The Uninvited is a movie about two people namely,Jung-won and Yun, who met accidentally and have a developed a friendship as they relate together about the psychological horrors and trauma that they have experienced in life. Both are narcoleptic. As their bond became stronger, they have realized the similarities about they experiences they have undergone and tried to help each other in their daily lives. The story could have been a good one but unfortunately, the plot was extremely slow and its presentation could be confusing to many viewers as it wasn't presented in a straightforward manner,which was the major flaw of the film. One has to realize though that it was directed by a neophyte,Lee Soo- youn. Despite of the many awards he has garnered as Best New Director, one has to realize that his inexperience was evident on how the film was shot. The acting was commendable as far as the leads are concerned. Park Shin-yang as Jung-won and Gianna Jun as Yun, who worked together before in White Valentine, have shown great chemistry. Aside from that, both have excellent performance as people with psychological problems. The Uninvited was definitely not a horror film as advertised. It was a dark film that presented themes on how people try to cope with their their bad experiences and traumas in life. The film could have been better if the story had a conclusion instead of being open-ended and direction were better. But nevertheless,it is worth checking out.

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.

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.

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.