Given its reputation as a superior Gothic shocker, The Uninvited struck me as disappointing. In fact, the spookiest thing about it is that the plot hinges on a brother and sister buying a house together. Asexual the Fitzgeralds may be, the act still smacks of incestuous undertones. Ick! Er, I mean, aaaaiiiiieeeee!
The residence in question is the seaside Windward House, a glorious mansion atop a cliff from which a previous owner fatally fell. The adult siblings are Rick (Ray Milland, Dial M for Murder), a music critic and would-be composer, and Pamela (Ruth Hussey, Another Thin Man), who doesn’t work because a woman’s place is in the home — a haunted home.
Soon after moving in, the Fitzgeralds experience strange phenomena, including but not limited to sobs at night, wilting roses, fluctuating temps, slamming doors, flickering candles and the overpowering smell of mimosa. A séance helps brings buried secrets to light, because the aghast neighbors sure don’t like to.
While competently staged by first-timer Lewis Allen (who later helmed Suddenly, a small gem of an assassination thriller starring Frank Sinatra), the parts of The Uninvited fail to merge in a way that brings about goose bumps. Switching tones from serious to silly aggravates the problem, and silly wins out; the film’s last line is a mother-in-law joke, which may as well say all. —Rod Lott
Agreed. Disappointing.