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The Train Store - The Uninvited
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List Price: $19.95
Our Price: $10.66
Your Save: $ 9.29 ( 47% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Panik House
Starring: Shin-yang Park, Gianna Jun, Seon Yu, Ok Jeong, Ju-shil Lee
Directed By: Soo-youn Lee
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Ryko Distribution
EAN: 0883164100799
Format: Color
Label: Panik House
Manufacturer: Panik House
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Panik House
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2006-05-30
Running Time: 127
Studio: Panik House
Theatrical Release Date: 2003
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Cryptic, Atmospheric Horror
Comment: One of the best and eeriest examples of atmospheric horror ever made, "The Uninvited" has been criticized by some for being too slow, but in my mind the pacing is perfect for this particular story. On the way home on the subway train one night, a man (Shin-Yang Park) is the last off the train except for two children who he assumes are sleeping. The next day he's horrified to hear that on a subway train the bodies of two dead children were discovered; subsequently he starts to see those very children sitting at his kitchen table in the same slumped, lifeless posture he saw them in on the subway. With no one else able to see them, he assumes he's having a mental breakdown until a chance encounter with a young woman named Yun (Ji-Hyun Jun, listed on this DVD as Gianna Jun) who, upon entering his apartment, can also see the children. Yun has herself been in a deeply unbalanced state over the past year, since a terrible tragedy in which she lost her own child. Here is where the movie really starts to delve into the strange and scary, as events move forward while flashbacks also go into Yun's past and what happened there. The meaning behind alot of events is ambivalent, leaving the viewer able to interpret things in more than one way - for example,the true nature of one of the main characters remains very cloudy: tragic victim or something much more sinister and disturbing? The open-to-interpretation theme works extremely well, as it has in a number of other Asian horror movies. The acting is award-worthy, with Ji-Hyun Jun in particular standing out, the overall production excellent, and a great musical score. With some terrific jolts amongst the deeply simmering atmosphere, the horror builds right to the last frame and holds on deeply even as the credits roll and the possibilities of what really happened sink in. A+
Customer Rating:
Summary: Tragic and ephemeral
Comment: I really liked the subdued yet emotional acting and the characters played by Ji-hyun Jun and Shin-yang Park. This movie wasn't what I was expecting, and the trailer didn't do it justice -- in fact, the trailer is quite poor, I think. There is a lot of pain and suffering in this film, a lot of tragedy, but it revolves around the status of being human and alive in this world. Park's character, at the end, seems to come full circle; he doesn't seem to know how to reach out or love, and he doesn't seem very sure of himself. This is a tragic story, not necessarily romantic, just tragic and ephemeral and relative to the very essence of humanity and life itself.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Lee hits this one out of the park.
Comment: The Uninvited (Su-yeon Lee, 2003)
The Uninvited is being marketed here in America as just another Asian horror flick, which is a disservice not only to the film, but both to the Asian horror film audience in America and the audience that would get far more out of it. Not to say there isn't crossover; I rented it expecting another Asian horror flick and got, well, The Uninvited, which while it contains some supernatural elements (and the rather extreme ways of depicting them of which the Japanese are so fond), is a breathtaking psychological drama about the lengths a person will go to to defend himself from the past, and the devastation that can occur when those defenses are broken down.
While the main character is Jeong-won (Shin-yang Park), it's hard to really define anyone as a "main" character here. He (and his story) gets the most screen time, but everything going on around him is just as important, even the part to which he and his story are tangential. In any case, Jeong-won is an interior designer with a problem--a nagging, overbearing fiancée, Hee-eun (Seon Yu). One night, he falls asleep on the train home, and rides it to the last stop by accident. As the train pulls off into the yard for the night, from the platform he sees that two small children are still on the train, seemingly asleep. The next morning, he finds out they were found there dead, and almost immediately after has a work-related accident that causes head trauma. That night, he sees the two dead girls sitting at the new table his fiancée just bought.
And that's just the first five minutes. It's also the synopsis most people will give (everyone stops there because we run out of space for it), and that's why everyone thinks it's a ghost story. Oh, but there's much more--an alleged psychic, a murder trial, a poor priest who may or may not be who he says he is, rumors of infidelity, a mental clinic, and it just keeps going on and on. There's no way to give a full synopsis of this movie in less than a thousand words; there's simply too much to it, and it's all quite wonderful.
