April 11, 2016

VOD Review: The Invitation (2016)

"This is exactly why we avoid dinner parties."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2400463/
(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.

http://amzn.to/1qfmLRE


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

11 comments :

  1. The Invitation by far is the best chiller I've seen in awhile. I saw the ending coming a mile away, not the very last shot, mind you - that was a nice touch, but the overall payoff, but that was ok. The great thing about the film, like all worthwhile ones, is about the journey - not the destination. This movie main lead and all the supporting characters lead us to such a level emotionally that the destination is all the more weighty and horrific because of the depth taken with a them in such a short period. This will be a still be a favorite of mine years from now.

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  2. Lol I ve spent pretty much all the movie saying "looks like Tom Hardy" "No its not,too skinny".
    great review you nailed it.
    Opinion on They look like people and Baskin? Planning to see ,if worth,when I have time.
    Ciao Matteo

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  3. Watched this last night and had I not read your review prior to seeing the movie, the ending would have impacted me more. Nonetheless, the review captured everything about this film and the last shot sort of a cliffhanger gave me goosebumps. Haha! Didn't see that coming. I love how the characters were build up and I got emotional during Eden's dying scene where she said "I miss him (their son) so much." That was very very believable and I felt the pain. :( Imagine losing a child and pretend years later that you've let that go? :( Anyway, great movie.

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  4. Are you planning to review Baskin? I've been checking back just about every day! I'm excited to hear your thoughts on it. (:

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  5. Ms. Kusama has been directing TV shows for the past few years. Among others episodes of THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE and most recently BILLIONS.
    I liked GIRLFIGHT, but thought ÆON FLUX was terrible and JENNIFER'S BODY was even worse. So, I was hesitant until now. But thanks to this rather glowing review and because I like most of the cast (no, not just the pretty girls!), I'm now willing to give this a try in the near future. Actually, I'm really looking forward to watching it!

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    1. I loved The Man in the High Castle.

      Hope you like this one when you finally get to check it out :)

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  6. Watch this first time at work and i have to skip maybe some important scene, still don't understand why David has to shoot the guy who helping the girl, what the hell is happened to Will and Eden son, fool me.

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    1. They were planning on killing everyone anyway (with poison in the wine), so I guess someone trying to save someone else who was already dying seemed counterproductive to David, so he shot them.

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  7. It was a bit frustrating that they never cleary told us how the boy died. There was another kid and a bat involved and I wonder if Kira was right to say something along the lines like "Nobody could have changed fate".

    The last shot didn't impress me much. If the other cult members were succesful, the police would not have been called and if they failed, it's rather unrealistic that they failed at the same time as David and Eden did. (Or was a specif time mentionned and I overheard that?) Perhaps, I'm just nagging. I liked the movie, 4/5 stars from me.

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  8. i watched this last night - wow.
    i thought the movie went at a slow/good pace , and the chaos only lasted maybe 15-20 mins? but was well played. its amazing howwhen i see someone who was in game of thrones , i really do believe they are type-cast for life - just like tose who were on the sopranos - closest was nurse jackie , but when she got angry , she was carmela : ) i love this type of movie because they set up many scenarios of what might happen....but the video on the laptop they showed , well that sort of gave it away at the mid point. great review btw

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