Of The Invitation

The Invitation is a 2022 horror thriller film directed by Jessica M. Thompson and written by Blair Butler. Originally titled The Bride but apparently that title didnt track well with male audiences leading to its change.  The Invitation was released theatrically in the United States on 26 August 2022 by Sony Pictures Releasing.

The film follows the story of a woman who accepts an invitation to attend a wedding abroad to connect with long-lost family, who have a dark secret.

The Good

Nathalie Emmanuel as Evie has an endearing presence that makes her character easy to connect with as we navigate her new found family’s closet. There’s some smoldering sparks between Nathalie’s character Evie and Thomas Doherty’s character, Lord of the manor who smirks with vampiric charm.  

It has an interesting plot, which although predictable has some good pacing and leaves room for follow up productions to really turn it up a notch.

The movie starts with a gripping opening that sets it off as a mystery/thriller atmosphere in a genre bending production that has some great potential.

The Bad

The great potential remains that, potential. Instead of being an intense thriller it tries to be a horror with jump scares and tedious set pieces that fade into shrieks and black screens.

There are some storylines that could have been further explored that would have added depth and intrigue to the movie and brushes off some of subplots on the family dynamics, class, race and the cultural differences between Evie and her family.

As it was  I could barely understand who her grandmother had been and how exactly she fit into the family.

The Ugly

The trailer for movie did it a great disservice as it reveals not only the twists but basically the whole movie which might be why watching it felt so, predictable— Once you know the so-called dark secret of her long-lost family, the mystery element of the movie is lost and its like there’s nothing left to give.

And it could have given so much too, they under utilized their tramp card, for a movie that was inspired by Bram Stoker’s Vampire, I expected a bit more… bite.

Final Thoughts

Its an okay flick with some Get Out vibe going on.—if you are considering watching it, do not watch the official trailer for which reasons I shall not post the link to the trailer. Whoever authorised the trailer needs to be fired, staked through the heart, decapited, then set on fire – just to make sure.

Interesting fact: its a woman led production, the director, producer and writer are all women and it makes non too subtle nods at having a female protagonist fighting against the system and its enablers.

Have you watched The Invitation?

~B