VOD Review: The Invitation (2016)

"This is exactly why we avoid dinner parties."

(aka Worst Dinner Party Ever.)
Release Date: April 8th.
Country: USA.
Rating: NR.
Written by: Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. 
Directed by: Karyn Kusama.
Starring: Logan Marshall-Green, Michiel Huisman, Tammy Blanchard, and John Carroll Lynch.

Director Karyn Kusama earned lots of Indie cred back in 2000 with her first film, Girlfight. After that, she moved on to bigger Studio fare with the better-than-most-people-give-it-credit-for, Aeon Flux; and her last film was the impossible to endure (it's a Diablo Cody thing for us) Jennifer's Body, back in 2009. And then she just kinda stopped directing anything.

Now, nearly seven years later, she's back with The Invitation, and in better form than ever.

After the tragic death of their son, wife Eden left husband Will, and disappeared into the arms of a guy named David, who she met at therapy. Now, two years later, Eden and David are married and are throwing a dinner party for all of their friends, including Will and his new girlfriend Kira. Despite the fact that no one has seen Eden for two years, and how awkward the whole set-up seems, this is apparently what people in the California Hills do.

"WELCOME TO OUR UNCOMFORTABLE HOME."

From the moment they arrive, Will is uncomfortable with the situation, especially since the shindig is being held at the home that he and Eden once shared. Everyone else though, being yuppies, drinks their wine and pretends that nothing is fucked up about the whole thing at all. Even though it clearly is.

HOW IS THAT NOT AWKWARD?

As the night goes on, Will becomes more and more certain that something is wrong with the whole affair. Be it the odd presence of overly-friendly Manson girl and the imposing Pruitt, both strangers who Eden and David met in Mexico; David showing the gang a video of a woman dying as the part of a cult ritual; or the fact that Eden and David are trying like hell to turn everyone into hippies, there's definitely something off about the whole thing. Or is it Will who's not right in the head?

Paranoia ensues. 

SHE SEEMS TO THINK THAT THERE'S SOMETHING AMISS AS WELL...

This movie is going to be difficult to discuss without spoiling it, as the question "Is he losing his mind, or is there something sinister afoot?" is what propels the movie forward, and because to give the answer here would only serve to rob you of the experience of discovering the answer for yourself. So we're going to keep things as vague as possible.

The Invitation is a quiet and intense Thriller that had us eating up every second of its slow-burn brilliance. Karyn Kusama did an excellent job of creating an uneasy, paranoid atmosphere throughout this one, which made us anxious to find out whether Will was about to snap, or if there truly was something wrong with the dinner party that he and his lady were attending. The last 20 minutes surely answered that question for us with an explosion of... well, let's just say that things got crazy.

And that last scene was a truly great "Holy shit!" kind of a moment.

Tom Hardy Logan Marshall Green ruled this movie with his tortured and paranoid Will; as did Michiel Huisman playing the amiable, yet potentially dangerous, David. And few actors play quiet and sinister like John Carroll Lynch does. All said though, the entire cast all did remarkable jobs with their roles, even if some of their characters grated on the nerves a bit, which we suppose was the point.

IT TOOK US 20 MINUTES TO REALIZE THAT THIS WASN'T TOM HARDY.

If you're so paranoid that everyone at an ill-advised dinner party is out to get you, why not just leave? The back an forth with Will wanting to leave, and then saying "I guess I'll stay" was a bit frustrating.

HE'S SO TORTURED. AND INDECISIVE.

Grab the gun, you idiot!

THIS BIRTHDAY IS RUINED.

Yeah, things got a bit messy towards the end.

SHE'S WITNESSING THAT MESS RIGHT NOW.

Some suggestive language here and there, but this is not the naked kind of movie.

THE POOLSIDE SEX SCENE THAT NEVER WAS.

Yuppie dinner parties are for suckers. Also, your friends most likely want to kill you, so trust no one!

DOES ANYBODY DO CREEPY BETTER THAN JOHN CARROLL LYNCH?

Whether or not you like The Invitation is really going to depend on how you feel about movies that take their time to get where they're going. We're all for a good old fashioned slow-burn if it's handled well, and especially if we get some strong characters who keep us engaged through it all, and that's exactly what we got with this movie. We dug the hell out of it.

Rent it (or go see it at your local Arthouse Theater if you can), and enjoy.

A

The Invitation is available now on VOD.

There's no shortage of pretty guests at this dinner party.