The Uninvited (2003) User Reviews

Very slow at times, but a genuine horror

[Star_Red · 7/10 · 16 July 2006]

The Uninvited starts out very slow, with a hesitating, introverted main character, which all puts a test on your patience, but hold on and you will be rewarded with a genuinely horrifying viewing experience, which lets you forget all previously seen so-called horror movies by US studios.

I do not like gore or cheap shock scenes that make you jump for a moment, but prefer subtle, realistic psychological horror instead, and this is what The Uninvited delivers: A sense of true horror with one specific sequence that is so disturbing and surreal in its whole execution, but realistic and gripping at the same time, you will not be able to shake off this creepy atmosphere out of your head afterwards.

Having said this, The Uninvited has a few flaws. The pacing is extremely slow, the storyline has too many sub-plots, most of which felt unnecessary to the main plot, and some images seem borrowed from other horror films. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a subtle, slow-burn horror with a stark, disturbing center-piece, you should give The Uninvited a try.

Eerie and Mesmerizing

[thalassafischer · 7/10 · 1 August 2023]

Uninvited isn't your typical ghost story though it has familiar South Korean horror themes like suicide and infanticide.

Honestly I found it to be a bit too slow at times, and it is a whole two full hours long. However, this subtle slowness eventually winds around you like some malicious seaweed dragging you slowly under the water.

The ending is heavy and bleak rather than shocking or horrifying. In some ways this film is more of a supernatural drama that draws upon subjects like childhood trauma and its impact on adult phobias and mental illness. I highly recommend it but don't expect the usual Korean horror flick.

A very good Asian horror movie....

[MovieGuy01 · 7/10 · 24 December 2009]

I watched The Uninvited last night, and i found it to be a very good Asian horror film, although the film had a running time of 121 minutes which felt very slow at the beginning ended up to be a great horror film. It is about a man called Jeong-won who has no memory of his childhood and who his real family were. At the start of the film he witnesses the deaths of two young girls on board a train that he is on. He starts to begin seeing the girls dead bodies sitting at his kitchen table, and is worried about his mental health He meets Yeon a women who is narcoleptic who is also witness in a infant murder case. Yeon can also see the ghosts that Jeong-won can. He finds out she is a psychic and can help him recover his lost memories. I found the film to be very good towards the ending. A very good horror film. 7/10

A Real Horror Film

[wkduffy · 22 June 2005]

Unlike some other reviewers, I would--and do--situate this film squarely in the horror genre. But it is not the horror of fantasy, of stalkers, slashers, or monsters. A film like this strips away all the puffed-up dread of penciled-in characters like Michael Meyers or Jason Vorhees. No, this film tells the quiet yet overpowering horror of isolation and anonymity in a monolithic, dysfunctional metropolis that is lined with gray high-rise apartments like massive grave-markers; it tells of the horrible numbness and sadness that can lead a mother to drop her wriggling infant child from a 40-story balcony and not even realize what she's done. It shows the horrible reality of another child flattened almost nonchalantly by a dump-truck with a loud pop--but none of the onlookers can rise above their depression (or economic oppression) long enough to even lend a hand. Hence, the infant corpse is simply swept into a manhole and covered over. Now, that's horror. This movie tells the story of many different kinds of horror: the horror of being trapped in a marriage you don't want, the horror of not being believed when you speak, the horror of being belittled and dismissed.

This is a strong and sad movie. But it is a sympathetic movie. It tells of the horrors that can happen when you squarely face your past, as many of the characters do in this film. I've found myself coming back to "4 Inyong shiktak" in my mind again and again, relentlessly. If you give yourself over to it, you will not be able to dismiss (or even forget) the images and the tone of this film. Several times this movie made me--a longtime jaded horror movie buff--actually catch my breath, clench my teeth, and shake my head in wonder.

Lastly, the photography in this film is remarkable. Pay special attention to the opening shot of the lighted subway bridge stretching across the dark water, or the constant and overpowering grayness of the monolithic skyscrapers shrouded in an eternal fog. There is so much art here. Yes, the plot is typically convoluted (which has been my experience with many Asian horror films--I think it is evidence of a cultural gap more than anything). However, I do not hesitate calling this film a modern horror masterpiece in just about every respect.

