The Invitation - Film Review

It's been a while since I wrote a review, but like the monsters in this movie, this blog just refuses to die. If there's one thing I hate most about modern cinema marketing, it might just be the damn trailers that ruin everything. If you've had the misfortune of catching it for this film, I'd argue you can probably just go straight to the spoiler comments.

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Where You Can Find It: I saw this one in theaters, but it looks like it may find its way to Hulu or Netflix once it finishes its theatrical run.

General Information 
The Invitation (also sometimes referred to as "The Bride") is a horror film that was released on 26 August 2022. It was directed by Jessica M. Thompson. Autumn Eakin provided cinematography for this film, and Dara Taylor composed the music. A special note I'd like to make about the crew is that the writer, Blair Butler, is none other than the same Blair Butler that formerly starred and wrote for multiple shows on G4TV through the 2000's and 2010's. It looks like this is her first major feature film, so congratulations to her.

As of 31 August 2022, The Invitation has grossed nearly $9 million at the box office, which is pretty underwhelming when weighed against another August-released horror film: The Beast, which has around $36 million. I have yet to see that one, but the lukewarm box office numbers may be due to the tepid response from critics as well. It currently has a 44 Metascore on Metacritic, as well as an abysmal 22% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

 

The Story
Evelyn "Evie" Jackson (played by Nathalie Emmanuel) is a poor artist in New York City struggling to keep up with her bills while still grieving over the death of her mother. With her father already gone, Evie has no family left until she takes part in an online DNA research service and learns about her extended family, the Alexanders, in England. Shortly thereafter, she meets up with her new cousin, Oliver (Hugh Skinner), and finds herself invited to a big wedding in the English countryside. Once there, she immediately becomes smitten with the handsome Walter DeVille (Thomas Doherty), but there's something foul afoot lurking in the background. An old evil looms over DeVille manor, and it has its eyes set on Evie.

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Evie has a new family now, and they're big fans of masks and strange foods

Viewers may note that this film seems to heavily pull from previous classics like Rosemary's Baby and Get Out, as the theme of horror behind a smile is heavily prevalent throughout. That being said, it's unfortunate The Invitation spoils its creeping dread with unnecessary cuts away from the protagonist to indulge in jump-scares that ruin any semblance of ambiguity. There's little to no sense of mystery here, so when the big third act twist happens, I responded with ambivalence more than shock.

Speaking of the third act, it feels incredibly rushed as things begin to move at a breakneck pace. It makes me question what happened behind the scenes as it gives off a vibe as though there were re-shoots to change the ending. I can totally see an alternate ending appearing on a Blu-ray extra feature as some of the character choices that lead into the finale greatly conflict with character motivations. A part of me wonders if the film would've been better off without a twist at all as the first act genuinely has potential for something akin to Bridgerton.

Special Effects/Atmosphere

In retrospect, I find myself incredibly taken with The Invitation's presentation as it manages to make an English manor look like something out of either a whimsical fairy tale or foreboding horror story. The very initial scenes of the film occur within darkly lit corridors filled with sinister-looking statues and paintings; however, later when we see the exact same location through Evie's eyes, they are noticeably brighter. I think this distinction is most clear when it comes to portraying the grounds of DeVille Manor though. Some of those night shots look like they were ripped from The Cursed since they're packed with spooky ambience and murky fog, but in a scene where Evie attends an outdoor dance with Walter, it almost felt like something one might find in a sappy romance movie.

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DeVille Manor is both enchanting and terrifying

Although I'll certainly applaud a great deal of the costume design, I will admit that I was a bit disappointed when it came to how the "monsters" looked. Viewers won't get a good look at the villain until the third act, but when I did I was thoroughly underwhelmed. With all fairness, it didn't necessarily need to be anything all that scary, but I can't help but groan at the lack of originality. The Cursed (another film that came out less than a year ago) dabbled with a fairly common monster archetype too, but yet it still managed to find ways to keep things fresh when it came to creature design.

