Sony has been going on about The Invitation for ages now on social media and I had the chance to see it, so here’s my review.
I will have to go into spoiler territory later, but I will posts tags.
The Invitation stars Nathalie Emmanuel, Thomas Doherty, Stephanie Corneliuseen, Alana Boden, Hugh Skinner and Sean Pertwee. It’s directed by Jessica M Thompson and written by Blair Butler. The story is:
A young woman is courted and swept off her feet, only to realize a gothic conspiracy is afoot.
The story is based on the original story of Dracula, but in this version, young Evie (Emmanuel) does a DNA test, only to find she’s part of a British family, meets one of them, who’s in New York, and ends up going to England to meet the rest of them.
Obviously, things are not as they seem and the story is pretty good, in an old-fashioned way. It reminded me of some of the Hammer Horror movies, as in it’s very Gothic and chilling in places.
The direction is pretty good, there are good misdirects and jump scares and I loved how they wold be something creepy in the background but the director didn’t add spooky music, it gave it a better overall feel than most modern horror out there.
The main problem with The Invitation is, as always with modern movies, the writing.
*Spoilers from here on in*
Apparently, if you have seen the trailer, it spoils a lot of things.
It turns out that her DNA links her to a family, which would become one of the three wives of a vampire, which, when she is turned, will benefit all of the vampires and the humans that have got rich off helping him, like looking after his money and estate.
Walter, the lord of the manor and the master vampire, is charming and she does fall in love with him, but when he breaks the news, that she’s going to be a blood-sucking incubus for the rest of her days, she resists.
This kind of annoyed me, she’s being offered all the wealth she could imagine, immortal life, and superhuman strength. In this version, vampires can go out in the daytime, so the whole offer is pretty sweet! I kept thinking I would have taken it.
The ending was a little anti-climatical as well. She learns that she has to drink his blood at the wedding and she will gain his powers, so she does, stabs him in the heart, only then to have a big fight with the other two wives.
This felt board line on the ‘message’; women are controlled by a man, then the women break free from his oppression, so they can fight for themselves. But I am reading too much into it, the ending was just disappointing since it was over too quickly.
However, it was a mere mortal, even with some vampire powers, against a master vampire at least a few hundred years old. I can’t see how else they finished it, but it was a shame.
*end of spoilers*
Overall, The Invitation was a well-made movie and a good date film, since it would be a good one to have your partner curled up against you, squeezing your arm at the more scary moments. As I said, it’s the end that is just a little dull.
I would give it another chance to watch and I would say give it a try, just don’t expect anything amazing, it’s a mildly above-average horror movie. Hence the score of 3 out of 5.
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