Dreary and depressing tale with some really shocking moments.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 14 October 2006]

Like other IMDb'ers who have commented on The Uninvited, I expected the film to be a supernatural tale along the lines of The Eye. Instead, the movie turns out to be a rather depressing (and somewhat overlong) study of fractured psyches, depression and dealing with death. This movie is more about people who are haunted by the ghosts of their pasts, rather than by real spooks.

Whilst travelling home from work, Jeong-won, a man with no memory of his childhood, witnesses the death of two small children (poisoned by their mother and abandoned on a train). Soon after, he begins to see the dead kids in his apartment and leaves in a panic.

He meets Yeon, a narcoleptic who is a witness in an infant murder case and who is also able to see the ghosts. Together they unravel the shocking secrets of his past.

An extremely slow moving movie with a sometimes confusing plot, The Uninvited is certainly hard going. Replete with suicides, accidental deaths and murder, and with some genuinely shocking scenes that will sear themselves into your memory, this isn't exactly a feel-good movie. With absolutely no lighter moments to lift the mood, be prepared to feel 'down' after the credits have rolled.

And if you think I'm exaggerating, see if you can watch the scene with the 'truck/child interface' without wincing!

The look of the film is amazing and there are some lovely sweeping camera movements which are technically superb. The cast give excellent performances given the difficult subject matter. Unfortunately, the dreadful pacing of the film spoils what may have been a really great film. The tale meanders aimlessly in parts and really drags, making it almost as difficult for the viewer to stay awake as it was for poor old Yeon.

Not exactly essential viewing then, but still worth having a look if this kind of thing floats your boat.

Strong direction/storytelling, but weak and problematic story

[refresh_daemon · 6/10 · 16 February 2008]

The Uninvited is a frustrating film because it has a lot going for it, including a great premise, beautiful production values, a great eye for picture and even capable actors. The problem is that, like many of the weaker Corean films, the script itself suffers from a bit of a convoluted, misdirected and sometimes pointless story. Not to say that there aren't good ideas and even characters in the story, but the story itself is weak because it doesn't really follow a meaningful trajectory and sometimes seems to double back on itself.

Nonetheless, there's a lot that's positive about the film. The Uninvited has tremendous power in the way that it creates its atmosphere. There is clearly a sense of uneasiness and brooding even without the supernatural elements. The art, set and production design is often excellent in both being art, but also seeming to fit right into the reality of the setting. The director and director of photography together have an amazing eye for lighting as well as camera direction and some of the mis-en-scene reveals are quite potent.

Also, I was impressed by the actors; the protagonist, played by Park Shin-Yang, who I'd only seen before in a gangster versus monk comedy, surprisingly carries his everyman suffering with visions aptly and Gianna Jun (Jun Ji-Hyun) plays surprisingly well the quiet and depressed psychic well. All the side players cover their roles well too.

The story itself does have a lot going for it. Dealing with past trauma as well as the effect of knowing terrible truths. Unfortunately, the inability to focus on the characters and their decisions, the sometimes contrived and unexplained ways to introduce problems, and the lack of narrative or emotional resolution cause it to be quite a frustrating view in the end.

I can't recommend The Uninvited, but if you don't necessarily need a strong story and want to witness a rather striking work that explores the above-mentioned theme while gathering a rather impressive atmosphere, you could check this out. Passable on those merits, but not choice viewing due to a weak story. There needs to be a stronger division of labor in Corea--good directors that are weak writers need to be paired with stronger writers. 6/10.

A Nutshell Review: The Uninvited

[DICK STEEL · 4/10 · 17 May 2008]

The marketeers bill this as a modern horror masterpiece and ranks up there with recent horror stories like Ringu. I'd say phooey, it doesn't even come close, not by a huge mile. Starring probably Korea's most recognizable face Jun Ji-hyun, I'd admit I was curious enough to see how she would take on a horror story after a series of romances and comedies like Daisy, Il Mare, and possible her most popular film to date, My Sassy Girl.

