I Watched The Invitation (2022)

One of the movies I’ve wanted to watch for a while now was The Invitation, a horror thriller written by Blair Butler and directed by Jessica M. Thompson. Released in 2022, it stars Thomas Doherty and Nathalie Emmanuel. Honestly, I was sold on the film by the trailer, because around the time it was released, I was reading more gothic inspired fiction than I am now. Even so, it took me a while to come back to The Invitation. But I’m glad I did, because this movie was fun and campy, which on occasion is exactly what I’m looking for.

The Invitation starts off relatively benign with Nathalie Emmanuel’s character, Evelyn (Evie) Jackson, working a catering gig where she received a DNA test, as a party favor, from a goodie bag. Which, you know, was kind of random, but it jumpstarted the story with the entry of long-lost family and an impromptu trip to England, for a wedding. The Invitation had a number of gothic fiction hallmarks—secrets, a strange mansion, a heroine who starts out naïve—particularly with a focus on the paranormal kind. So while the setup seemed ordinary, as Evelyn arrived at the manor with wedding guests and a strangely unwelcoming household, it didn’t take long for odd things to start happening. And with a situation like that there was only one way to go from there, and it was downhill for her.

For a large part of its runtime, Evelyn’s experience was almost contemporaneous to its modern time period, except for the hints pointing toward the uncanny and supernatural nature of the traditions that actually dictated the area’s social structure, down to the way of life for the locals. It was insular and the other characters—even those who only appeared in passing—had loyalties, which often clashed with Evelyn’s drive to survive the situation.

Some of the most thrilling parts of The Invitation happened close to the end of the film, when the reveals started happening, and it turned into to a game of cat and mouse. The villains were menacing and effective at creating a daunting challenge for Evelyn to navigate.

Overall, while The Invitation wasn’t a profound film, it didn’t have to be to be good at what it had to offer. And, ultimately, I had a great time watching it.