The Invitation

Do not be fooled by the poster and cover art or by the trailer for this film, it is not a horror film. It is a morality play, and a pretty intriguing one at that.

The basic plotline: Roland (Henriksen) invites his six best friends to his island estate for a getaway. He tricks them into taking a poison and tells them that the only way he will give them the antidote is if they tell their greatest secrets, if they atone for their sins.

This film is actually quite well done, with the characters each struggling with their own demons, wondering whether their secrets are worth dying for. Henriksen is excellent as always, and relative unknowns Christopher Shyer (Joel) and David Livingstone (John) stand out from the rest of the cast by giving fantastic performances.

The Invitation is not a horror film by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a very intriguing morality play with solid acting from an ensemble cast of anonymous unknowns, with the exception of Henriksen. Well worth a watch. 7/10.

The cover suggests a horror or thriller, but instead, WOW, it was an awesome, quite deep, philosophical and sweet movie. Roland wanted to share his 'gift' with his friends and boy did he! Hats off to the quiet intensity of Lance playing Roland, who just wanted to impart a very rare and profound gift to those he loved.

Some of the lines he spoke in the movie, along with the beautiful scenery and music that accompanied it...will leave you feeling strangely serene and peaceful by the end of it.

Give it a chance. The story is a bit weak, not really explaining and resolving everything, but all in all, it's a must-see for lovers of deeper, profound type movies.

Also recommended: What Dreams May Come, The 5 People You Meet in Heaven, What the Bleep Do We Know, Waking Life.

Shipper

When reading Lance Henriksen's biography "Not bad for a human" (Highly recommended btw), I was sure to make some discoveries here and there. Amongst the more obscure titles was "The invitation", though he talks about it in high praise. He does in fact note that the American DVD Cover leads you on a wrong track, giving the vibe of a cheap horror flick. Well, it isn't. It's a film with less of a narrative structure, but analyzing its characters piece by piece. As the story progresses, a lot of background stories are thrown in. Not to explain you everything in detail, but enough for you to puzzle together the pieces about everyone's motivation and intentions. Produced by a noticeable small budget, the locations are limited and the cinematography is spare, yet creative. But that's not the focus anyway.

What drive me to it, was the reference to the Millennium series. And while the plot and style of the film differs to a great extend, there are certain scenes which give you that unnerving and surreal atmosphere. It's one of the rare experiences where you cannot predict what's coming next.

I doubt a lot of people will discover this film and I doubt a lot of people will get into it. It's no life-changing experience whatsoever but if you are willing to expose yourself to it's rough premise, you'll get one of Lance's finer performances and a film that will surprise you and make you reflect. It echoed with me still days after I watched it.

I really liked this movie. It had a great story line and though some elements of the story seem unlikely and weird they are true. If you liked this movie then i also recommend My little eye. This movie isn't a crazy thriller about a guy that lost his mind and tries to kill his friends it is a story of secrets and lies that everyone has and keeps. Even though some things in the movie are not completely explained it still is a modern day tale of morals and a real release of the mind. After I first watched it it really made me think. It stayed in my mind until I got the movie. Then I watched it again with my brother and it really made me look at him and what he may have done. After you see this movie you will look at the people around you in a whole new light.

"The Invitation" is a B-flick from the get go. Telling a silly story about a man (Henriksen) who invites a bunch of friends to his island home only to poison them and hold back the antidote so they'll have some kind of near death experience or life altering epiphany or whatever, "The Invitation" starts off like a B-flick, ends like a B-flick, and everything in between is claptrap B-flick drama with poor performances, an awful story, psychodramatic overtones which don't work, a hidden agenda ploy which is utterly ridiculous, and huge plot holes which aren't even spackled up with titilators. Watch for this one on broadcast....so you can miss it. (D+)