In fact, The Uninvited has little horrific moments in the traditional sense, and its attempts at being a psychological thriller falls flat too with its meek attempts to weave and associate itself with the unknown power of the mind. Its fault lay in not being able to provide its characters with much to do, often having them wallow in self-pity because of their scant abilities to see dead children, and in coming up with too many supporting characters whose purpose serve only one scene, and not the story. Case in point, those 2 kids often used to spook potential audiences, have absolutely nothing to do with the story at all.

Except perhaps to introduce its male lead Mr Kang Jung-won (Park Shin-yang), an interior designer who chanced upon them during a late night train ride, only to know of their deaths in the news the next day. Soon after he sees them sitting around his dining room of his new would-be matrimonial home, and spooks the heck out of him, enough to move back to his father's home. Again by chance he meets up with willowy Yun-jung (Jun Ji-hyun) at his customer's place, a mental clinic, and learns that she attends his father's church too. Yun- jung could have been an interesting character, given her mysterious background, innate shaman like powers and her narcolepsy illness which makes her faint when she least expects to.

Just when Jung-won thinks he's mad to be seeing the dead children, Yun-jung seeing the same thing makes him curious enough to want to know her, and tap her shaman like powers to explain his forgotten childhood. But to get to this point was a drag which takes 90 minutes to have things move onto a higher plateau. There's plenty of unnecessary back and forth of scenes with rather plain characters populating the story, like Jung-won's fiancée, Yun-jung's estranged husband and his mother-in-law, Jung-won's father and sister, Yun- jung's best friend who's there just to provide a tragic element, and the list goes on.

What's peculiar in this movie, is how it prefers to try and shock with its plenty of leaps off buildings, balconies and parapets as its preferred method of death. Even supporting characters are dispatched cleanly through this method, as if they're introduced precisely for this purpose. And it's shown by an unflinching camera too, which doesn't cut away to dampen its desired effect. I had to admit that I was in awe at how it showed head on, the crushing of a toddler by a lorry tyre. Just like that. And of course it's done by special effects, I can't help but to pause the DVD, rewind, and look at it again, thrice.

You have to give credit to its technical strengths, which doesn't rely on cheap tricks like how a typical genre flick would try. But back to basics, what is required is a strong storyline, which The Uninvited doesn't have and squanders its potential. It played out like a hydra with too many things happening at the same time, or brewing in the background, with neither sub plot being developed adequately, and often left hanging and forgotten. It had a theme which could have been made primary - that of the concept of how Truth becomes, only from acceptance, and like that immortalized line from A Few Good Man, can you handle it?

But alas it's too little too late, and with its boring and unnecessary meandering, The Uninvited sinks, and seriously, it's an uninviting movie to sit through for all its blandness.

Interesting and boring at the same time

[opusmind · 5/10 · 11 February 2009]

I won't reveal anything that will spoil this movie if you haven't seen it, but my own impression after seeing this movie is really mixed.

I got freaked some times, but there was just way too long between the scary scenes and way too many scenes, where very little goes on.

But at the same time, there's an interesting story being revealed, which you just can't miss the ending of. Also there's something very calm and relaxing about the movie - i'm just not sure the director had this in mind shooting the movie.

But if you are looking for an action/ghost-packed movie, this is not the one.

Extremely confusing, convoluted plot

[Gambitt · 5/10 · 6 April 2008]

I thought I would comment to address the disparity between the relatively favorable comments and the modest rating of 5.8 (as of April 2008) of "The Uninvited." First off, as others have noted, this movie isn't really a horror, at least not in the way most people think of modern Asian horror. It's much more of a psychological thriller. I don't know why it is marketed as a horror, perhaps to cash in on the sizable j-horror crowd. Though I don't personally care that it was not a j-horror (which all seem derivative to me anyway), conflicting expectations were probably one reason this movie got such poor ratings.

