The Invitation

Starring: Nathalie Emmanuel, Thomas Doherty, Stephanie Corneliussen, Alana Boden, Sean Pertwee, Hugh Skinner

Director: Jessica M. Thompson

Shortly after the passing of her mother, aspiring artist and caterer Evie (Emmanuel) becomes curious about her family. After taking a DNA test, she soon discovers she is related to the Alexanders, who are a rich white family in England. Her newfound cousin Oliver (Skinner) meets with her and invites her to a wedding to meet the rest of the family. Enticed by learning more about her past, she makes her way to England where she is immediately made the guest of honor and catches the eye of the lord of the manor, Walter (Doherty). As their fairy tale romance blossoms, Evie begins to notice something off with the butler, Mr. Fields (Pertwee), and she begins to have nightmares. Things get even weirder when she realizes she hasn't met the couple getting married despite being introduced to the maids of honor Viktoria (Corneliussen) and Lucy (Boden). Soon, maids begin to go missing and Evie's nightmares become more intense as she starts to wonder if she was invited there for a more sinister purpose.

I will do my best to keep things spoiler free but I don't even know if that's really possible. I will start by saying that despite producing an intriguing, yet spoilery trailer, it's hard to not be disappointed after realizing the movie squanders an intriguing premise.

Despite my disappointment, there are some positives worth mentioning, notably the production design. Director Jessica M. Thompson clearly did her homework on classic gothic thrillers because the movie looks absolutely fabulous and has some stunning production design. The castle itself almost becomes a character, simultaneously hiding secrets within its shadows as well as displaying some eye-catching architecture.

There are some tense scenes as well, with the most memorable being when the Maids of Honor take Evie for a spa day. While the scene ultimately feels rushed, it is the closest the movie comes to embracing the premise and was able to ratchet up the tension. It also gave us the best look at two characters who are criminally underused in Viktoria and Lucy. Lucy especially could have used some more development, thanks to a twist late in the film. The movie is also a lot more fun with them around.

My ultimate disappointment comes from the fact that the movie is PG-13. Maybe the filmmakers felt they could reach a wider audience with that rating but I really think the movie should have embraced an R Rating. Scenes like the dinner scene that happens late in the film or even the attacks on the maids could have really been a hit with horror fans if they had really let the gore fly.

The story had potential, but there is an unfortunate plot twist towards the end that viewers will see coming. The film does itself a disservice by poorly trying to connect to a classic story when it could have been much better if it had kept the same premise, but left this part out. It doesn’t help that the ending is chaotic and the action is filmed poorly (no doubt to preserve the PG-13 rating.)

The movie also overplays its hand at times, actively showing us something is wrong instead of naturally letting the tension build. The best instance of this is the subplot with the maids disappearing. Evie is incredibly nice to them, being a caterer she understands their struggle, and even goes out of her way to help them and learn their names We are given two sequences of them being attacked, but they ultimately feel out of place in the story because Evie never notices they are gone. Instead, these scenes feel like they are there just to add some horror for the sake of horror.

Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones, The Fast and the Furious franchise) gives a solid performance for her first leading role. What is most frustrating about this is her character makes some baffling decisions, even for a horror movie. As I mentioned, she doesn't even question or notice that the maids go missing, which I feel like Evie would have noticed given how nice she is to them. In fact, I feel like she makes every wrong choice, despite even having a best friend character telling her what to do. It's also unfortunate she doesn't have the chemistry with Doherty that the movie wants her to have. I may be in the minority on this aspect (I have seen reactions very counter to mine) but Doherty feels more like he is "acting." Maybe that's the point, but I wasn't a fan of it because it made their relationship feel too artificial.

Despite a fun premise and some tense scenes, this is a gothic horror thriller that audiences will have trouble sinking their teeth into.

Grade: D+