Hey, everyone, Budgetron here to review a brand spankin’ new DVD for you all!  Here today, as the picture on the left would suggest, I am here to review “The Uninvited” coming to DVD and Blu-ray on 4/28. Since my name is Budgetron, I’m gonna give you a budget rundown.  Short and Sweet.  Got it?

MOVIE: “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.

Now, I have to admit, I hadn’t heard much about this movie before checking out the DVD, and knew nothing more than the fact that the tasty Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make a Porno, 40 Year-Old Virgin) was in it and that it was a horror movie.  And when I sat down to watch it, I found that “The Uninvited” is a fun, suspenseful horror flick with cute girls, spooky kids, great visuals, and wonderful production design.  I also found the dialogue to be well written and performed; Elizabeth Banks gave a great performance as the wicked step-mother, David Strathairn does a wonderful job with the few scenes he’s in and easily makes us see him a loving father wanting to get past his grief, and Emily Browning, with a slight look of helplesness and reserved demeanor, gives the nuanced performance necessary to sell the ending of the movie in a way few others could do, in my opinion.

Now, I would be lying if I said I thought it was a perfect horror film.  No, the plot had a lot of holes in it, the big reveal at the end sparked no “Ah-HAH! It all makes sense!” moments, and I was left wondering “What ever DID happen to that boyfriend?”.  But “The Uninvited” was a good horror movie that I wasn’t about to let the film snob in me get away with not letting me enjoy!  And as an added bonus, seeing this movie made me want to check out the Korean original.

DVD: The flick looked and sounded nice, but the that is to be expected these days.  How were the Special Features, you ask?  Well, not too great, really.  The deleted scenes weren’t anything special, the alternate ending was just like any other alternate ending on any DVD ever…terrible.  I don’t really see why anyone puts them on a DVD as an alternate ending’s very existence is because the original ending wasn’t good enough for the film in the first place.  The only Special Feature I thought held any merit (and found quite enjoyable) was the behind the scenes featurette.  It showed the actors and director team talking about the movie, as well as the Korean film it’s based on, “Tale of Two Sisters” (which of course I now want to rent).  I always like these featurettes because they give the viewer an insight to how movies are made, and the cast and crew seemed to have a great time on this one.

Overall I would say “The Uninvited” was an enjoyable Horror movie that provided plenty of creepy moments, scares, and action.  I give this movie 4 out of 5 on the “Popcorn Movie Scale”.