The second reason is that the plot was ridiculously complicated and confusing. The main character is haunted by recent deaths of two girls on the subway. Yet the plot also concerns the murder trial of two(?) infants by a lady who may have played a role in the death of the subway girls. Meanwhile, the lady has the ability to help others recall traumatic events from their early childhoods. Consequently, the movie jumps all over in place and time. Is this another flashback? Where are we now? Wait, scenes x, y, z were all in one day? Is this for real or in his imagination? What does X have to do with Y?? Who is character abc anyway? This was one of the most difficult movies I have ever watched to keep track of connections between different characters and events.

Now I can appreciate a movie with open-ended plots and countering interpretations, but there comes a point where a story is simply poorly told. And this is aggravated by the long run time, over two hours (despite the fact that the DVD box says 96 minutes). Very few movies, IMO, have any business going over two hours, and this was not one of them.

Yes, the movie is nicely shot, with some interesting visuals and good atmosphere, but style can only bolster strong substance. Others have compared this movie to The Sixth Sense, but I would compare it more to Unbreakable.

Great Emotional Horror.

[sain11 · 10/10 · 13 November 2005]

The recent New Wave of Asian Horror has seen quite a few mediocre films released, however there have also been some true masterpieces amongst them, and The Uninvited is definitely one of the masterpieces.This is a genuinely dark, violent, disturbing, artistic horror film.

The key ingredient missing from most horror films these days is an emotionally charged story with characters that you can relate to and care for. In the case of the Univited, the true horror is based in human behaviour and the realities the characters have to deal with. While there is a supernatural element, the real nastiness is based in the humanity and psychology of the characters.

The Univited has possibly been mis-represented by it's own marketing, as they have promoted it as a supernatural horror, when in reality the film is more art-house and intellectual than it is horror. This probably accounts for some of the negative reviews, particularly in relation to the films slow pacing.

This is not a film that will make you jump in your seat a few times and leave the theatre laughing, but rather one that will chill you to the bone and leave you thinking.

I highly recommended The Univited if you have a darkly artistic streak, and are looking for a character driven film that abounds with atmosphere and chills.

This movie is falsely marketed as a horror movie!

[howstrangeitistobeanythi · 4/10 · 18 June 2006]

Wow this movie disappointed me so much, I love Korean horror movies but this movie is falsely marketed as a horror i.m.o. I had high expectations after reading some reviews, but Uninvited is just emotional drama with a few super national elements. It doesn't even try to be scary. It starts out great with those two kids, but at the end it just went on and on in slow motion, even after it was more than obvious what the point of the movie was. The story went into a direction which seems dull to me. I liked the visual style and I have nothing against drama or a slightly confusing plot in a Korean horror movie such as in A Tale of two sisters, but Uninvited really isn't horror although the back of the DVD case promises the viewer a chilling horror movie. I respect peoples opinion for liking it but horror fans beware!

A good first draft

[urgrue-2 · 7 September 2004]

Warning: Minor spoilers

This film is a bit like a good rough draft that, with more work, could've become something quite interesting. The basic premise is good, about suppressed memories and how they can affect us. It takes its time setting up the characters and scenarios, and the story slowly unravels before us.

It's not horror, or thriller exactly, but a rather horrific tale of trauma and loss. The film is mostly very calm and distinctly un-gruesome, but there are some quite disturbing images that are likely to haunt you for quite a while. But this is a very different film from what you might think of at the term "Asian Horror".

It's main failing is that it doesn't seem to really know what to do, or where to go. It begins with a rather "thriller" approach, with the mystery of two dead girls appearing before our main character, but this event is actually just used as a mood-setter and hook. But nobody let's us know about that, so the viewer is constantly wondering when we'll return to the two dead kids, and how they relate to the story. The movie then seems to head in the direction of a drama, as our main character becomes very interested in a rather disturbed, mysterious woman. You almost think the film is going to be a melancholic love story, but not so. It then becomes a mystery about this woman, what her past is, what her situation is, and trying to find out what's troubling her. But somewhat later the focus is brought back to the main character and his (unmentioned so far) childhood traumas. All in all, the film is a collection of good ideas, some excellent scenes, and quite clever plot elements, but it lacks real unity. Threads are started only to be dropped, others are picked up that were never really introduced, and the focus just keeps shifting from one theme to another without ever actually developing into much.

