Going into The Invitation I was expecting more of a Ready or Not meets Get Out type of movie and what I saw was not what I was expecting.
After her mother’s death and having no other known relatives, Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) takes a DNA test… and discovers a long-lost cousin she never knew she had. Invited by her newfound family to a lavish wedding in the English countryside, she’s initially seduced by the sexy aristocrat host. She is soon thrust into a nightmare of survival as she uncovers twisted secrets in her family’s history and the unsettling intentions behind their sinful generosity.
The Invitation has a pretty fast pace and doesn’t get stuck too much in the trivial world-building, and gets to the point very quickly to jump-start the thrills. This film has a lot of things to digest in its short run time, but it’s always moving forward and never really slows down enough to get bogged in higher-order thinking. If you are looking for something that you can just turn your mind off and enjoy, this movie can definitely do that for you.
This movie definitely did a great job at creating such a beautiful world. A European mansion/castle that looks like something out of a darker version of Downton Abbey and the rooms that we get to see are just immaculate, all holding a darker undertone that tells a story almost better than the actual words and story itself.
The story itself is decent enough and holds some elements of engaging characters. One could describe this film as a neo-gothic style drama sprinkled with elements of horror and romance that tries to live up to the classic horror films. These references were nice, and there were quite a few quality points that they could have used to help guide this to be one of the better tales. Once you add in some darker comedy like Ready or Not, the overall feel of the movie showed a lot of potentials.
Overall, The Invitation is a great example of how ideas have immense promise and the modern edge of retelling could work out if executed properly. There were quite a few homepages and snippets of scenes that work and kept me intrigued. The Invitation ends up being a neo-gothic drama with a few thriller twists, that should appeal to most audiences, but mainly teenager-based audiences. The thrill and scare factor are minimal and to be quite honest I was expecting a lot more given what the trailers had promised.
The Invitation is now playing in theaters.
What did you think of the film? let us know in the comments below.
