We all love a good revenge story. We love it even more if it was set up well, allowing for a very satisfactory ending.
“Uninvited” checks both boxes.
That it was laid out in a simple and straightforward manner sustained the film’s cause.
Film director Dan Villegas did right in applying apparent judiciousness in orchestrating the whole affair.
A lesser filmmaker could have easily ruined “Uninvited” given the clear-cut if all-too simple narrative but Villegas knows exactly when to push and when to pull, when to take the edge off and when to hit hard, striking a good balance all throughout.
In a nutshell, “Uninvited” is about a simple housewife whose daughter was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a powerful individual and his henchmen.
As these things go, justice will ultimately prove itself elusive for the mom and her child, leading to a messy, if all-too brutal rampage of retribution.
The film’s anchor, the one and only Vilma Santos, allowed for much restraint in her performance as Eva Candelaria, the film’s avenging angel.
And it worked.
We were actually fearful that she would utilize the usual verbose approach if only to elucidate the pain and the hatred gripping her character but, no.
Her Eva is far from being the screaming, gun-toting Sarah Connor-type of heroine. Soft-spoken, mild-mannered, fearful, we actually wondered how her Eva would pull off her grand plan to execute the film’s villains.
The yin to her yang is Aga Muhlach.
The actor’s all-too manic interpretation of the vile Guilly Vega, even if it swayed towards being caricaturesque at times, was quite effective, eliciting the exact sentiment needed to pin us viewers to our seats, eager to see his eventual downfall.
The rest of the cast, Nadine Lustre, Mylene Dizon, Lotlot de Leon, Nonie Buencamino, Elijah Canlas, Gabby Padilla, RK Bagatsing, Gio Alvarez, Cholo Barretto, Ketchup Eusebio, Ron Angeles, Tirso Cruz III, excellent actors all, could have been made to do more, but we’re nitpicking here.
To be clear, “Uninvited” is not perfect. But it is a darn good riveting ride.