Throughout, the main character behaves in completely unnatural ways. This could've been used as an effect, to illustrate how the character is crippled by his past traumas, and maybe this is the intention. But it just doesn't work that way. For more than half the film I was wondering what kind of idiot this guy is - only later is there given any hint of the fact that he has some past issues troubling him.

Overall, the rather interesting themes are left almost completely undeveloped on any intellectual level, and the movie ends up as wasted potential. Other filmmakers should watch this film and cannibalize its better ideas.

Catch up on some Zzzzz's before watching

[mrs-bogg · 5/10 · 22 February 2019]

More psychological drama than horror. Violently tragic events in the past and present happen around the dysfunctional main protagonists and they see a few ghostly visions. Jun Ji Hyun gives a great performance, but she whispers every line. The male lead character, though he has good crying scenes, is boring, and his fiancee was so bland I was glad when she took off. It took me 2 days to finish this because i kept falling asleep. I'm an avid fan of Korean and other foreign entertainment, so reading subtitles are never the issue with concentration. Despite it trying to achieve some depth and symbolism, it was mostly a snoozer down to the end.

Not A Horror Movie

[keithomusic · 4/10 · 27 December 2023]

As others have said, this is not a horror movie. There are some supernatural elements but nothing really scary. There are some disturbing scenes, but not really scary.

This is a bunch of dialogue, and this makes the movie very slow, the movie doesn't really address the issues it brings up. Which are suicide, depression, mental health issues, and child abuse. It also mentions narcolepsy, which doesn't seem to be treated properly in this movie. This movie is from 2003 and should know that narcolepsy can be treated.

Honestly this movie is a bit boring, I wasn't really looking for a slice of life movie with some supernatural elements. The one good thing I'll say about it is that the ending is fairly good. But, overall the movie is about 40 minutes too long.

Put down that baby

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 17 January 2018]

Jeong-won (Shin-yang Park) is an interior designer. He sees the ghosts of two young girls. He bumps into a girl (Gianna Jun) who has fainting spells, but also has this vision thing. His interest in her vision causes a rift with his girlfriend (Seon Yu).

This is a Korean film available with English and Spanish subtitles. It goes from the vision into his childhood and a trail. The film s 1% horror and 99% faux drama. The Asians have yet to figure out "90 minutes in the can" type of films and attempts to make each one a long drawn out masterpiece. I was mostly bored.

Guide: No f-bombs, or sex. Very brief nudity.

Stunning if approached properly.

[Caustic Pulp · 9/10 · 2 November 2004]

I'd been disappointed in Korean cinema as of late. After the wonderful "Shiri," I found myself annoyed with "Tell Me Something," confused by "A Tale of Two Sisters," and outright bored with "Ring Virus." So I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of this film, whose Korean title translates literally to "4 Doll Table."

First off, it's not a straight horror film. It incorporates elements of the genre, but is principally dramatic. And it's a doozy.

It's impossible to properly articulate the plot. The plot is easy enough to follow, but it's intricate and deep, and just giving out details and summaries recklessly ignores all of the context these details have.

What I will say is that this is the most masterfully written and directed Korean film I have ever seen, and the acting for it is absolutely stellar. Admittedly it's very long and glacially paced, but it's rewarding. Scenes have purpose and even though this isn't totally a horror film, it does feature scenes that are downright disturbing and very chilling.

This is a strong, original, intelligent film that art-house fans would do well to pick up off of eBay. I impulse bought it and it wound up paying off in a big way.

Absolutely outstanding. Must see.

A chilling psychological masterpiece

[chrishn · 9/10 · 14 August 2005]

Jeong-won is an architect who one day - while going home on the subway - takes notice of two small girls who sits next to him. When he reaches the end-station he gets of, but the two girls remain seated. Later he learns that the girls were dead and from then on a series of events start to take place.

