Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Vilma Santos is Lilia Capistrano, a mom with a deadly revenge mission in Filipino movie ‘Uninvited’, who infiltrates an exclusive high-society party in the hopes of eliminating those who brutally murdered her daughter.
Directed by Dan Villegas and written by Dodo Dayao, the film opens with a gloomy flashback of Lilia looking for her daughter Lily (Gabby Padilla) late at night, unable to reach her on phone. In the present, she is headed to a party, where she plans to extract vengeance for losing her only child. Aga Muhlach plays primary antagonist Guilly Vega, a megalomaniac billionaire, crime boss, and serial-rapist, whose countless victims include Lilia’s deceased daughter. Lilia disguises herself as a socialite and attends Guilly’s lavish birthday party at his mansion, determined to murder everybody involved in her daughter’s death.
The first half of ‘Uninvited’ is dark, gritty, and tense, with the entire story unfolding in the course of one night, while flashbacks reveal what transpired with Lily in her last moments, after she and her boyfriend Tofy (Elijah Canlas) are kidnapped by Guilly’s men. The young couple’s mangled bodies are discovered by the cops in a field and Lilia finds out who’s behind their murders through Tofy’s mother, who passes her a list of perpetrators. The creators build no mystery by showing her exert some investigative skills in cracking the identities of those behind the crime.
‘Uninvited’ does have some uncomfortable suspense around how the lone, aging Lilia will take down a gang of violent men, even though a party with freely flowing booze makes for an easy setup. And it’s not just the gangsters, Lilia is also intent on eliminating Guilly’s wife, Katrina (Mylene Dizon), and his beautiful daughter, Nicole (Nadine Lustre), both of whom despise the man but stick around for the money.
Despite being the primary antagonist, it’s Aga Muhlach who delivers the most powerful performance in ‘Uninvited’. He is slimy, creepy, and detestable as the narcissistic, libidinous Guilly, whose overconfidence in himself is bolstered by his unlimited wealth and clout. Vilma Santos, on the other hand, isn’t entirely convincing in her body language as the vengeful mother, even though her facial expressions reflect the hatred and pain of grief. Her character simply feels lucky throughout the film, managing to eliminate the men with ease, using the loud party as cover.
After a tense first half, ‘Uninvited’ ends on an underwhelming note. The climax lacks impact and would have benefited from stronger character and story development to justify Lilia’s revenge arc.
Rating: 6 on 10. You can watch ‘Uninvited’ on Netflix.
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