A dinner party is the perfect excuse for a plot to make a good and efficient movie: The Invitation.
The Invitation is a film that constantly plays with the viewer, at times surprises us with quite effective tricks. Devoid of any gore, it is a psychological thriller that is well narrated and structured. A very shrewd piece of cinematorgraphy.
The movie is directed by Karyn Kusama and stars Logan Marshall-Green, Michiel Huisman and Tammy Blanchard.
Plot
Several people are invited to dinner and Will becomes suspicious of the hosts when they are shown a strange cult video of a girl dying. Nothing is normal: neither the generosity of the hosts nor the strange attitude of them, who seem to be members of a doomsday cult.
Movie Review
The movie takes its time and the audience will engage to its rhythm, playing its cards and its hands slowly. It is a quite simple, but suggestive plot – an ambitious project, indeed. A limited budget production, it is a sort of chamber spiel: a house and several friends who meet after a few years and nothing is the same anymore.
It’s not one of those door-screeching, music-heavy scares: it is a movie that at its own pace creates the tense and suspenseful atmosphere, a movie that tries to consult with the audience the next move and clue. Reminiscent of the game Clue that knows that we are involved in it, and we love the game.
It is one of those films that leads us towards the end that, whether we like it or not, we have been anticipating throughout the entire movie.
Our Opinion
Without being brilliant nor leaving us petrified, it does play its cards well, and makes for an intriguing and suspenseful viewing experience. It gives clues, plays tricks and mind-games on the viewer, and that’s what we were looking for.
It has skillfully managed to create a tense but captivating atmosphere that keeps the audience engaged.
We give it three stars.