Basically Jeong-won has his life shattered by disturbing events that may be happening around him or in his head, or both. Watch it and judge for yourself. But the theme of this movie isn't whether the events are real or not. The movie tells a story where religion, psychology and supernatural elements mix together in an elegant cocktail of mystery, fear and love.

The story is great and very well told. You're told enough to make it all coherent, but there is also room for interpretation which makes the movie a personnel experience. The movie doesn't deal with good and evil in absolute terms, but deals with the fears and anxieties that we all harbor to some extent. And it deals with the dilemma of helping people to reconcile with a part of themselves that should have been left forgotten, or should it?

The true essence of the story isn't revealed until relatively late, compared to other movies who set the tone right from the beginning. To begin with I thought it was a simple ghost-story, but I was wrong. So if you don't like such twists, then consider yourself warned.

Quietness is probably the key word to the acting and the style of the movie. The actors succeed in making the characters very believable. Several of the scenes are beautifully made with the right camera angles, the right lighting, colors and so on. The ambiance is dripping with a mysterious silence and calm.

There are no cheap scares of the traditional Hollywood kind (which is a combination of fast editing combined with the explosion of a symphony orchestra). Instead the scary parts - or more properly for this movie - the chilling parts are shown in a forthright manner and what they depict is usually enough to get the heart rate up. When a movie is capable of giving you the chills without having to resort to loud noises or sudden events, then it is truly scary, and some of the scenes will stay with you for some time. A quality which separates true horror from the superficial scares which you can just shrug of after the movie.

However, this isn't a full blood horror movie. The horror scenes are just to few and the general horror-level isn't high enough. See this movie if you like a great story, riddled with mystery, fear and psychological deepness. I liked it a lot and I probably have to see it again in order to enjoy its elegant complexity.

a fascinating study in depress-o-vision

[bottoms_dream · 9/10 · 12 April 2004]

this movie will disappoint a lot of people. it is tagged as horror, but - although there are ghosts in it - there are no scary moments or any gore to be found. if you watched this movie because of Ji-hyun Jun (understandable if you ever saw 'my sassy girl') then be warned - this film is definitely neither romantic nor a comedy.

to tell what the film is really about would spoil your experience watching it, the ghosts and other supernatural occurences are only there to highlight the message of the film, to show the feelings and inner problems of the main character. at its core this film is a drama - wonderfully played, directed and executed - concentrating on the inner world of the humans mind. slowly - like a lot of other asian pictures - giving the key scenes a lot more surprise. there are two points in the movie i had to rewind, because i just couldn't believe what i had just saw.

the feeling i got while watching it is similar to 'kairo' - a study in depression and loneliness. definitely no film you should watch alone - it is not frightening, but you will feel better with someone to hug.

one of the most unusual films i ever saw - earning a well-deserved 9 of 10.

Good, but slow and not a horror movie

[thither · 8/10 · 6 July 2005]

This is not really a horror film; form-wise it has more in common with a mystery or drama. The intent is not to scare or gross out the viewer, but to examine the central themes and characters.

On that level it's fairly successful. There is a lot going on in the movie, and as another reviewer has mentioned, the focus tends to wander, so it's often hard to determine exactly what the movie is trying to say. Sometimes that works to The Uninvited's advantage; I like movies to have a little ambiguity in them where I can apply my own imagination, and there are several deliberately ambiguous moments here.

At other times, it's more of a distraction, as we wait in vain for the story to return to and possibly resolve an earlier theme. Instead, the film moves on to examine other ideas, and while they are usually interesting ideas, the inevitable result is that by the film's conclusion it seems like there's a lot left unresolved. I don't mean "loose threads" in the usual sense of plot elements that are unexplained (although there are a few of those), but more like bigger themes that seemed like what the movie was about at the beginning of the film and didn't at the end of the film.

The acting is decent, overall, but the two leads both play the sort of shell-shocked, alienated characters that are hard to relate to even if we're sympathetic to begin with, and most of the other characters are not terribly fleshed out. The direction is good although the pace is slow (unnecessarily slow at times).

