The Uninvited (USA, 1944)

I like to use the October Horror Movie Challenge as an excuse to catch up with classics I’ve not seen yet. The Uninvited regularly pops up on lists of the best horror films of all time, but somehow I’ve managed to miss it until now. Seeing as I’m a sucker for films of this era, as well as for ghost stories, this seemed to be a major oversight. But was it worth all the build-up?

The Uninvited is available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Synopsis

Rick and Pamela Fitzgerald, a brother and sister from London, are holidaying in Cornwall. When they stumble across a dilapidated house by the sea, they fall in love with it and impulsively decide to buy it. The owner, Commander Beech, accepts a shockingly low offer, although his granddaughter, Stella, is appalled as the house has sentimental value to her.

Stella’s mother, we discover, died after falling from the cliff next to the house. This may be connected to the ghostly phenomena that the Fitzgeralds start noticing around their new home. As they investigate, they uncover dark secrets about Stella’s family, much to the Commander’s dismay. This is all further complicated as Rick and Stella start falling for each other.

But just what is the terrible secret behind the haunting? How is the owner of the local sanitorium involved? And just what might an impromptu séance reveal?

General Thoughts

The original film poster compares The Uninvited to Rebecca. While both are set in country houses in Cornwall, this is a lighter, more superficial story than either Daphne du Maurier’s novel or Hitchcock’s film adaptation. The comparison serves The Uninvited poorly.

It’s a nitpick, I suppose, but I really am put off when American actors in films of this era play British characters and don’t even attempt an accent. Ray Milland’s performance is otherwise fine, but even the mid-Atlantic accent favoured by golden-age Hollywood stars won’t convince anyone that he’s from London.

Another aspect that has dated badly is the age difference between Rick and Stella. It was hardly unusual for middle-aged male leads to have love interests in their early twenties, but it makes the paternalistic way Rick courts Stella feel more like grooming. Between that and the way her grandfather treats her, Stella is granted all the agency of a shuttlecock. She also undergoes some industrial-strength gaslighting, but that’s pretty standard for heroines in gothic melodramas.

I was surprised when there was mention of an illegitimate birth. This seems quite daring for a 1940s studio film made under the Hays Code. It was all phrased very carefully, but it was still interesting how unambiguous they were allowed to be.

An early scene involves the Fitzgeralds’ dog chasing a squirrel through the abandoned house. This appeared to involve some unlucky stunt squirrel being chased for real. I felt sorry for the poor thing. I’m not the biggest fan of CGI replacing practical effects, but I’d much rather see a digital squirrel in peril.

Verdict

While it wasn’t a complete let-down, The Uninvited was far from the classic I’d been led to expect. It’s melodramatic, and downright cheesy in places, filled with clumsy attempts to lighten the mood and a couple of romantic subplots that feel like boilerplate. The haunting itself isn’t terribly exciting and the mystery at its heart is pretty easy to guess.

Still, for all these faults, The Uninvited is not a bad film. It’s never dull, and there is an old-fashioned charm to the dialogue and characters. I’m just a little puzzled by its reputation as a classic ghost story. There are some creepy moments, and the sound design helps sell the haunting, but the overall feel is too shallow and hokey to offer more than light entertainment. A fine diversion if you’re looking for something undemanding, but not worth going out of your way for.

The October Horror Movie Challenge

Please do join in and share your own thoughts with us about this or any other films as the month goes on. You can usually find us on BlueSky, Reddit, Discord, or lurking in the dark corners of your home.

If you would like to play along at home, my provisional selections are:

Heretic (USA, 2024)
The Sadness (Taiwan, 2021)
The Uninvited (USA, 1944)
The Lodge (UK/USA, 2019)
WolfCop (Canada, 2014)
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (Czechoslovakia, 1970)
The Monkey (USA, 2025)
Sister Midnight (India/UK, 2024)
Roadgames (Australia, 1981)
Nightmare City (Italy, 1985)
Dangerous Animals (Australia, 2025)
Dead Talents Society (Taiwan, 2024)
Winterbeast (USA, 1992)
Byzantium (UK/Ireland, 2013)
The Ugly Stepsister (Norway, 2025)
A Page of Madness (Japan, 1926)
Heart Eyes (USA, 2025)
Grafted (New Zealand, 2024)
Arrebato (Spain, 1979)
Hatching (Finland, 2022)
Abigail (USA, 2024)
Ganja & Hess (USA, 1973)
The Devil’s Bath (Austria, 2025)
Pieces (Spain, 1982)
Infested (France, 2023)
Best Wishes to All (Japan, 2022)
A Cat in the Brain (Italy, 1990)
Enys Men (UK, 2022)
Creature From the Black Lagoon (USA, 1954)
Perewangan (Indonesia, 2024)
Bring Her Back (Australia, 2025)

A Final Note

If you have been enticed here by these posts, please do look around at some of our other film reviews. We also have a podcast, called The Good Friends of Jackson Elias, which occasionally covers horror films. If this appeals, you might want to check out some of the following episodes.