DVD REVIEW [PRE-RELEASE] . The Uninvited

by Chris   ⋅   May 25, 2006   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

They say some memories are lost for a reason. Some are simply unimportant, resulting in near immediate dismissal, while others the mind chooses to bury in an effort to cope; events whose recollections would prove spiritually and emotionally crippling. Furthermore, they say experience of such a traumatic event can fundamentally alter one’s perception of reality. Sometimes it can open you up to recognizing things you’d rather not. Ghosts, for instance.

Jung-won (Shin-yang Park) is an interior architect working in Korea. I say interior architect, because to me American Interior Designers are just people who like to move around couches (see: Surprise by Design). But I digress. Although a rather weak-willed man (he’s a witnesser not a doer), Jung-won is the model of success. He is engaged to another “smart and beautiful” interior architect, his business is thriving, and he lives in an apartment straight out of Dwell magazine. But he’s got one simple problem. His apartment is inhabited by the ghosts of two girls, poisoned by their mother during one of his nightly train rides home. Enter Yun (Ji-hyun Jun, My Sassy Girl), a narcoleptic woman plagued by psychic visions, who has befallen a similar tragedy with a baby dropping babysitter. After fainting on the drive home from a church session, Yun is brought to Jung-won’s apartment to recover. Much to Jung-won’s surprise, upon awaking, she too is able to see his uninvited guests. Naturally, he solicits her for help; a decision he will soon regret, as it will lead him down a path forcing him to confront a deep rooted and long forgotten childhood trauma, and risk possible loss of his sanity in the process.

The Uninvited is an extremely slow building horror film. In fact, it never really rises above a simmer. I would say it’s not so much a horror, or even supernatural thriller film as it is a drama about damaged people attempting to come to grips with their horrifying pasts. It just happens to use ghosts as a catalyst. But this is not a feel-good self-improvement drama either. There are no heartwarming revelations to be found on their path of discovery. Rather each character is further devastated as each revelation rips open both new, and long patched wounds. The strong become weak, and the weak still weaker.
This sort of nihilistic reduction of human characters to whining bags of flesh and bone may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s certainly not the sort of adolescent “the world sucks” kind of darkness you have grown accustomed to in American cinema. In fact, the narrative is rather complex, and provided you have the required level of patience, surely warrants repeat viewings in order to catch all the subtle nuances of the story, and various visual hints laced throughout the film.

The de-saturated, near sun-bleached look of the film is a nice change from the color heavy Korean productions I’ve seen of late (see: A Tale of Two Sisters and Chan-wook Park’s Vengeance trilogy.) Writer/Director Su-Yeon Lee’s heavy use of medium to long takes, unwavering even in the face of grisly events (quite a few involving children in peril), provides the audience a near clinical depiction of the characters’ deconstructions. Combined with the rather harsh lighting and near omnipresent camera (aided ever so slightly by CG transitions), it helps to further convey the complete alienation of the film’s characters, lost in an antiseptic and unfeeling world.

Actress Ji-hyun Jun displays here that she can do far more than the mere muggings, gnashings, and posturings of My Sassy Girl. In fact, she shows she does indeed have the acting chops required to survive in non-HK cinema. Her repertoire runs the gambit of shock, pain, and distress, and she shows she can even handle the ubiquitous crying sequence. If she keeps it up, while adding a bit of nudity and finding herself in compromising situations with a domineering geriatric white male, she’ll be a shoe-in for next year’s Oscars (Oh crap. There I go again.). Shin-yang Park, on the other hand doesn’t really do anything with his character aside from looking timid and wringing his hands. This is not due to any ineptitude on his part, but rather a limitation of the character itself. Take for example the sequence when Jung-won’s fiancée misinterprets his relationship with Yun. His character makes no effort to explain, merely stating sheepishly, “it’s complicated.” But however pathetic his character may be, at least his performance remains believable.

In closing, The Uninvited is an interesting, if rather slow paced diversion for the Asian horror cinema buff. It’s certainly not for everyone, but those with a fair share of patience, and those preferring a bit of substance with their style, will the film intriguing.

The Disc:
As with the other Panik House releases, the first thing you will notice is the packaging. The Uninvited comes in an amray case covered partly by a paper sleeve outer casing. This outer casing, an embossed closeup of Ji-Hyun Ja’s face, laying horizontally (see poster above) serves as an alternate lower half of the cover art, and when removed reveals the actual, differing cover art of the amray. And, as with other panic house releases you get a cool sticker; this one is of the theatrical poster, the cover with sleeve version of the case.

The transfer is crisp and clean, with no discernable flaws. Blacks are deep and whites are bright, translating the film’s color scheme as accurately as possible. The film’s Korean language track is presented in either 5.1 Dolby or DTS surround, with the option of a 2.0 Dolby track for those without a home theater setup. Spanish and English language subtitles are provided, as with complementary Spanish and English language commentary tracks, and menu options.

The English commentary track consists of an Audio Essay written by Art Black, of Asian Cult Cinema and Psychotronic Video magazine, read by Korean Film licensor Ed Lee. The commentary covers everything from the “stone age” methods of releasing and attaining Asian film offerings prior to 1996, and various landmark films that have marked the rise of South Korean film in the past few years, including Shiri, and the history of the Korean horror film. Ed Lee’s voice has an inherent sarcasm about it, which lends a bit of an odd quality to the essay, but the material is quite interesting, and is a must listen for any fan of Asian cinema.

And once again, Panik House has provided a production notes (aka: a plot synopsis), theatrical trailers, and director and Star Bios. Fans of Ji-Hyun Ja will appreciate hers, as it spans roughly four screens and features various glamour and cheesecake shots of her. And speaking of photos, you once again have a gallery of production stills, posters, and production art. The production stills gallery is quite large, though many of the shots seem to be of the same scene only from different angles.

The other features are quite interesting. “Abridged: The Uninvited Condensed” is an admirable attempt at condensing the 126 minute film into 15 minutes. The general gist of the film is there, though certain edits change the meanings of a few key scenes quite a bit. To be honest, this feature helped refresh my memory quite a bit while writing this review.

The Reminiscence feature has actors Jun and Park in a brief Q&A session discussing their characters motivations, ghosts, Jun’s process for becoming a master collapser, and even the furniture designed by Park and featured in the film.

Then there are two features that should be of special interest to those seeking a career in film. “The Making of The Uninvited” is a nine part feature documenting the filming of various scenes in the film. “From Sketch to Screen” is a nice piece hosted by writer/director Su-yeon Lee discussing the development of the film from storyboard to screen, and the stylistic decisions and meanings behind the various layouts and materials involved in the set design. It’s actually quite interesting, though I must admit I had interpreted a few rooms slightly differently than the director had intended.

The “Theme Music” special feature is exactly that; three full-length audio tracks of some of baby-voiced electronic music from the film. It’s interesting, but the music is not the type I would have playing in the background in our apartment.
Lastly, you have a lengthy essay on the Korean Horror genre by Art Black, who also wrote the aforementioned audio essay. Black discusses the economic and social climate behind this new surge of Korean horror films, and listing some of the landmark films (and their inspirations) released in the past few years. It reads a bit like a textbook entry, but it is nevertheless informative.

All in all a sweet disc for an intriguing film.

The uninvited hits stores May 30, 2006.

Chris Nelson is a Technical Writer in the Silicon Valley. He is currently studying for a Software Engineering degree at San Jose State University.

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