(Parenthetically, one shot used in The Uninvited seems so obviously ripped off from Ringu that I figure it's got to be an homage, but the movie seems like it takes itself too seriously to throw in a Ringu homage.)

Overall, a worthy but flawed effort that is much more complex and rewarding than most Asian horror movies of recent years.

Gets Better and Better Every Time I Watch It

[ebossert · 8/10 · 15 May 2010]

The first time I watched "The Uninvited" (2003, Korea) I thought it was boring. The second time I watched it I thought it was good but needed approximately 20 minutes edited out. Last night I watched it for the third time and was captivated from start to finish. It's truly one of the most effectively depressing films of the past decade, and is essential viewing for lovers of slow-burning, psychological, dramatic horror films with heaping quantities of character development.

The key to enjoying this film is to pay attention to the subtle details. Even the most ordinary dialogue is used meaningfully here. These characters have experienced horrific acts of death and violence in their pasts and have also experienced dysfunctional relationships with others. These dysfunctional relationships are communicated in a fragmented, nonchronological manner that's similar to most East Asian horror films. There's also some slight ambiguity, but only in little patches that can be filled quite easily with some common sense and logic. It's important to achieve that understanding though, because absent this understanding the viewer will never be able to appreciate the characters' suffering nor the motivations for their actions. And let me tell you, these are some of the most gloomy, disheartened, and interesting characters you'll ever see.

The acting is what we've come to expect from South Korea, first rate. Ji-hyun Jun gives one of the best performances of her entire career. She's utterly convincing in an atypical, dark role that establishes her diverse acting range once and for all. Her depression isn't presented in a typical, psychotic, over-the-top manner. It's a very restrained exhibition, even in those few cases where she suffers a mental breakdown of sorts. The film uses her character's interaction with others, a steady tone, and a longer running time (2 full hours) to slowly but surely communicate her despair to the viewer. It's impossible not to sympathize with her and hope for her recovery. The quality of acting doesn't begin and end with Ji-hyun though. Everyone comes off looking well here.

Another important point to make is that the entire foundation of this film is human suffering inflicted by humans. Contrary to what one might expect, there's really no ghostly activity present at all. Even the opening 30 minutes, which makes the film seem like it's going to travel oft-explored ghostly themes, can be interpreted as entirely psychological. Almost all of the horror sequences focus on disturbing historical events involving horrific accidents or murders that are presented in disturbing ways despite the absence of graphic violence. It might seem like an oxymoron to say that "The Uninvited" has more balls than the slew of vacation torture movies of recent years, but it really does trump those movies in pure guts because the acts of violence here are inflicted upon very fragile, defenseless victims. Some sequences are, in fact, jaw-dropping because most filmmakers (and their producers) are too timid to show such things.

This is a damn good film that somehow fell between the cracks during the oft-referenced (but not entirely accurate) period known as the "hey day" of Asian horror (circa 1998-2005). I never hear it mentioned or referenced, but it deserves more attention than overrated, boring tripe like "Gozu" (2003). Watch both films and it's fairly obvious that "The Uninvited" is the better of the two in almost every conceivable aspect of film-making.

Drink two cups of coffee just before

[Rocco3000 · 8/10 · 21 July 2004]

CAUTION: This movie is very very long and very very slow! Although it is a very good movie, and well worth seeing, I would strongly advise that you do not watch this movie just before bed time. Watch it when you are fully rested, or you will fall asleep.

Another cautionary note, is that IMDb should remove the categories, Horror and Thriller, because this movie is strictly a Drama, and a very slow moving one at that. It does have some ghosts in it, maybe 2 or 3 scenes in the beginning, but they are really not that scary, nor are they really meant to scare. And they are long forgotten once you have reached the 90mins mark.

It is a very sad movie with most of the characters going through some really deep trauma, so if you are looking for something upbeat, look somewhere else.

