There are movies that tend to give away entirely too much in either art, title, or even trailers. Then there are movies that do all of this all against the director’s wishes, making it hard for the audience to avoid everything before seeing a movie resulting in the surprise and mystique being ruined. Unfortunately, that is what happened to Jessica M. Thompson’s The Invitation, but despite all that, the movie is still very entertaining and enjoyable to watch. While it does follow some terrible horror tropes, screenwriter Blair Butler tries to bring some new life into a draining character.
Nathalie Emmanuel as Evie in Screen Gems THE INVITATION. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti. ©2021 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
The movie focuses on Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) who meets Oliver (Hugh Skinner), a distant cousin as confirmed by a DNA test she took. He invites her to go away with him to a family wedding. Hesitant at first, but after losing her mother and not knowing much of her extended family, she decides to not trust her instinct and go with Oliver to meet this new family she’s never met before. On the trip she meets the family hosting the wedding, specifically one De Ville (Thomas Doherty) who Evie catches the eye of. Other members of the families are there as well including Viktoria (Stephanie Corneliussen) and Lucy (Alana Boden). Evie isn’t entirely comfortable with everything that is going on as she comes from modest means while De Ville and company are in the top one percent, and when she witnesses how house manager Renfield (Sean Pertwee) treats the hired help, she draws attention to his poor treatment and her guard goes up. She continues to realize that not everything is as it seems throughout this trip or this wedding, and never fully connects the dots until it is almost too late.
Thomas Doherty as De Ville in Screen Gems THE INVITATION. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti. ©2021 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
What works incredibly well for The Invitation is the wonderful performance by Nathalie Emmanuel. She manages to completely throw herself into the role and got lost in this gothic noir type of world, becoming entranced within it and with her character herself. However, as a horror character, it is certainly bothersome that she makes some outlandishly wild choices for herself as she definitely knows better and it feels like she has never seen a movie before. Alas though, her performance and chemistry with the rest of the cast are what standout the most, and carry the movie through any large issues.
L-R: Thomas Doherty as De Ville and Nathalie Emmanuel as Evie in Screen Gems in THE INVITATION. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti. ©2021 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
Now, I previously mentioned that movies can give away too much in their art and titles. The Invitation was previously titled The Bride and, according to an interview Jessica M. Thompson gave to Indiewire, the original title tracked poorly with men resulting in the change to The Invitation. Now, there is nothing wrong with the title of The Invitation on its own, but all the marketing material that followed it certainly provided some issues. Most likely the seal on the envelope dripping on the initial poster, if you had a vague idea what the movie was about, went ahead and confirmed it entirely for you even before you saw the movie. If that wasn’t a dead giveaway though, the trailers certainly did it absolutely no favors either as they were riddled with spoilers and dead giveaways for what this blood-sucking horror film was truly about. Alas, if you managed to avoid all of that and went to watch the movie on the home release, then good golly Sony just told you the whole movie on the Blu-ray cover! It gives away the entire third act of the movie, even if you knew the movie was a vampire movie, you didn’t necessarily know who was getting married, but the cover art surely wants to tell you that. It’s slightly ironic, too, that the pull quote on the front of the Blu-ray reads “a suspenseful thriller packed with twists,” meanwhile the cover and packaging shows any consumer every single twist in a single image.
Nathalie Emmanuel as Evie in Screen Gems THE INVITATION. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti. ©2021 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
Regardless, if you’ve seen the movie or could absolutely care less about having the entire thing spoiled for you with a singular image, the Blu-Ray itself looks fantastic. The way it presents at home is a thing of pure beauty, truly engulfing you into the world that has been created with a rich tapestry of colours that work on even the most standard of televisions, never bleeding out of color or looking dull, this is truly a transfer that shines. Yes, I realize it is a new movie, but there are still transfers to home media of new films that have colors bleed out and look dull of on home media because the disks are too compressed. The Invitation truly does shine on the home media Blu-Ray.
Nathalie Emmanuel as Evie in Screen Gems THE INVITATION. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti. ©2021 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
Moreover, the Blu-Ray itself also comes with a digital code so you can add the movie to your digital library and have it with you on the go. In addition to that it comes with an unrated cut as well as the theatrical cut. The unrated cut is an additional one minute longer and, after watching it, I cannot confirm what is new. There are also behind-the-scenes featurettes, three to be specific, which are entitled: “Lifting the Veil: Story,” “The Wedding Party: Cast,” and “Till Death Do Us Part: Design.” There are also outtakes, bloopers, and deleted and extended scenes, including an alternate ending. While I definitely prefer the ending they went with, the alternate ending is a lot of fun and is definitely worth watching after the initial viewing has concluded. If opting for a DVD copy of The Invitation instead of the Blu-Ray, the only special features you will receive are the behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Director Jessica M. Thompson on the set of THE INVITATION. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti. ©2021 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
Overall, The Invitation is a fun, albeit a smidge predictable, watch that has some easter eggs for vampire enthusiasts who didn’t have the movie previously spoiled for them that boasts a beautiful presentation at home. The movie is filled with a great performance, a rich tapestry of set design, and is an overall very fun film that is sure to be enjoyed by the casual horror watcher and vampire fan alike.
The Invitation Special Features:
Blu-ray and digital:
- All-new unrated cut
- Deleted & extended scenes including an alternate ending
- Outtakes & bloopers
- Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
- Lifting the veil: Story
- The wedding party: Cast
- Till death do us part: Design
DVD
- Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
- Lifting the veil: Story
- The wedding party: Cast
- Till death do us part: Design
Available on digital October 18th, 2022.
Available on Blu-Ray and DVD October 25th, 2022.
For more information, head to Sony Pictures’s The Invitation website.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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