[SXSW 2024] THE UNINVITED -- Star-Studded Ensemble Piece Is Unfocused and Dull

Review by Sean Boelman

With a cast led by Walton Goggins and Pedro Pascal, there’s no question that Nadia Conners’s directorial debut, The Uninvited, was one of the most hotly-anticipated premieres of this year’s SXSW. Yet despite its star-studded ensemble, The Uninvited is a waste of time due to a script that simply isn’t interesting.

The film follows the hosts and attendees of a party that is crashed by a senile old woman who claims to live there, as tensions spark between the guests and drama forms. Although this seems like the set-up for a great thriller, Conners instead opts to go the comedic route, which would be acceptable if there were anything particularly funny about it.

After the first half hour or so of quick-paced dialogue (Conners apparently initially created this as a play before deciding to make it into a movie), it becomes clear that The Uninvited is spinning its wheels. It puts the characters in one situation after another, but none of them build off of each other in a meaningful or intriguing way.

The Uninvited fails to take advantage of the potential geography of its setting. The production design of the Hollywood mansion in which the film is set is mildly impressive, but it’s put to no use. While this could easily have been used to parody the excess of the Hollywood elite she is “skewering,” Conners largely ignores it with her directorial eye.

Conners also struggles to juggle the movie’s themes. At many points, the film plays out like a straightforward, old-school morality tale. The characters are presented with a decision and given choices of how to proceed, with the conflict coming from what those decisions reveal about the characters. At other points, the movie seems interested in deeper commentary on topics like ageism in Hollywood. Because of this, everything feels underdeveloped.

However, the cardinal sin of The Uninvited is its character development. The first act convinces us that these are shallow, perhaps even horrible people, only for the rest of the film to ask us to pity them. As a result, viewers will feel a massive disconnect from the conflict. Conners gives us very little reason to care about the characters, resulting in an unconvincing mess.

The cast of The Uninvited brings a real “favor was called in” energy to it. The lead, Elizabeth Reaser, is fine — but she’s the only one with any meaty material to work with. Goggins (who is married to writer-director Conners) gives it his all, but the character does not serve him well. The other stars, including Rufus Sewell, Lois Smith, and the incredibly buzzy Pascal, make little impact in either direction because they aren’t given anything to do. 

Many people will be drawn to The Uninvited due to its cast, but they’re all put to waste in a movie that goes nowhere. While it’s nice to see Conners get the chance to make a film, this is the type of directorial debut that attempts to ride on its star power because the voice behind the camera just doesn’t have the juice.

The Uninvited screened at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival, which ran March 8-16 in Austin, TX.

Rating: 2/5