This is a very good movie though. With some terrific performances by the actors and a very good effort by the director. Definitely worth seeing. Just be ready for something sad, slow and long.

Dark and Intense Trip Into Angst

[zzoaozz · 9/10 · 10 May 2009]

This movie is full of death. Death of children, death of cats, justified death, unfair death, death covered up, death revealed.

It's the story of man who should be happy with his life but at its very peak events begin to move around him opening up a past best left forgotten and a gift that is more of a curse.

There is nothing happy in this movie, no good endings to anyone or for anyone, but it is well woven and absorbing, it reaches right into the darkest places in your own mind and resonates with the despair you keep hidden away there.

Most people will hate it, those that fear the darkness in themselves. But those who like to drag the shadows into the light and study them with curiosity will love this movie.

Not a horror movie, a very good movie

[javierw · 9/10 · 9 June 2006]

I got the DVD for the Uninvited not knowing what to expect, Asian Horror movies are usually very different one from another. There are movies that go heavy on the blood and others than go heavy on the Drama; The Uninvited falls in the latter, just like other movies like Dark Water or Two Sisters. The movie is about a man named Jung-won who is an Interior designer. One day he falls asleep in the subway and he must hurry out before the doors close, but outside he notices that the two kids are still on the train, and he does nothing. The next day he hears on the radio that the 2 children were dead and suddenly he starts seen the kids sitting at his dinner table. He ignores what is happening to him, probably thinking is the shock of watching the children dead in the train until the day he meets a woman named Yun who suffers from narcolepsy, so he takes her to his home when she loses conscious in his car, and just when she is leaving she tell him to put his kids in bed, so now Jung-won is not the only one seeing the dead kids. From there Yun helps Jung-won find the gruesome secrets buried in his past, but he is not the only one with a dark past. The movie has some very shocking scenes that play very well. Both lead actors, Shin-yang Park and Ji-hyun Jun (most known for her part in the romantic comedy (My Sassy Girl") did a fantastic job playing these troubled characters. The cinematography is superb, there were some scenes were I was very impressed. The US DVD from Panik House is great, from the cover to the extras. There are 2 Audio Commentaries, one in English, which is very informative about the Korean culture and Cinema and another one in Spanish. It has a Making Off, Interviews with the lead Actors, a story boards/scenes comparisons, and other need stuff like a condensed version of the movie. The DVD also comes with a sticker of the cover. I really recommend this movie to everyone, is not a simple horror movie but a complex drama with some very shocking moments.

Two solid hours of depression.

[el7 · 8/10 · 7 June 2020]

Table For 4, which in English is re-titled as Uninvited (personally I think the direct translation is a much more apropos title for this movie) falls under the sub-genre category of existential horror. The movie's plot description doesn't exactly tell the viewer what it's really going to be about. Yes, a man who is planning his wedding does meet a narcoleptic woman who can see spirits, and he does elicit her assistance helping him understand why he can now see them too. But the movie is also about asking if it's worse to always wonder if the horrible thing you suspect to have happened really happened, or to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it happened. It's about asking if it's worse to help a stranger knowing you will fail, or always regret never having tried. It's a movie that asks whether it's better to seek human companionship knowing it will lead to hurt, or remain interminably lonely. It's a movie that ponders the ways in which different religions try to tackle all of those questions from different angles yet never form a solid conclusion. Basically it's about all the darkest corners of going through life with a human consciousness. It's not a roller coaster ride horror movie, but if you watch it you're probably going to dream about it when you try to go to sleep later.

A Psychological Horror with very Dark and Deep Story.

[murali-82761 · 10/10 · 12 June 2021]

This movie is very dark and deep story. In every human life there will be a disturbing and dark things they will face in their life but they are un explained and you are may or may not be the reason for those things that happends in your entire life but you will still feel that sin is deeply settled in your brain. This movie tells very deep story may be everyone cannot totally process the story. IF YOU ARE REALLY WANTED TO EXPERIEANCE THE DARK AND DEEP DISTURNING PHASE OF LIFE. YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY WATCH THIS FILM. The cast and cinematography all the very good.