A mother’s revenge on steroids; Vilma, Aga & Nadine’s ‘Uninvited’ is exciting

 

There is nothing greater than a mother’s love. There’s also nothing more severe than a mother’s revenge. 

Vilma Santos showcases these two mother-daughter scenarios in a movie that will make you uncomfortable, it will leave you at the edge of your seats, holding on and rooting for the main character from start to finish. 

‘Uninvited’ is one of the entries of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) with story and screenplay by Dodo Dayao (Midnight in a Perfect World, Violator), and co-produced and directed by Dan Villegas (Fan Girl, Exes Baggage, Never Not Love You). 

Vilma Santos headlines the film, portraying Eva Candelaria, who gate crashes a party to avenge her daughter who she suspects to have been killed by Guilly Vega (Aga Muhlach). Vega celebrates his birthday in that party, which is the main setting of the film. Nadine Lustre, meanwhile, portrays Nicole, the daughter of Vega who has lost affection for her father. 

Aided only with flashbacks, Dayao and Villegas mount the movie’s entire narrative in a  single night, in a single party to be specific. This approach effectively sustains viewers’ attention. Uninvited’s 90-minute run kind of feels too short as it consistently sustains that energy and that curiosity on what will happen next. 

And then there is the manner of how the revenge is staged. It is so satisfying. The device on how the scorned mother avenged her daughter is presented in a very gratifying manner that it gives the audience a gigantic dose of justice. That in this often unfair world, it is nice to see equity and impartiality in display — and with no less than the Star for All Seasons bringing it all in full motion.