The Uninvited is a 2024 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Nadia Conners in her directorial debut. The film stars Pedro Pascal, Lois Smith, Elizabeth Reaser, Walton Goggins, Eva De Dominici, and Rufus Sewell. Its plot revolves around a stranger crashing a party which leads to a comedy of errors, and a reordering of life.
The Uninvited premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 11, 2024, and was released in the United States on April 11, 2025.
Contents
Premise
Actress-turned-reluctant homemaker Rose (Elizabeth Reaser), and her agent husband Sammy (Walton Goggins) host a small party to impress a star client (Rufus Sewell), but tensions simmer beneath the glamorous façade when an elderly woman (Lois Smith) unexpectedly arrives, claiming the house was once hers.
Cast
Pedro Pascal as Lucian, a Hollywood star
Walton Goggins as Sammy, Hollywood agent and Rose's husband
Elizabeth Reaser as Rose, renowned stage actress turned Hollywood housewife and Sammy's wife
Rufus Sewell as Gerald, Sammy's top client who arrives coked-out
Eva De Dominici as Delia, ingénue
Lois Smith as Helen, the confused elderly woman claiming to live in the couple's home
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 76% of 38 critics' reviews are positive. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
The performances have been praised, especially Reaser and Smith.
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 film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2024. It was released in the United States on April 11, 2025.