Stepmommy Dearest

In The Uninvited, the prolific Elizabeth Banks plays daddy’s shady new girlfriend, much to the chagrin of Anna (Emily Browning), a young woman returning home after spending time in a treatment facility following the tragic death of her mother.

The suspense of this by-the-books, yet unscary scary movie comes from the fact that Banks’ Rachael is not entirely who she claims to be – and Anna is set on blowing her pearl necklace-wearing stepmommy-to-be’s cover with the help of a search engine and her sister Alex (The Grudge 2’s Arielle Kebbel).

Anna’s recovery is officially derailed, and her author father (David Strathairn) appears to be completely smitten with his wife’s former nurse. Now, is that a combination that spells trouble or what?

My, yes…it is.

Oh, and that’s right – Rachael used to take care of Anna and Alex’s terminally ill mom, who, whaddya know, died in a suspicious fire. And now she’s in her house, making all these entitled changes. That bitch.

But Anna’s onto something, and her getting off track toward mental health also has something to do with the fact that her mom’s ghost – and that of some peeps she doesn’t really know from Jack and Jane on the street – is visiting to tell her she better watch her back or she’ll be next.

Or will she?

What a homecoming.

The Uninvited is quite The Sixth Sense, obvs, but then again, it’s not. All the two have in common is Haley Joel Osment and Anna both see dead people. And Anna, much like Bruce Willis, comes to realize something in the end.

But I’m not telling you what, and it’s certainly not what you think.

Just know there’s only one good reason to watch this movie, and that’s Banks – and she’s not even in it all that much. True, though, I would cast her as walk-on in just about everything….

My Rating **1/2


Photo: DreamWorks Pictures.