Review of The Invitation (2016) by Thequietgamer — 18 Oct 2016

An invitation worth RSVPing to. What works here is that it's a very human tale. One backed by a fantastic cast and great writing. It's all about trauma and grief, and how to deal with it. It doesn't offer any easy answers.

The tension is excellently crafted. There's just an overall weird feeling to the events that will make you just as uncomfortable and questioning as it's lead character. It's a pretty slow moving film. However none of that time is wasted. There's a strong drama element to the film that adds heart, soul, and plenty of darkness to the events. By the time the big mystery revealed and things come to a head, it all feels earned.

However none of it is too surprising. The entire movie leading up to it's tense and exciting final act tries to convince us that maybe this dude is just paranoid. We already know going into this that's not the case. I get why that decision was made, but it kind of still feels like an insult to the audiences intelligence.

While that sort of thing would have killed other horror-thrillers dead on the spot, The Invitation awards our intelligence in just about every other way so that little misstep is forgivable. It's a very adult tale. One with a lot of emotion backing it up. It's themes are powerful and haunting. An unforgiving look at the effects heartbreak, depression, and loss can have on a person's state of mind. Given how real these characters feel, you have a very powerful movie. One worth checking out for more than just cheap thrills.