Parents' Guide to The Uninvited

This drama can feel a little out of touch—how many of us regularly attend Hollywood garden parties?—but the heart of the film is an emotional message about the thanklessness of womanhood. The parallels between Rose and Helen in The Uninvited aren't meant to be lost on viewers. Indeed, Helen is presented both as a cautionary tale to Rose about her life and a symbol of validation that, yes, women are largely unheard and unseen in certain areas of life.

In Helen's case, she's sometimes literally unheard or unseen, especially since her illness makes her confused (it's implied that she has dementia or Alzheimer's, but it's never clarified). She's initially thought of as a dithering old lady, but her conversations reveal that she had a full life of joy, pain, and loss. That said, while Helen is fleshed out, she's still a character whose main purpose is to teach a lesson. She's even described as an angel, a ghost, or a witch, which reinforces the idea that her entire life boils down to the cliche of helping Rose with her own outlook on life. But if you're interested in stories about the rich and famous re-evaluating their lives—and don't mind the lack of a diverse group of characters—maybe The Uninvited is for you.