Watch The Unbidden

The Unbidden, released in 2016, is a horror film that follows the tale of four Asian-American women in their thirties, who reunite at the house where they once lived as college roommates. They all come back together for the first time in many years and unexpectedly encounter a series of supernatural events that are haunting and unsettling.

The women are led by Michelle (Tamlyn Tomita), a successful businesswoman who has helped them all in their careers. Jann (Julia Nickson) is a former attorney, now a successful artist; Naomi (Elizabeth Sung) is a psychiatrist, and the youngest, Vivian (Kimiye Corwin), is a stay-at-home mom with two young children.

From the beginning of the film, it is made clear that something is not right. Vivian is killed on her way to the reunion, in a car accident that is attributed to a mysterious force. Michelle, Jann, and Naomi are left to mourn her loss at the house where they all once lived together.

As they come together to prepare for the funeral, strange things begin to happen. They hear noises, see visions, and experience inexplicable incidents that lead them to believe that the presence of ghostly apparitions is with them.

The phenomenon relates to a curse upon them that was born of a pact made by their late grandmother in China. She had made a deal with a powerful supernatural force that promised to bring great fortune to her family. In exchange, the force demanded that the eldest daughter in each generation be killed.

As the women explore the history of this curse and try to lift it, they are forced to confront their individual past traumas that began in college.

Each character has her own demons that she must face. Michelle carries the scars of a physically abusive relationship from her past, Jann is haunted by the loss of her child, and Naomi's bouts of anxiety and nervousness stem from a traumatic incident that took place during her childhood. Vivian's death and the ongoing supernatural encounters that she experiences after her death are just the catalyst to their individual journeys towards healing.

The film's portrayal of the supernatural is somewhat unique in that it focuses on the relationship between supernatural entities and the human psyche. For example, the death of Vivian is attributed to a paranormal force with similar traits to the classic portrayal of a "vengeful ghost" who comes back for retribution.

Nevertheless, as the film progresses, the women realize through their own shared traumas that these apparitions are not necessarily there to harm, but rather to communicate.

The Unbidden is a well-paced thriller that effectively blends its suspenseful narrative with a heartfelt character study of four childhood friends. The film's themes about the unresolved, buried past and the necessity of healing and emotional shoring up, provide an interesting take on how the supernatural world can play a role in healing and understanding our own psyche.

The performances of the four lead actresses are solid, with each of them putting in strong performances that bring their characters to life. Tamlyn Tomita, who plays Michelle, delivers a superb performance in particular, bringing an added level of depth to her character while managing to inject humor and wit into her scenes.

Overall, The Unbidden is a unique and thought-provoking horror film that is worth checking out for fans of the genre. With its strong lead performances and themes about the price of fortune, love, and the supernatural, the movie offers a distinctive and fresh take that breathes new life into the horror movie category.

The Unbidden is a 2016 horror movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 24 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 3.0.