The Uninvited (2024 film)

The Uninvited is a comedy drama feature film which premiered at the 2024 South by Southwest film festival. The plot revolves around a stranger crashing a party which leads to a comedy of errors, and a reordering of life.

The Uninvited
Directed by	Nadia Conners
Written by	Nadia Conners
Produced by	Rosie Fellner Carlos Cuscó Ari Taboada
Starring	Pedro Pascal Walton Goggins Elizabeth Reaser Lois Smith
Cinematography	Robert Leitzell
Edited by	Patrick Walsh Todd Zelin
Music by	Eric Avery
Production companies	Foton.Pictures Rosebud Pictures
Release dates	March 11, 2024 (2024-03-11) (SXSW) November 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)
Running time	97 minutes

The cast includes Pedro Pascal, Lois Smith, Elizabeth Reaser, Walton Goggins, Eva de Dominici and Rufus Sewell. It is writer and director Nadia Conners' first narrative feature.

The plot was not released until its premier at South by Southwest was confirmed, and roles were not released prior to the premier itself.

Synopsis

Taking place over a tense evening at the home of actress-turned-reluctant homemaker Rose (Elizabeth Reaser) and her agent husband Sammy (Walton Goggins), The Uninvited is a sharp critique of Hollywood's ageism and gender biases. As they host a small party to impress a star client (Rufus Sewell), tensions simmer beneath the glamorous façade, revealing the pressures of career, aging, and identity. When an elderly woman (Lois Smith) unexpectedly arrives, claiming the house was once hers, her presence forces Rose and Sammy to confront the industry's unspoken rules about who belongs—and who is no longer welcome. The film's insider view of Hollywood offers a biting, introspective look at the costs of playing the game in a youth-obsessed industry.

Cast

• Walton Goggins as Sammy, Hollywood agent and Rose's husband
• Elizabeth Reaser as Rose, renown stage actress turned Hollywood housewife and Sammy's wife
• Rufus Sewell as Gerald, Sammy's top client who arrives coked-out
• Pedro Pascal as Lucian, a Hollywood star
• Eva De Dominici as Delia, ingénue
• Lois Smith as Helen, the confused elderly woman claiming to live in the couple's home

Reception

The film has garnered positive reviews and currently holds a 100% rating on the film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. The performances have been widely praised, especially Reaser and Smith, whose on-screen dynamic provides much of the film's emotional heft, nuance and subtle power. Goggins and Pascal also deliver strong performances, with Goggins standing out as the stressed, morally conflicted Sammy.

Critics appreciated the film's visual style and the way it uses its setting—a sprawling Hollywood home—to create a sense of both intimacy and unease. Director Nadia Conners is praised for maintaining an intriguing tension throughout, and for a sharp character study and exploration of aging, gender roles, and Hollywood's superficiality.

The film won the Best Drama Feature at the 2024 San Diego International Film Festival.

Release

The Uninvited will hold its North American premiere at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles, California, on November 15, 2024. It will then receive a limited theatrical release at Los Angeles’ Los Feliz 3 on November 16 and 17.

Following that, The Uninvited will have its worldwide preview launch on TVOD platforms on November 19, 2024.

External links

• The Uninvited at IMDb