"The Invitation is Best Left Unopened as it Premiers in Theaters
New horror vampire movie is a less than mediocre film that doesn’t go far outside of its typical trope, with a lack of creativity.
By Saya Fujii
New horror vampire movie is a less than mediocre film that doesn’t go far outside of its typical trope, with a lack of creativity.
By Saya Fujii
Everyone knows that a good vampire film is hard to come across, especially during a time where “Bella” and “Edward” are still familiar names. As a casual movie fan who tends to dislike the genres of horror, vampire and romance which “The Invitation” is in, my hopes for enjoying this movie weren’t very high from the beginning. Still, I thought a movie of this doomed genre could turn it around to surprise me. However, “The Invitation” did not deliver.
“The Invitation” is a horror-vampire-romance movie about unraveling a mystery inside a creepy mansion. After starting with a brutal first act, the film introduces our protagonist, a young woman named Evie, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, who is bored with her life and craves adventure and romance. She finds out she has extended family in England and accepts her cousin Oliver’s offer to go and meet them over a wedding weekend.
Now the action begins…but not quite. What follows is a sequence of bad set-up pacing, new forgettable characters and a building mystery mixed in with some pointless romance. The horror sequences are also placed in to keep things interesting because nothing else really could. That is besides the horror and mystery aspect which was wasted halfway through with a predictable twist that just didn’t work. Thus, most of it was left to the actors and their characters to decide the fate of the movie.
Emmanuel is a decently well known actress and she plays Evie with well placed humor and wit. Her character, despite being conveniently blind to obvious signs, is a decent one and she isn’t a contributing factor to the dislike of the movie. She is a standout amongst all of the cliché, boring characters who are difficult to remember. Evie sets up some painfully boring romance with a guy that works at the mansion named Walt, who is nothing more than the usual charming and dashing man-vampire that we see take over the teenage romance screens.
Portrayed by Thomas Doherty, Walt’s character and much of the plot is ruined by the fact that we kind of know he is a vampire before anything even starts. This film’s label as a “vampire movie” combined with Walt’s character personality made it obvious that he was a vampire along with the other family members. About a quarter way through, a woman in the family even sucks Evie’s blood. That made it clear straight away, but the timing of it as a hint or reveal did not make sense. The whole “family of vampires” twist was completely predictable and did not serve its purpose as a game changing plot twist. The pacing did everything but help sell the unimpressive plot and we ended up with just the scares to try and keep us in (or jump out of) our seats.
Halloween is just around the corner, so by the time this movie is streaming somewhere, you might be in need of a so-so horror film that does the job. “The Invitation” might just be good enough for the Halloween night jump scares, albeit nothing else. Simply put, the horror is decent and one of the only aspects of the movie that makes it watchable; it was clear that they didn’t rely on the same cheap jump scares every time, and they paired it with a higher level of gore. Yes, most of it is cliché like everything else throughout this film, but it is done somewhat well. Unfortunately, scenes like this didn't pay off well because the horror didn’t connect with the plot or the reasoning behind why those scary scenes occurred. The movie is just filled up with overused tropes and clichés we see in these types of movies. Not to mention the always obvious personalities of evil characters and the set-ups along with the plot. It’s all too familiar. This is a story that has as plain a first impression as the actual material. Unfortunately, it’s probably a good idea to decline this invitation.
“The Invitation” is playing in theaters.
“The Invitation” is a horror-vampire-romance movie about unraveling a mystery inside a creepy mansion. After starting with a brutal first act, the film introduces our protagonist, a young woman named Evie, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, who is bored with her life and craves adventure and romance. She finds out she has extended family in England and accepts her cousin Oliver’s offer to go and meet them over a wedding weekend.
Now the action begins…but not quite. What follows is a sequence of bad set-up pacing, new forgettable characters and a building mystery mixed in with some pointless romance. The horror sequences are also placed in to keep things interesting because nothing else really could. That is besides the horror and mystery aspect which was wasted halfway through with a predictable twist that just didn’t work. Thus, most of it was left to the actors and their characters to decide the fate of the movie.
Emmanuel is a decently well known actress and she plays Evie with well placed humor and wit. Her character, despite being conveniently blind to obvious signs, is a decent one and she isn’t a contributing factor to the dislike of the movie. She is a standout amongst all of the cliché, boring characters who are difficult to remember. Evie sets up some painfully boring romance with a guy that works at the mansion named Walt, who is nothing more than the usual charming and dashing man-vampire that we see take over the teenage romance screens.
Portrayed by Thomas Doherty, Walt’s character and much of the plot is ruined by the fact that we kind of know he is a vampire before anything even starts. This film’s label as a “vampire movie” combined with Walt’s character personality made it obvious that he was a vampire along with the other family members. About a quarter way through, a woman in the family even sucks Evie’s blood. That made it clear straight away, but the timing of it as a hint or reveal did not make sense. The whole “family of vampires” twist was completely predictable and did not serve its purpose as a game changing plot twist. The pacing did everything but help sell the unimpressive plot and we ended up with just the scares to try and keep us in (or jump out of) our seats.
Halloween is just around the corner, so by the time this movie is streaming somewhere, you might be in need of a so-so horror film that does the job. “The Invitation” might just be good enough for the Halloween night jump scares, albeit nothing else. Simply put, the horror is decent and one of the only aspects of the movie that makes it watchable; it was clear that they didn’t rely on the same cheap jump scares every time, and they paired it with a higher level of gore. Yes, most of it is cliché like everything else throughout this film, but it is done somewhat well. Unfortunately, scenes like this didn't pay off well because the horror didn’t connect with the plot or the reasoning behind why those scary scenes occurred. The movie is just filled up with overused tropes and clichés we see in these types of movies. Not to mention the always obvious personalities of evil characters and the set-ups along with the plot. It’s all too familiar. This is a story that has as plain a first impression as the actual material. Unfortunately, it’s probably a good idea to decline this invitation.
“The Invitation” is playing in theaters.