The pace is psychological-drama pace, not horror pace. You should be expecting things to move slowly. It is, after all, over two hours long, which gives us enough time to absorb all the different threads Su-yeon Lee wove into the screenplay. There's a lot going on here; this is a movie that requires you to pay attention to it, but the payoff is in the characters, the way they interact, Lee's bravery in not tying up all the loose ends (the final scene is just perfect, even if we're probably in greater suspense about the scene that would come just after than we have been at any point in the movie), and all the other little things that make The Uninvited one of the best movies I've seen this year. **** ½
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Redefine horror....
Comment: As I write this I must say that Ernest's review is better than anything I can probably say, and I agree with most of his opinions. Yes, this film is slow; it is about the characters, and character development takes longer than slashing or gore. This won't fit a lot of Americans' concepts of horror movies: there is no monster, human or supernatural; there is no slashing or teen sex -- no teens at all, for that matter; and the ghosts of the dead children are not overtly threatening, but instead rather sad; there are not even "gotcha" moments such as those in Dark Water or The Grudge. It is, however, an intensely fascinating movie for fans of psychological horror, and those who have an interest in the dark side of the human psyche. I don't feel a need to describe the plot, because others have done that. This movie does give us a new kind of horror, one rarely seen in Asian films and almost never in American horror films since the 1960s. For American film fans, let me say that if you liked the original, black and white, early 60s "The Haunting" (based on Shirley Jackson's book "The Haunting of Hill House") you will probably enjoy this. The films are vastly different on the surface, but in the final say, they both focus on the human rather than the supernatural, and use the supernatural as a means to explore the human condition. It's well worth watching, and for fans of Asian horror, definitely worth owning.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Very Good And Complex Film: Psychological Horror!
Comment: "The Uninvited," is not your usual or typical horror film riddled with the usual gorefest cliches common in too many horror films. This film is a deeper, and more methodically paced film dealing with the human pysche. And more importantly, the horrors that we carry with us: In this case, the films main protagonist Jeong-won (Shin-yang Park). If you have the patience for a very complex, and slowly paced film, then this film will reward you. As a word of caution however, it is not for those whose idea of a horror film [if we can call it that] is one with gratuitous gore from beginning to end. I thought that this was a very good film. However, it may not appeal to all viewers. The film is rather slow-paced, and ambiguous.
Furthermore, the films usuage of ghosts and other supernatural occurances are used in order to advance the films main theme: The inner pysche of the films main protagonist, Jeong-won (Shin-yang Park). And I believe the film succeeded magnificantly in this respect. The film begins with Jeong-wan, an architect, who has no recollection or memories of his childhood. Returning from home one day on the subway, he notices two young girls who are sitting next to him. As he reaches the end of the line, he notices the two girls are still there. Thinking nothing further about it, he returns home. However, he later learns that the two girls were dead. Thus begins a very complex film. Jeong-wan's life begins to change dramatically, as he begins to see the two dead children. Whether or not this is in his head, or real is only part of the films message: For it is mainly the films ambiguity which leave the viewer to his or her imagination.
Finally, while the film is not so much about horror, per se, as much as the horror of trauma and loss, there are still some disturbing images which are haunting in their themes. As the film moves forward, Jeong-wan meets a woman named Yeon (Ji-hyun Jun), who is a narcoleptic. She is also a witness in an infant murder case, who can also see these two childrens ghosts. They both try to unravel this mystery of the children, and in doing so unlock Jeong-wan's shocking past. I don't want to give away too much of the film, however, if you sit back and allow the films slow and nuanced pace to arrive at the conclusion, you might find you like this film. However, it's not a happy one with a neat tidy conclusion. I recommend you rent the film first to see it this is a film you would like to have in your cinema collection. The film does take patience. Recommended. [Stars: 4.5]
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Editorial Reviews:
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This intrernationally acclaimed thriller is a character driven throwback to the groundbreaking horror films of the 1970's. This modern horror masterpiece shares as much in common with The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby as with The Ring or The Grudge. Riveting performances from the two leads porovide a powerful, unforgetable plunge into the deepest fathoms of psychological terror, and once you see what lies beyond the veil of reality, there is not escaping its apocalyptic curse. • Behind-The-Scenes: The Making of The Uninvited Documentary Featurette • English and Spanish Audio Commentaries • Trailers • Posters and Sill Garries • Production Notes, Essays & Bios • Essay on Korean Horror by Art Black (Asian Cult Cinema, Psychotronic Video Guide) • Optional English and Spanish Subtitles • Seperate Bilingual Menus in English and Spanish • Collectible Sticker
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