Lawbolisted Powerful

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Leofwine_draca THE UNINVITED is one of the most well-regarded ghost stories of the 1940s, although seen today it's a rather genteel effort and certainly not frightening, unlike towering movies of the genre such as THE HAUNTING. This one sees a jovial Ray Milland moving into a beachfront property, only to discover that it's already occupied. It's a sedate and subtle affair, with the supernatural horror limited to just a couple of mildly effective SFX scenes, but it does have plenty of atmosphere and an intriguing murder mystery back story to keep it going. Milland proves a warm and kindly presence this early on in his career (as opposed to his turns a decade later in the likes of DIAL M FOR MURDER) but the emphasis is very much on the female presence, both real and (is it?) imaginated. Silent film star Donald Crisp plays an imposing role in support, and there are some nice indoor visuals here which reminded me of those in THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE.

GL84 Heading out to the countryside, a brother and sister find themselves moving into a mansion along the coastline which they learn about the ghosts inhabiting the area and try to find a way of appeasing the spirits within before they manage to harm their friends.There really isn't a whole lot here. Among the better parts here is the film's rather strong sense of atmosphere here, as there's points at the right moments where the house can be pretty creepy. The design, which is filled with a great arrangement of furniture and an especially well-placed twisting stairway in the middle of the house that manages to create a really effective atmosphere for the film, gets some great amount of suspense with the general design and with a lot of openness in the windows everywhere allowing a lot of light at times this one serves as a solid haunting-ready location. There's also an important factor in the design of the stairwell towards how the conclusion plays out, since it's the film's single best scene, with the ghost appearing to float down in a rather ethereal manner that only works because of how the staircase was a spiraling design rather than a traditional one. There's some solid work in building up the idea of ghost here with the music being played, the howling wind and floating voices that match the stories told about the house which match well with the creeping fog rolling across the cliff- tops, and a really creepy séance in the middle of the film that has an odd creep factor to it really selling this one rather well. The last positive here is that there's also a really great final twenty minutes here that always manages to get some action in the film, which are some of the best parts of the film generating the full extent of her connection to the past and letting some nice haunting scenes come about here with a solid resolution. These are it's main points of interest since this here has a lot of flaws present. One of the biggest issues is that the film takes a near eternity to get going. The beginning is mostly concerned with incredibly boring tripe about the families getting along, their moving in and meeting the neighbors and the utterly bland romance that feels so out-of- place in a film like this. The distrust here doesn't make the film any bit of entertaining due to it being so dull to sit through and takes time away from the ghost angle, which should be the main point with this one. Ignoring it by focusing it on a really lousy subplot about the family members being secretive about the reasons for a romance to be a bad thing isn't compelling viewing, and makes it seem all the more longer when the ghosts finally appear. They're just endless and really drag this one out intermittently. This is the film's most pressing problem, as there's nothing at all interesting going on in the beginning of the film. It's not really scary, and there is very little reason to get into the first half of this as the film simply seems concerned with useless jabbering on about elements that aren't interesting where it all results in a long period in the film before the ghosts actually show up. It's the one thing that really drags the film down.Today's Rating/PG: Mild Violence.

PimpinAinttEasy Not exactly a horror film. It starts off as a slightly mysterious and creepy romantic comedy. It is one of those films with strange and ambiguous relationships between the characters.A brother-sister duo (Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey) is impressed by a large mansion while on a trip to a seaside town. They are surprised when its owner agrees to sell it to them for a very cheap price. But once they move in, they realize that there is some sort of entity in the house. The strange behavior of the owner and his granddaughter also arouses suspicion.The two protagonists are unusual - they are a chummy brother sister duo who live together. The relationship between the mansion's owner and his granddaughter is also quite strange. He seems to be excessively possessive about her. There is another relationship which hints at lesbianism.The film begins with a great long shot of the turbulent sea that is almost monstrous. It was very affecting. The indoor scenes are characterized by a lot of shadows and candle light which gives a Gothic and at times even Noirish feel to the film. The séance scene was very interesting.Ray Miland's charming presence and his backslapping relationship with Ruth Hussey prevents this film from becoming a creepy horror film.You might enjoy it if you liked The Birds or Marnie. It is not a bad film for a rainy night. And Ruth Hussey is very nice to look at.(6/10)

Spondonman This was a lovely ghost film from Hollywood's Golden Age, with an impeccable lustrous production from Paramount and an excellent array of actors to put the hokum across. And it is hokum – there's nothing wrong with that at all, and usually I prefer it that way; usually it's much better than being considered capital letter Art.An erudite brother and sister are smitten by and decide to buy a windswept quaint house on the Cornish coast which although it was signalled to them in various ways prior to purchase, turned out to have a houseful of secrets. After a degree of ghostly detective work the Past (a mere 17 years previous) gave up a torrid love affair, an illegitimate baby, murder, lesbians, a seance and above all a seemingly malevolent ghost – or two. And by the end the portly Ray Milland was going to shack up with a young Gail Russell, while his sister Ruth Hussey was being sized up by the always avuncular looking Alan Napier. Yes, it's a post-Rebecca woman's picture par excellence, novel written by Dorothy Macardle. In civilised Western society the ladies rightly or wrongly are perceived to always speak from a position of Belief in the Afterlife, the gentlemen always from a position of Scoffing. Although main man Milland initially frivolously vacillates overall this film is in no Doubt: ghosts exist as surely as there has to be a point in living. It's all done very well with a spooky atmosphere you could cut with a knife. And dim or dark rooms or passages, creepy studio sets and a flowery romantic script acted with dignity and straight faces and with some classic crackpot wispy dialogue that might make the ladies nod their heads sagely and the gentlemen guffaw loudly. In that sense it's probably more comparable to Now Voyager than to The Innocents. It has a rushed ending that doesn't invite scrutiny, but it certainly doesn't outstay its invitation.I still love this wonderful film even though I can be even more frivolous - but hopefully more consistent - than Ray Milland! Except, I too believe in ghosts