"The Uninvited"

May 2008 - By Eric Renderking Fisk

Every year I come up with different answer to the question that asks if the Oscars are still relevant. Since I've seen movies I've loved and talented people lose to lesser or pretentious films, I've become jaded.

Some movies that have captivated me and captured my imagination were even be nominated. Two prime examples would be "The Road To Perdition" and "Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow." Those are two movies that I thought deserved something more and makes me wonder if the answer to my first question  "No, The Oscars have become irrelevant."

I personally think that Hollywood is out of step with someone like myself who loves movies the way they used to be: Where a movie would take you to a place where you've either wanted to go but couldn't, take you to a place you couldn't imagine, or introduce you to people who inspire you to be better, or hold a mirror to society and show us who we really are and what we have to change. Many of the movies that are making the most impact today are those being made outside Hollywood, the kind of hard-hitting flicks that Tinsel Town used to make is now coming from the Indie Film Scene made with smaller budgets but with much more passion and devotion to make up the difference. This is where the best up-and-coming directors and producers are coming from, and this is where traditional film making is finding its roots.

"The Uninvited" shows us that someone is still trying to be innovative. Some one is trying to make movies "the old fashioned" way, while having better results with smaller budgets. This isn't a film worthy of an Academy Award for Best Picture, but you can see why the makers of this film are on their way to having an Oscar on their mantle for work they've yet to do in the not too distant future...

Synopsis

Allison (Nicole Wiesner) and Brad (Kevin Oestenstad) are a soon to be married couple who have moved into a new house to be closer to Allison's job. This couple is in traditional roll reversal, he's the home maker while his wife is the bread winner. He takes this in stride while at the same time trying his best to find a job in his chosen field when he's not taking care of the house.

These two are a team, they really have an ideal marriage and take their issues with laughter and love, they cope with what comes their way with humor and passion for each other. The only odd thing going on at first is a stranger watching the house and keeping a close eye on the couple's activities. Other then that, their lives are as close to perfect as you can get and you just feel that with this beautiful house and all the opportunities that are available to Allison and Brad that their futures are bright, it's easy to envy them.  All that changes one afternoon...

While doing one of the chores his wife left for him to do, Brad encounters something in the basement, something that's been awakened and needs a host... and then he exhibits behavior that can only be described as maddening to those around him. Once Brad was a happy-go-lucky guy and real go-getter with some ambition and fire in his belly who dealt with everything with great humor, but after the encounter in the basement he becomes someone nobody wants to be around, not even his wife. That's ok, though... since what ever took hold of Brad doesn't want to venture too far away from the house, anyway.

Alison takes the advice of a friend and calls for help from Clive (Keith Stoneking) an elleged professional ghost hunter and exorcist. Clive is more of an opportunist who's looking to make a fortune on the internet and cable television with his work. He's a self-promoter and slightly incompetent, but Clive manages to free Brad from what ever had a hold on him. But that's not the end; despite Brad being him self again problems seem to be made worse at home and there's still the issue of mysterious stranger in the Panama straw fedora and the white suit that keeps an eye on all that happens so far.

This stranger, Solomon (D.J. Pollard) is one of the most complex characters in Independent fillm in a while. Who is he, is he responsible for the haunting? Why the interest in the house where Brad and Allison live, and what is his connection with Clive? Solomon's motives and approach are almost sinister and dark... he has an air of mystery that might be more intriguing then what was in Allison and Brad's basement...

This is like watching one of the films made by Spielberg, Scorsese or Coppola when they first starting making films. This movie has it's style of humor, it treads deep into familiar  territory, spoofs the haunted house/possession genre a little and then takes you to a new place I didn't think was possible. The Uninvited is part modern drama, part comedy, part terror - very original. The characters felt very real, the dialog comes out as things people would really say rather then something a writer wishes someone would say in these situations. Having lines come out of the mouths of these actors that mimic something you and I would say in these incredible circumstances makes this seem more real and it's easier to get caught up in the story. I felt real concern for Allison and Brad, the emotional investment is made early

The Uninvited is the perfect example of what Independent films get right and what Hollywood gets wrong. The script - written by Fred Robey and Jonathan Pokays - focus is on both the character's development and on the action. Once you see The Uninvited you'll be kicking yourself for all the times you've ever wanted to make a fan-film. I've always encouraged you folks to come up with your own ideas, your own characters, your own settings and so forth... Sometimes you might not get great results but at least those ideas are YOURS! Other times you get great results and you get something really special, like "The Uninvited."

I can't wait to see what else these people have in store for us in the future. Our support of this film and others like it will guarantee innovations in independent film for a long time to come. 

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More articles from Ren can be found here: The Rant Archive