O Convite

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the score for this film. It doesn't do it any justice, and some of the reviews I've read here don't make valid points in my opinion. So, I felt I owed this film my own review.

First of all, the tension: man this thing has a killer build-up! You could call it slow (if you're a Transformers kind of guy), but it never gets "boring". You're on the edge of your seat from the moment the film starts, partly due to a very subtle but creepy soundtrack, which reminded me of sound effects in some of David Lynch's movies. Adding to that is the fantastic performance of Logan Marshall-Green as the tormented Will. He, and the events that follow, will keep you guessing about his mental health and whether his paranoia is justified or not, almost until the end. Michiel Huisman plays the very smooth and lulling host to great effect, and the rest of the group of friends is also very believable and natural.

THE scene (no spoilers, you'll know which one I'm talking about when you see it!) was so well done I really had the feeling I was there. It all happens so slow, so eerily apropos, and so jaw-droppingly unexpected that you really get the feeling of "oh my, that could be me out there". The little twist in the last couple of minutes is the cherry on the cake, and makes you even more uncomfortable than you already were.

This is a case of an "ignore the scores, just watch it already!" film, and I hope you enjoy it every bit as much as I did!

Fast forward this film and just watch the last ten minutes. You'll be able to have a conversation with anyone who watched this and they won't be able to detect that you skipped ninety percent of it. Don't send a thank you card, this is a public service.

The cast it's arguably good. But the film is paced so slowly that it just becomes too boring to watch and enjoy at the same time. You are waiting for the big twist of all the build up but the ending just isn't satisfying and doesn't make up for the wasted time of nothing substantial happening.

Rating: D

I'm not going to give a review of this film. I'll leave that to others who can argue whether it was worth watch or not. For me, I feel it was one of the best thrillers with a horror bent that I have seen in a long while. But here's the thing, I don't really like horror films, avoid them most of the time, unless I heard a good word of mouth from someone. That's how I found The Invitation.

After reading the reviews here, I would say the criticism falls in to two opposing camps. Those that thought it was thrilling, terrifying and well done movie and those who thought it was a waste of their time, slow and they saw all the punches coming.

I think the difference is this, the latter camp watches a lot of horror films, nothing surprises them, they are looking for all the little nuances of all the other horror movies they have watched and are comparing them to the film they are currently watching. They are two - three steps ahead of a conventional audience and thus, nothing surprises them. To these folks, I can understand why the film fell flat, it's clear if you put the movie under a microscope you can tell what's going to happen and naturally with the purposefully drawn out pace of this film, they get bored waiting for the payoff.

I, as well as the people who I have give / shown this film to, fall in to the other camp. We rarely watch films like this and therefore are willing to let it all play out without trying the guess what's going to happen next. It's certainly a creepy film and while we might imagine where it's going, we are willing to suspend our expectations and go along for the ride.

My advice, watch this if you enjoy the ride up on the climbing roller coaster without thinking about the plunge when you reach the top.

I don´t mind the slow build-up, I think it´s justified, kind of like the calm before the storm. The problem is how much of it is wasted. We focus on the main character´s grief, which in the end isn´t that important, while the other characters are completely ignored. One tiny conversation with each one of them, that´s all we know. The girlfriend Kira literally disappears for an hour. It often feels like Will is all by himself in that house. Suspicion gets bigger but none of the guests seem to care about anything. There are some small comments, of course, but we have 5 or 6 characters devoid of any personality or will. I feel like some events could have been much stronger if those characters weren´t merely filling the space.

There are some fine things, though, I´d never wanted to punch John Carroll Lynch so hard in the face. The same goes for Lindsay Burdge.