by There may be a few spoilers…and PLENTY of awkward feelings.
I recently sat down to watch The Invitation (2016), a movie I started to watch, then fell asleep to a few weeks ago. Well, this time I stayed awake, and as a fan of “slow-burners”, I was very pleased to have kept my eyes open for this one. Be cautious, there may be a few ****SPOILERS****, and PLENTY of awkward…feelings. You’ve been warned.
The What and Who
Drafthouse Films recently released this straight-to-view film, directed by Karyn Kusama (also known for Jennifer’s Body, hell yeah). It stars Logan Marshall-Green as Will, Tammy Blanchard as Eden, and Daario Naharis (excuse me) Michiel Huisman as David. Honorable mention to Lindsay Burdge as Sadie, because she was creepy, and made me feel weird.
The film holds an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, and for good reason, as it is an aesthetically pleasing film, with a beautiful Hollywood Hills home, and for showcasing some great acting. The film was rumored at first to star Zachary Quinto and Topher Grace, which would’ve been interesting, but not the same.
Mini-Synop and Review (rhymed with the last title, see what I did there?)
WARNING: This synopsis contains some plot giveaways!
Will is invited to Eden, his ex-wife’s, home for a lavish dinner party, along with his old friends whom he hasn’t seen in two years. Eden’s home is Will’s old home, which she now shares with her new husband David, whom she met at grief counseling for her, and Will’s, deceased son, yes, not good. Will, for some reason, attends this party with his new girlfriend Kira, who is really nice and smart, and I like her character. As the party advances we meet Sadie, who is immediately creepy as Will catches her doing all of the following; standing naked in a doorway for way too long, making faces at herself in the mirror (screaming, smiling, etc.), and displaying unwanted advances toward Will.
Through a series of flashbacks we see that Eden went through severe depression after the death of her and Will’s son, almost committing suicide. We also have the joy of watching a flashback in which we see Eden and Will bathing together, as their son happily strolls in…and no one is mortified but me.
As Will compares the Old Eden to the New Eden, who is psychotropic happy, the audience, as well as Will learns about The Invitation, a group that resided in Mexico, behaving and sounding like a cult, while denying that they are a cult. After some talk about “letting go”, that Will is not about, the group of friends play “I Want”, a game where they all do inappropriate things because they want to, you know, like free spirited cult behavior? All while Will, Kira, and myself want no parts of this night, and really want to go home.
This leads to that and before you know it we have an issue, and full-blown cult craziness. I won’t give any more details other than that. If you suspect someone is in a cult, and poisoned your food, chances are, they did.
My review is short and simple…I loved it! I love a slow moving movie with a bunch of crazy at the end (holla at The VVITCH!). Watch this movie when you are not sleepy, and not with any friends….we don’t need to start getting suspicious of each other…
The Invitation – Official Trailer
Thank you to Drafthouse Films for the images in this post.
Happy Haunting!
TheWeevilDead
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