The Acting 

There are a lot of new faces in this film that I haven't seen before; however, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Of the entire cast, I've only seen Nathalie Emmanuel in one other project, which was Game of Thrones as the ex-slave and interpreter, Missandei. Emmanuel does a pretty solid job in this, and I really bought her New Yorker streak of independence. Beyond that, her chemistry with Thomas Doherty felt genuine, which only further sold Doherty's performance as a charming and mysterious heartthrob.

Of the smaller supporting cast, I think it's worth acknowledging Hugh Skinner and Stephanie Corneliussen, who played the malicious Viktoria. Skinner stands out as probably my favorite performer of this film purely by the earnestness in which he plays his part, although I'm not sure why. He virtually disappears by the third act, but I really enjoyed Skinner's delivery on describing the Alexander Family and its dealings with the DeVille's. Corneliussen reminded me of a younger and meaner Geena Davis that absolutely reveled in her short role. I'd like to see these two in more films, and I hope they use this as a bit of a springboard for future projects.

The Best of the Best: The duality of DeVille Manor.

The Worst of the Worst: The telegraphed twist.

Calhooey Score: 4/10 - Below Average

Would I Recommend?

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Nothing worth dragging yourself out of bed for

The Invitation shows promise with a serviceable cast and quality backgrounds, but it gets in its own way far too often to be taken seriously. There's unfortunately very little truly memorable about this film and viewers might forget about it within a matter of weeks after viewing it. If you're a fan of posh British motifs (e.g. Pride and Prejudice) mixed with light horror this could conceivably be worth catching on television or possibly via streaming.

Spoiler Comments

• I'm afraid I never fully got the significance behind the numbering of the maids. Was that just to dehumanize them, or was there something more meaningful that I just missed?
• I'm glad some of them seemed to have some personality at least. The one listening to music reminded me that Evie isn't the only character from the 21st Century.
• Seriously, why do rich British folks seem to be stuck in the last century? I half-expected to see Walter write with a quill at some point.
  
• There's something comical about the fact that they used a punch bowl to catch that maid's blood when they cut her throat open at the rehearsal dinner. I'm sure it's the most effective, but it's still kind of goofy.
• So, one of my bigger gripes about this film's story is that it made more sense for Evie to embrace becoming a vampire over the route the film took. She was poor and alone, looking for a family and the power to stand up for herself. Considering she'd effectively get superpowers and barely change in physical appearance; I feel like nearly anyone would take Walter up on that gift!
• The fact that Emmanuel had such great chemistry with Doherty too made me feel like she could've genuinely agreed to become a vampire.
  
• I found the inclusion of Jonathan Harker and Mina to be really oddly placed in this. I get that it's a call-back to Dracula, but it feels like they just picked names from a hat since Harker helped kill Dracula in Bram Stoker's original novel.
• I guess it's a good thing Walt didn't immediately die when Evie initially stabbed him in the chest. Mr. Field probably would've killed her with ease if she had.
  
• It's very convenient that Lucy killed herself along with Viktoria.
• So, Evie and her friend are now vampire hunters? Oliver has it coming, but isn't he just a regular human? Looks like he's going to die via baseball bat too. Ouch...

References

(1) The Invitation. (2022). The Invitation film image. Wikipedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invitation_(2022_film). 

(2) Movies and Mania. (2022, June 27). Masked party image. Movies and Mania. Retrieved from: https://moviesandmania.com/2022/06/27/the-invitation-movie-film-horror-dracula-inspired-2022-trailer-release/.

(3) Goslin, A. (2022, August 26). Evie and Walt dancing image. Polygon. Retrieved from: https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23321770/the-invitation-review-vampires-ready-or-not-get-out.

(4) Sony Pictures. (2022). Evie dragged from bed gif. Giphy. Retrieved from: https://giphy.com/gifs/sonypictures-the-invitation-theinvitation-invitationmovie-WlBC5IJndEwoBewqIM.