The Invitation Invites You to Feel Very Underwhelmed

The Invitation, or, what Thanksgiving may feel like after this election season

Karyn Kusama, previously known for her work as a director of the fun campy slasher Jennifer's Body, brings us a new stab at the horror genre with The Invitation. Rather than presenting the audience with gore and frequent jump scares, The Invitation gives us long meticulous scenes in a dull muted color scheme which seems to reflect the excitement in the plot. Opening with protagonist Will driving his girlfriend Kira to an unavoidably awkward dinner party hosted by his ex wife and her new lover, one can't help but feel as though this premise would be better suited for an episode of The Office.

While Jennifer's Body was able to relish in an over-the-top scenario and keep the audience entertained with tongue-in-cheek humor, The Invitation is not granted that privilege. Instead, it's solemn tone and brooding atmosphere (particularly in scenes where Will watches his friends laugh and joke with uninterested detachment from the conversations at hand) all provide for a viewing experience which is almost as bland as the color palette it's presented in. The film seems to know that it lacks any substance throughout the first two acts as characters awkwardly wade their ways through the same arguments and accusations over and over again, because there are random unwarranted instances intended to be shocking or repulsive which only serve to confuse before they're hastily brushed under the rug for more arguing between the characters. Mysteries are brought up and forever left unresolved, and just when you find yourself hoping that the third act is going to promise some sort of clever shift in the plot you are presented with the exact climax you'd expected from the start.

While The Invitation was not particularly rememberable, it is certainly not a bad movie, in fact as lackluster and generic as it is there are still some shining moments scattered throughout. The sound design and lack of music (contrasted beautifully by the eerie droning synths which appear briefly throughout the film), shot composition in certain poignant moments, and performances of some of the actors (particularly Logan Marshall-Green and the terribly underused Lindsay Burdge) all make the film entertaining despite some of its glaring flaws.

Like a parent ending an exhausting lecture, I'm not angry with The Invitation, I'm just disappointed, because as generic and bland as it was it showed signs of being something of a cult classic. Had it answered more questions, provided more shocking scenes, or even ended in a way which wasn't so expected, it might have been something worth remembering instead of just another horror movie left to rot in the depths of Netflix. It was underwhelming and saddening because of the promise it offered, especially with the opportunity for foreshadowing and deep meaning to be taken from the opening sequence, and it shows that Karyn Kusama is a very capable and devoted director who takes pride in her craft. I recommend you see this film for yourself, if only for the shining moments it does offer.

With that, I offer you a word of advice: if your former spouse invites you and your current partner to a dinner party after two years without saying a word to you, it's probably a good idea to just politely decline.

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