“Uninvited takes us on a memorable night as we follow a grieving mother on a mission.”

A lavish party, a bloody night, and a woman with a huge plan. As they say, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Uninvited takes us on a memorable night as we follow a grieving mother on a mission.

Lilia Capistrano (Vilma Santos) has recently lost her only daughter, Lily, who was abducted alongside her boyfriend Tofy. Lily was sexually assaulted before being killed, while Tofy was tortured before being shot. After thorough research into similar instances and with the help of intel, Lilia was able to figure out that it all connects to billionaire Guilly Vega (Aga Muhlach), a powerful figure who has a thing for sexually assaulting teenage girls before having his henchmen dispose of their dead bodies. Disguised as Eva Candelaria, Lilia is attending the 50th birthday party celebration for Guilly. But Lilia is more than just a visitor — she has bigger plans for the night. She is out to take revenge not only on Guilly but on everybody who was involved with what happened to her daughter. And she will take them out one by one and leave nobody unscathed.

Loosely based on a prominent sexual assault case back in the ’90s, in which a provincial mayor kidnapped a student couple, director Dan Villegas completely understands the genre of the film he’s making. At a tight 93 minutes, Uninvited is able to show the backstory of the main characters while not prolonging the revenge tale any further. Is it predictable? Sure, it is. The film wears the good vs. bad story like a badge of honor, and expecting it to wrap up in an ending where Lilia doesn’t successfully take down Guilly would be nonsensical. Uninvited is more concerned with our protagonist’s journey than with the destination.

Any notions of realism concerning the night of the party go out the window, as revenge stories such as Uninvited always require a high suspension of disbelief. Part of what makes the whole film work is being highly engrossed by the protagonist, knowing that she will do whatever it takes and that the possibilities are without limit. For that alone it is very effective as a revenge thriller, but in addition, the story feels grounded when you see it from the perspective of a mother who’s still grieving the loss of her daughter and the extent to which she is willing to go to seek justice. It will never be enough to ease the pain, but at least she gets to satisfy a promise to her daughter.

Considered a cinematic legend in the Philippines, Vilma Santos has been acting for seven decades already. In Uninvited she continues to prove she still has it in her, with her juiciest role in over a decade. Poignant in scenes with her on-screen daughter but relentless when faced with the people she’s about to kill, Santos effectively shifts between the two personas of Lilia and Eva. Aga Muhlach, who started his career as a matinee idol due to his babyface features, uses them to his advantage by portraying the creepiness of Guilly Vega while hiding behind his deceitful looks. And to complete the triumvirate, Nadine Lustre as Guilly’s traumatized daughter proves why she is the best actress of her generation, holding her own against two acting titans in the film’s pivotal climax.

Uninvited pushes the limits in exposing the lifestyles of the rich and privileged, in a world where money can buy anything and you can ease yourself out of any situation, but where seeking justice will always feel like trying to thread a needle. But as Lilia proves, every now and then seeking justice can also be bloody delicious.