The Uninvited Movie Review: Hollywood Meh-hem

A Hollywood couple’s perfect night unravels as a mysterious woman and ex-lover crash the party in Nadia Conners’ debut, The Uninvited.

But the party overstays its welcome, and what begins as a promising night out turns into a lukewarm evening where no one really connects, including the film with its audience.

The movie starts on the right foot by introducing us to Sammy (Walton Goggins, The Hateful Eight), a high-powered agent, and his wife Rose (Elizabeth Reaser, The Haunting of Hill House), a former stage actress now trying to find her purpose beyond the spotlight. Married with one precocious child, the couple opens the movie lightly bickering, but just so we know that small battles are easily resolved. Tonight, Sammy’s throwing a dinner party hoping to charm his wandering-eyed client Gerald (Rufus Sewell, The Illusionist) and spotlight Gerald’s newest discovery, Delia (Eva De Dominici, The Cleaning Lady).

The night takes its first turn after the elderly Helen (Lois Smith, The French Dispatch) mysteriously appears outside, confused and claiming Rose’s enviable Hollywood home was once hers. Before the hosts can regain their footing, Lucian (Pedro Pascal, Freaky Tales) arrives. Rose’s former flame has a smoldering presence that instantly rattles a delicate tightrope she’s been walking for years, making her wonder again if the suburban domesticity she leveled up to was truly worth it. It’s a terrific premise that initially crackles with a tantalizing tension. Is Helen a spirit? A wandering mind? A manifestation of Rose’s own uneasy conscience?

In her narrative feature debut, Conners captures these early beats with a sharp, almost theatrical touch; we’re genuinely unsure whether this strange interloper is real. But as the night drags on, so does the film. What hints at a paranormal or psychological unraveling slumps into familiar territory: exposed affairs, sputtering career regrets, and the kind of tiresome marital squabbling you’ve seen in countless films. 

Goggins, usually a livewire, coasts through familiar acting territory: the charming man-child who doesn’t realize he’s the problem. It’s a character we’ve seen before — and liked more elsewhere, like in the latest season of The White Lotus. Pascal feels bizarrely underused, relegated to a subplot that never earns its weight. Sewell and De Dominici drift in and out as paper-thin archetypes, too fleeting to leave much of a mark. Many of the stars appearing in The Uninvited feel like Conners called in favors from long-term acquaintances, and while it’s nice to have talented friends, it’s even nicer to put them to good use.

Reaser and Smith, though, bring it. A consistently underrated actress, Reaser digs deep into Rose’s unhealed wounds, boiling over with creative frustration and longing to be more than just a polished LA wife. Smith, one of our finest actresses on stage and screen, gives her character an unsettling presence that keeps you guessing. Their scenes together are magnetic—two women from different generations confronting the cost of disappearing into the background. There’s a better movie hiding within these wonderful moments that doesn’t need the rest of the partygoers siphoning attention away.

Now is probably a good time to mention that Goggins and Conners are married in real life, a further sign of just how “Made in LA” The Uninvited is. I’d also wager a bet that the mansion where the action is set belongs to someone involved with the film as well. It has a kind of curated emptiness you can’t replicate in a studio setting that flatters but never glamorizes. Chad Tatham’s production design underscores the hollow illusions these characters cling to, while Robert Leitzell’s cinematography drapes everything in a golden California haze. Finally, Donna Lisa’s costumes nail the LA dinner party look: effortless on the surface, painfully picked over underneath.

Unlike its more incisive predecessors in the Hollywood self-examination genre, Conners’ film doesn’t quite function as industry critique nor fully commit to being a character study. This middle-ground approach leaves it feeling oddly tentative, as though afraid to fully embrace either direction. Still, there’s something oddly endearing about the ambition behind the effort, even though it lingers in the murky middle, where people trade authenticity for access and long for something real beneath the glitter.

Fans of the actors (and they are an appealing bunch) may find reason to RSVP, especially for the momentary magic conjured up by Reaser and Smith. If only the filmmakers had realized that not every gathering needs a sprawling ensemble. Sometimes, you only require a good host and an unexpected guest who changes everything. What starts as an intriguing shindig ends as a ghost of itself. It’s pleasant enough company, but far from the unforgettable night it could have been.

The Uninvited opened in US theatres on April 11, 2025 and will be released in UK & Irish cinemas on May 9, 2025.