The Invitation is a 2022 horror movie directed by Jessica M. Thompson. It deals with a woman who is invited to a swanky party after discovering she has unknown cousins in Britain. She quickly finds out that these cousins are more sinister than they present themselves to be. Below is my The Invitation (2022) movie review
On the surface, the movie is not as bad as it looked in the trailers. It introduces us to Evie (played by Nathalie Emmanuel) as a struggling artist who works in catering. After discovering she has long lost cousins, she is convinced by one of them to join them in Britain. She went, hoping to get a break from her life and a vacation that she desperately needed. As the trailer shows, she starts to notice that something was off with the new family members.
There is not much happening in this movie. With few “intense” scenes, most of the movie is focused around talking. In the beginning the movie had few scenes that were somewhat interesting but all ended in a jump scare. Everything else after that is followed by many other jump scares. These scenes are also dark and happen within seconds so nothing can be seen. We get an idea that something is lurking in the dark, but we don’t get a good look at it. This goes on for a good portion of the 104 min movie.
One of the good things about this movie is the setting as well as costumes. The rooms in the castle like home are very gothic and neat looking, grand in every sense of the word. It gives you a sense of grandeur and wealth commonly shown on shows like Downton Abbey.The costumes are also very elaborate and stunning in most scenes, even those in very mediocre talking parts of the movie. Both combined and you have a very good looking movie.
On the other hand, some of the things this movie lacks are the effects and a failed (IMO) attempt at providing us action. Like mentioned above, a lot of scenes are dark and the effects in these scenes are not well made. Picture a lot of lighting effects and ominous music and you can get the idea of how these scenes are constructed. The action is also very disappointing. It is either not exciting, short, confusing, or makes no sense. (small potential spoiler). Again, picture a 500+ year old monster and a person killing them with a small knife and you will see how I felt at the ending of the movie.
This movie is mediocre at best but it is not all bad. It has some potential but overall failed to bring it to a satisfying conclusion. The action is weak and the ending felt rushed and not as good as it could have been. Story felt rushed overall and should have been explored more. Just go watch a better movie. I recommend Ready or Not (2019)
Thanks for reading my The Invitation (2022) movie review
