The trailer for The Invitation sparked my interest immediately as it marketed itself as a gothic horror film with the “these people are not what they seem” trope. Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) discovers she has a long-lost cousin and after meeting in a restaurant, is invited to a wedding in the English countryside to meet her new relatives. However, Evie begins to realize that her newfound family may be hiding a secret she never expected.
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Being a lover of fast-paced horror-thrillers with a Victorian backdrop, The Invitation was less than I expected. It was not as fun as it could have been as its script had many lackluster moments. However, the set design and cinematography were beautiful. It amplified the gothic feel of the film, which is one of the reasons I couldn’t help but find some enjoyment in it. The entire vibe of the film fit my liking and each scene was enough to keep my eyes glued due to the moody beauty of the production design.
The Invitation has difficulty balancing the horror and romance of the story. The film opens with a dark tragedy that sets the mood for what I was hoping would be a disturbing horror tale. However, the horror became very sporadic to focus on the relationship between Evie and the lord of the house, Water (Thomas Doherty). What prevented these elements from reaching the audience was the obviousness that Walter was not the charming and gorgeous man Evie sees him to be. This prevented the audience from falling for him as hard as Evie because we were always one step ahead of the character at all times.
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Although I enjoyed the direction of the film in exposing the “twist” behind the family’s history, the execution of a promising idea fell flat because of the script. The film had great potential to be as fun as Ready or Not or as eerie as Crimson Peak because of its premise, but I couldn’t help but wonder how good the film could have been having it been written and directed by someone else with a better handle on the genre.
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