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Anna Rydell returns home to her sister Alex, after a brief stay in a mental hospital. Anna’s recovery is jeopardized thanks to her cruel stepmother, aloof father, and the presence of a ghost in their home.

The Scoop

Based on Kim Jee-Woon’s 2003 Korean horror film, “Changhwa, Hongryon,” “The Uninvited” revolves around Anna (Emily Browning), who returns home after spending time in the hospital following the tragic death of her mother.

Her recovery suffers a setback when she discovers her father (David Strathairn) has become engaged to her mother’s former nurse, Rachel (Elizabeth Banks). That night, Anna is visited by her mother’s ghost, who warns her of Rachel’s intentions.

Together, Anna and her sister (Arielle Kebbel) try to convince their father that his current fiancée is not who she pretends to be, and what should have been a happy family reunion becomes a lethal battle of wills between stepdaughters and stepmother.

Production Notes

When Anna’s (Emily Browning) psychiatrist releases her from a sanitarium, where she has been recovering from an attempted suicide following her mother’s tragic death, she is shocked that her father, Steven (David Strathairn), has become romantically involved with Rachel (Elizabeth Banks), her mother’s former nurse. Feeling betrayed and frightened, she seeks solace from her older sister, Alex (Arielle Kebbel). But Alex is strangely distant at first. As Emily Browning puts it, “Anna suddenly feels lost. Ever since her father fell in love with Rachel, she doesn’t know where she fits in with her family. Even her sister, Alex, feels a little hostile towards her. Worse, Rachel, who has taken over the house and seems determined to erase all memories of Anna and Alex’s mother.”

Eventually, Alex confesses that she felt abandoned by Anna and was left alone to cope with Rachel. Says Arielle Kebbel, “Anna is trying to tell her how awful life was in the mental hospital, but Alex is saying that life at home was pretty terrible as well. It’s interesting, because you can tell how happy Alex is to have Anna back, but she doesn’t want to show it too much because she feels that she was deserted and left to deal with everything at home.”

“The fact that he’s moved on so quickly from Mom devastates her,” adds Kebbel. “So she keeps telling herself, ‘I’m over it. I don’t need Dad – or anyone else. I’ve already been hurt enough.’”

Anna and Alex reconnect in their dislike for dad’s new girlfriend, and given Steven’s poor parenting skills, they feel totally abandoned. “My intention is to be a good father to her now,” observes David Strathairn, “but my career remains my top priority. Before, family matters were attended to by my wife. Now she’s gone and I’m plagued with regret and guilt for not having been as involved in my children’s lives as I should have. So I’m trying to catch up, not only as a dad but as a friend, as a confidante, as somebody who can support Anna. It’s difficult, because I don’t really know my daughter. I have expectations of what a father-daughter relationship should be, but I’m really not prepared to handle it all.”

Another barrier is his new relationship, which blossomed not long after his wife’s death. “I want to marry Rachel,” admits Strathairn. “I’m in love with her, because she brought me back from grief. But Anna can’t see it that way because she’s lost her mother and now this woman is trying to replace her. Anna is just not ready for that. On top of it, she’s a teenager, a time in life that is already delicate and tricky.”

When Rachel tries to connect with Anna, the resentment turns to hate as Rachel tries to erase all traces of the family’s past life. But, according to Elizabeth Banks, who plays Rachel, it isn’t that clear-cut. “Rachel is very much in love with the idea of this family and of loving Steven,” explains Banks. “Rachel sees this as an opportunity at motherhood. She’s been placed in this horrible position of being the classic stepmother, of having to stifle her happiness at being in love and having a family because Anna clearly thinks she’s moving too fast. But from Rachel’s perspective, all she wants is to help this family heal and be whole again.

“Rachel’s attraction to Steven comes from his gentleness,” Banks continues. “She sees him as a wounded soul, someone who needs to be taken care of. And he is very sexy. He, in turn, treats Rachel with kindness and respects her intelligence. Rachel is an equal in his eyes, and that’s what she’s been looking for her whole life.”

Every loving moment between Rachel and Steven makes Anna feel more threatened. “It’s one of the major relationships in the film, but we don’t really say that much to each other,” says Strathairn. “It’s a pivotal relationship, yet most of it is conveyed with looks and touches, those in-between moments that truly cement a relationship.”

The chance of any bond ever existing between Anna and Rachel is officially crushed when the young girl begins having terrifying visions of her dead mother reaching out to her for help and suggesting that Rachel may have caused her death. Frightened and confused by the visions, and egged on by Alex’s overt hostility toward Rachel, Anna becomes determined to assert her place in the house and protect her family.

Rachel, who is more experienced in the art of manipulation, would seem to have the upper hand. But Anna is not as fragile as her calm demeanor and delicate emotional state might at first suggest. “Anna is a worthy opponent,” says Banks. “And Emily’s approach to the role was very instinctual. Both Anna and Emily look very frail and sweet on the outside, but they’re actually very determined underneath.”

That balance of vulnerability and strength in Anna is what attracted Browning to the role. “Anna could have so easily been the victim character,” says Browning. “But that’s not how she’s written. She’s not seeking sympathy. Even though she’s fragile, there’s a toughness to Anna that comes through despite the terrible things that have happened to her.”

As tensions escalate and Anna becomes convinced that Rachel was instrumental in her mother’s death, she conspires with Alex to come up with proof of her deception – anything to convince her father he’s made a terrible mistake.

Later, when Alex tries to comfort her, it’s as if the past year has slipped away and Alex has resumed the role of protective older sister. “When you have a younger sibling and you see they’re in need,” explains Kebbel, “you think, ‘what can I do to fix this or help them?’ The bond between Anna and me is so strong that it’s heartbreaking. When you see all the compassion, love and trust they share, you begin to fully understand the scope of tragedy that has befallen this family.”

The closeness that the sisters enjoy is a significant plot point for both Browning and Kebbel. “The thing about sisters is you have an opportunity to share a bond that you don’t have with anyone else,” says Kebbel. “Emily and I really wanted to bring as much of that to the storyline of following two sisters, which meant that the scenes where we shared the intimate moments of laughing together, crying today and sleeping side by side were very important to us in telling the story.”

“Arielle Kebbel and I both used some similar slang,” adds Browning. “The directors and the producers were really open to us adding our own touches, which were small, but meant so much to us.”

As Anna and Alex dig into Rachel’s past, they discover some potentially disturbing and damaging details. Rachel doesn’t deny any of it but makes it clear that Anna is treading in dangerous waters and warns her that she’d better be careful if she tries to come between Rachel and Steven.

Determined to end the terror, Anna and Alex conspire to expose Rachel once and for all. But Rachel has her own ideas and the battle of wills between the two girls and their stepmother reaches a terrifying conclusion.

Release Date

January 30th 2009

Starring

Elizabeth Banks

Reminds me of

The Ring

Interesting Fact

From the producers of The Ring and Disturbia.

Official Site and Trailer

Official site
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Wallpaper – The Uninvited