Here is my SPOILERS review of The Invitation from my film club. It's pretty long and almost certainly not stating much beyond the obvious but yeah...
Just finished it. I have to say, I didn't like it very much. I guess it is a movie I could recommend someone watch to see if they disagree but the negatives are coming to mind first so I will list some of those here:
- I don't think any of the actors did it for me. Logan Marshall-Green was going for the Tom Hardy "super quiet but let your facial tics show how affected you are" and it worked less for him than it does for Tom Hardy. I like Tom Hardy and Mad Max is one of my favorite movies of the last couple years but the scene where mumbles and grunts and finally tells Charlize Theron his name really bothered me for some reason. LMG was that scene but for almost the entire movie. When he actually got to emote and do something he was better but it took 75 minute for that to happen. Michael Huisman's accent was all over the place. The girl who played Eden was distracting, can't put my finger on it. Leads me to....
- Mongoloid Mike and crazy blonde with facial mole. I didn't need either of them. The movie goes for a slow build but it was pretty clear from the start where their story was going/what means to an end they represented. The roles killed a lot of the tension because you know why they are there from the minute you see them (especially Mongoloid Mike).
- I have discussed this too many times with Summey but the characters using other characters names drives me insane. I need a name for it, something similar to the Bechtel Test. For Klenk, it was brought to my attention by Albert Brooks in a podcast with Adam Carolla. Here is the quote (take from a Filmdrunk interview):
“There are things I can’t stand in movies, that can be so easily fixed. I don’t like peoples’ names. …I’m gonna talk to you for an hour, and I’m never gonna say ‘Adam.’ You can say ‘Adam’ if you’re gonna leave and I’m calling you, or you can say it if your pissed — ‘Listen, Adam, don’t f*ck with me.’ But just to say it all the time… it’s sloppy writing. I’ll tell you a fun game when you have nothing to do: watchTitanic and count how many times he says ‘Rose.’ It must be five thousand. […] I think he even says it underwater.
And there are other things too in movies. I thought I could teach a writing class and just give like six things and make people better just for these six things. For instance, take the word ‘listen’ out. It’s a crutch. It buys you time.”
Whatever you want to call it this movie fails the test big time. Real people don't talk to each other like they did in this movie.
- I'm not sure what the point of the first scene was. The best I can guess it has to do with the idea that when someone is so damaged that "mercy killing" them is the best thing you can do. That makes sense for the characters that were in the cult and didn't want to feel pain anymore. I guess it makes sense they would pull in Will since he lost something also and they think he needs the mercy kill. How does it extend to the rest of the dinner party though? Why did everyone else need to die? While we are here, the videos of the cult leader did nothing for me. How could a guy with such little charisma start a movement like that? Compare him to John Hawkes in Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene. Crazy cult dude but you couldn't help but be charmed/intrigued by him. This guy was a zero. When Will was watching the second video in the office for some reason the guy's faux-sincerity reminded me of Andre from the League. Probably not what he was going for.
- Much smaller thing but the doctor that could ID a white pill that he described as outdated or old school sure did help the plot/character in that moment. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb. Who knows, I'm not a doctor but I seriously doubt they can identify pills like that.
I'll let you guys give thoughts before I post extended positives. The main two that come to mind are the "voicemail from Troy. where is Troy? here is Troy." scenes and the last 10 seconds of the film.
Second part:
I liked the lamp thing because I didn't see it coming. I thought it was a signal to the leader that they are starting the process and come close in case they need back up or something. Thinking back a lot of the party had heard of "the invitation" so I probably should known what the lantern meant. Didn't though so yeah, it worked for me. I like the Fight Club comparison. I was expecting something more like Final Destination. "Oh look, we lived through this crazy ordeal that killed everyone else and then BAM!" The sniper that was there to clean up the trash and keep the secret finishes them off and the world doesn't know any better.
In recent times there are better slow burn claustrophobic films (house of the devil, take shelter, the guest) and better dinner party that goes to shit and people start dying films (you're next, the purge). Summey already named better cult films.
One scene I didn't mention but liked is the one when it goes to shit. You started to think the drink wasn't poisoned and then you see the Asian girl then the gun shot. Mongoloid takes the gun and for a second you think he might be ending it but then he went to the side room and killed another guy. It was super tense for like 30 seconds. As soon as they all split up I lost the tension though. It was almost too slow for the next 5-7 minutes and the rest of the deaths didn't do anything for me. Another nit to pick, apparently getting shot in the stomach is the most painful thing that can happen to a human. I don't think she dies with a quiet grace after that move.
The girl that left early was the rare chekov's gun with no payoff. I guess we are to assume she is dead.
I still haven't read any reviews of the movie, maybe smarter people than myself will illuminate things I didn't catch and can appreciate. I'll continue to hold off until we get Klenk's take.
Bryan's grade: icky movie, I don't know. From the wolf to the dead child being a weird plot driving device to the stabbings. I don't know, just icky. C- I guess.
Final thought: did not know she directed Aeon Flux. That is one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life. Did we watch that at trifive Summey? The one with the deadly grass? Absolutely horrible. Actually I might have watched it at Samaritan. Never saw Jennifer's Body but I remember most people blamed Diablo Cody for that one.
Oh! Last thing. One of the screenshots Netflix showed me as the movie was about to start was Huisman walking down the hall with a bloody knife. I'm sure that hurt my tension levels throughout since I knew a bloody knife was coming at some point. Come on Netflix, don't do that.
