I went into The Invitation with high hopes. Sony’s gothic vampire mystery-horror sounded like just the tonic to banish my muggy end-summer haze and usher in Autumn.
Unfortunately, it’s as they say: the higher you get, the harder you fall.
The film opens with a glossy, dramatic scene in what appears to be the late 19th century, that speeds by with the emotional depth of a trailer. Nevertheless, we’re then sent to modern-day NYC where struggling ceramics artist Evie (an oddly flat and bored Nathalie Emmanuel) caters to make ends meet. We learn that Evie is newly orphaned, having lost her father as a teenager and her mother just months earlier.
The plot kicks off when Evie uses a complementary DNA test from a bougie catering gig goody bag. It’s from this we discover that Evie has a posh extended family across the pond, and what do you know? Her cousin Oliver happens to be in New York for business the following week and invites her to meet.
Over lunch Oliver (an over-caffeinated, one-note performance from Hugh Skinner) informs her that family friends’ are hosting an extravagant wedding the following week, and she simply must attend - ‘the invitation’ of the title. After politely declining, Evie is quickly persuaded so that the plot can happen.
At the family manor, Evie meets the gorgeous host Walt (Thomas Doherty, who is impressively charming in a smarmy role).
This Harry Styles-look-a-like quickly sweeps her off her feet. I say quickly, but in reality, an ample portion of the film is simply Evie exploring the lush grounds of the manor, being gifted several dresses by Walt and engaging in somewhat stilted flirtation, without any of the necessary dread to foreshadow what’s to come. Cursory attempts to inject chills come in the form of a fleet of maids being victimized by a mysterious presence in the mansion. Implausibly, the maids don’t carry smartphones, or indeed even flashlights, using matches to light their way in a darkened basement. The resulting scares are resolutely paint-by-numbers.
An added layer of complication ensues when Evie is introduced to two other wedding guests: the sweet and innocent Lucy and the arch mean-girl Viktoria (Alana Boden and Viktoria Corneliussen doing their best with corny material). Viktoria’s instant dislike of Evie is expressed through a series of racial micro-aggressions. In a better movie, this would have added depth - here it feels tacked on, as do the various feminist messages throughout.
It’s only in the last twenty minutes of the film that things come to a head, briskly and predictably, and the film descends into a full-on horror that might make you flinch in places but is unlikely to leave you surprised or moved.
There are some highlights - standout performances from Sean Pertwee as a sour and creepy butler and Courtney Taylor elevating the obligatory funny best friend character. But this is a profoundly generic film that borrows whole swathes of meaning and inspiration from other movies - Get Out, Midsommar, even the Fifty Shades series. The randomness of the inciting incident creates a severe suspension of disbelief issue almost right off the bat, and the film never overcomes its improbability enough for Evie to feel real.
The vampire genre is one of endless interest to me, and it’s only right to note there is already plenty of sultry-yet-horrifying takes on vampires for viewers to feed on - Only Lovers Left Alive, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, and Let The Right One In all come to mind immediately. I believe the genre still has fresh stories to tell. This particular creation, however, turned out completely de-fanged.