling ghost story but instead it becomes a fantasy film (save for one "angry ghost" scene), offering hope for romance if only the secret of the ghost can be worked out and Russell freed from its curse. And approached with these different expectations, the film works. See more

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The Uninvited

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