Invito all'inferno

Wes Craven's INVITATION TO HELL opens with a bang, when Jessica Jones (Susan Lucci!) seems to defy death, only to send a careless chauffeur to his early reward!

Enter Matt and Pat Winslow (Robert Urich and Joanna Cassidy), who, along with their two kids, move into their new home. The Winslows soon learn of an exclusive club called Steaming Springs, a spa that everyone seems to want to join.

Oh no!

This club is run by the aforementioned Ms. Jones! We learn almost immediately that something bizarre and unsavory is going on there. What have the Winslows gotten themselves into?

ITH is a made-for-TV horror movie concerning satanic shenanigans in suburbia. Urich and Cassidy are really good at being bewildered and overwrought, but this movie belongs to Ms. Lucci! Drawing from her years of soap opera experience, she plays her role like an even-more devilish Erica Kane! Of course, once Ms. Cassidy's character is "transformed", she certainly gives Lucci a run for her money! Made entirely of cheeeze, this film proves that Craven's SUMMER OF FEAR was no fluke! Is it scary? No, but it is extremely entertaining!

EXTRA POINTS FOR: #1- Matt under attack by his demonized family! #2- The way Matt's experimental space suit just happens to come in so handy! #3- The infernal-yet-sappy, freak out finale!

P.S.- Watch for Michael Berryman (THE HILLS HAVE EYES) in a tiny -microscopic- cameo role!...

Invitation to Hell (1984)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

A scientist (Robert Urich) moves his wife (Joanna Cassidy) and their two children to a new town where he's going to create a new high-tech spacesuit. Right from the start he realizes that the entire town is expected to be like one another and this includes joining a health club ran by Jessica Jones (Susan Lucci). Soon the scientist begins to realize that something is off and it might all lead back to the club.

INVITATION FROM HELL is a pretty boring, bland and predictable made-for-TV movie that even director Wes Craven seems bored by. I say this because there's very little energy or style in his director and it really does seem as if he's stuck in the TV limitations and can never overcome them. It certainly doesn't help that the screenplay is basically a predictable re-working of THE STEPFORD WIVES and in the end there's really very little entertainment to be found.

One of the biggest problems is that it's very easy to figure out what's going on yet the lead character just keeps walking around like an idiot and never being able to figure it out. While the viewer waits for him to figure things out, you grow more and more tired with everything you're watching. There are a few twists thrown in but they're all rather predictable. Another thing that doesn't help is the fact that the lead character is just a bore as are the supporting ones. If you don't care for a family then you're really not going to care if they live or die. There's no one to really root for or against in the picture.

Urich is a fine actor but he's just too bland here to draw any attention to the character. Cassidy is good in her supporting part and I also thought Lucci was good in her role. Kevin McCarthy also shows up in a brief bit and it was nice seeing him. INVITATION TO HELL really has very little going for it. Craven certainly doesn't bring any energy to the material and seems to have been a project done more money more than love.

Better than the typical made-for-TV movie, INVITATION TO HELL is blessed with excellent casting (Urich, Lucci, Cassidy, McCarthy, pre-Murphy Brown Joe Regalbuto, Soleil Moon-Frye) and a high concept update to the familiar Faustian plot. Urich is likable as always and Lucci is particularly fetching and devilishly over the top in the mother of all femme fatale roles. Definitely a product of the 80s from Lucci's occasionally too big hair to the synth-heavy soundtrack to the pre-internet boxy computers. Kind of a hybrid version of STEPFORD WIVES and THEY LIVE, the movie commits early to its apocalyptic Miltonesque vision and horror fans will likely not have many complaints until the soppy, maudlin denouement. 7/10

Everything is idyllic in Suburbia when the little family moves in, as the father have got a new job in a computer company there. But no paradise would be complete without its snake. Strange things happens as the family joins the local country club without the husband, as it certainly holds secrets. The father is not a joiner, but pressure is on him to join, as everyone who is anything in the neighborhood and at work are members. Robert Urich's good guy part is a bit tepid, but Joanna Cassidy as good natured housewife turning nasty sizzles. Suspenseful and well-made chiller with a bitchy Susan Lucci as club chairperson. Look out for cult favorite Michael Berryman in a bit part as a valet. The movie captures the sense of paranoia and the special effects final is worth waiting for. I have seen this movie quite a few times.

Good tv movie for sure. Great acting all around with Punky Brewster mixed in an early role. Worth a watch for sure. An 80s gem!