By Melissa Antoinette Garza
I was having a bad day when the husband and I ventured to the all-night WALMART. I was sick and needed to get some cold medicine and last-minute things for my costume. All I wanted to do was sleep, but being an insomniac makes having a 24-hour bug, twice as bad.
So, I stopped by the film section as horror movies always cheer me up, and found THE INVITATION. The synopsis was intriguing. It was more of a suspense driven film with horror elements, but it sounded like something I had to see. Come to find out, it’s on NETFLIX. That said, I’m glad I own it. It’s worth the $20.00, I spent.
THE INVITATION followed Will (Logan Marshall-Green) and his new girlfriend Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi). The duo had been invited to Eden (Tammy Blanchard) and David’s (Michiel Huisman) house for a dinner party. Will was previously married to Eden and the two had a solid marriage until their young son died in a horrific accident. Eden hit an all-time low and tried to kill herself.
At grief counseling, Eden met David. Shortly after, Will and Eden split up. Eden and David took off to Mexico for two years and neither Will or their mutual friends had heard anything until a lavish invite arrived in the mail.
When Will arrives, he is immediately taken back to the time he shared at the same house with Eden and their child. Though Will is distant, still mourning and hasn’t even come close to recovering mentally, Eden seems like a new person. She’s all smiles at all times and swears that her time in Mexico is the reason. David and Eden adopted a new religious philosophy that believes depression, anxiety, fear, and sadness are just choices and one can be free of it all.
Though most are very skeptical, the group are happy to be back together. Everyone becomes reacquainted and shares stories with one another, but Will can’t stop the feeling that something is seriously off. First, David locks the doors from the inside. Next, two of the guests Pruitt (John Carroll Lynch) and Sadie (Lindsay Burdge) are only known to the married duo. Pruitt admits to accidentally killing his wife and Sadie looks and acts like someone from Spahn Ranch. Things get more bizarre when the hosts show their friends a religious recruitment video that includes both positive messages from the leader and an actual death of one of the followers.
Will isn’t the only one angered by the video, but the rest of the group calms down. The group’s allowance to move forward with the night as if nothing happened, only agitates Will more, so much so that not even Kira can help.
When David initiates a game called “I want” and it includes participants doing cocaine and making out with one another, Will finally has an ally that near matches his level of discomfort. Claire (Marieh Delfino) feels awkward and wants to leave immediately. Eden and David try to talk her out of it, but Will insists he let her go. They reluctantly agree, but Pruitt claims he parked behind her. He follows her outside and Will stares out the window to be certain that Claire leaves without any trouble, but his gaze is interrupted by David.
David tries to convince Will that he’s being paranoid and hurting his feelings. The rest of the party reiterates the sentiment and when one of Will’s suspicions turn out to be false, he begins to doubt his own sanity. Is he just a mourning parent who is wrapped up in his own delusions or is something sinister and crazy going on? Don’t worry, no spoilers here!
This was such a pleasant surprise and despite me being super sick, I was on the edge of my seat enjoying every moment of the flick. The acting is fantastic and the cast is topnotch.
Without question, this is Will’s story. The way in which it is filmed makes the audience experience the party as Will. It isn’t found-footage or first-person, but he is certainly the one the viewers are purposely drawn in by and the one the audience is inclined to believe.
It is near the feeling one may have when reading a book that is written as a narration. The dialogue, timing, and tension generated is so well-done, that despite the other characters disagreeing with Will’s assessment of the situation, the viewer remains on board with him and at times, like Will himself, become aggravated with the rest of the guests for being so cavalier.
The conclusion is uniquely brilliant. There are two connected conclusion sequences. Both were foreshadowed earlier in the film, both by actions and words.
It’s a nail-biter that is in the vein of a lot of recent intense suspense films like IN THEIR SKIN (2012), VACANCY (2007) and FUNNY GAMES (1997/2007). It’s certainly a movie to watch more than once and one that will stick with you well after the film is done.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8.5/10
