IR Film Review: THE INVITATION [Screen Gems/Sony]

The aspect of a vampire story in modern time is an aspect of being able to be aware of the modern sensibility in real time. The use of the have and have nots tends to play a role with "The Invitation" in that it uses it against its heroine in Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) because she so wants to believe in the dream of being accepted and about the notion of family that it blinds her in many ways...and yet that is exactly what is being offered. The idea of love and acceptance is an interesting bedfellow especially in the way that Lord Walter (Thomas Doherty) engages her in the life and/or expenses of which he sees as his domain. Granted the movie (especially in the trailers) plays to what the end result might be but what is interesting is how bloodless it is kept until near the very end.

It does allow the tension to build even though the foreshadowing is pretty much overwhelming and true to form. The understanding of privilege and how it prevents people from both action and inaction is obviously a big part of the proceedings. The essence of free will or lack thereof is actually shown in the first couple scenes before we even meet Evie. In many ways though this film plays very close to "Ready Or Not" which was lower budget but undeniably at times much more effective. Whether this had to do with tone or Samara Weaving is up for debate. "The Invitation" does it job considering this came from the same studio as "Underworld" but there is something unsatisfyingly woke and yet plainly normal about the plot. This allows it to have that bit of escape without necessarily adding anything to the pot. B-

By Tim Wassberg