Apparition

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.