“The Invitation,” a thriller set entirely within one location, centers on a reunion dinner gathering in which a creepy tone is established early on. A couple on the way to the gathering accidentally runs over a coyote and the man whose name is Will then kills it with a tire iron. This is a foreshadowing of what is to come later. The evening takes place at the luxurious Hollywood Hills home of Will’s ex-wife Eden and her new husband David, who met at a support group. While they were together, Will and his ex-wife suffered a tragedy when their son was killed accidentally. This leads to the tension and terrifying jolts to follow.
When the hosts and some of the others there begin talking in jargon straight out of a Scientology meeting, some of the guests begin feeling uneasy. Eden even slaps one of the guests when he questions some of the philosophies that she is espousing. Of all the guests, Will is the most paranoid and edgy. The movie very gradually reveals what the hosts’ motives truly are. The pacing was certainly slow, but I thought the building of suspense was well done. The sound in the film and the way it is edited all add to the tension level.
The group plays a game of “I Want,” which is designed to strip away everyone’s inhibitions and allow for the attendees to be vulnerable in the group setting. Some of the people find the game to be anxiety-producing, though.
The film loses some believability in that the characters do not come across as though they have known each other for a long time, even though this is a reunion of sorts. Also, why more attendees did not leave this increasingly strange and troublesome gathering is hard to understand. The last 20 minutes of the film, when it goes into slasher territory, did not work for me. No spoilers here, but the final shot at the end of the movie, when Will and his girlfriend Kira come to a realization of what is going on in the surrounding area, was too far-fetched for me.
If you are easily disturbed, then this is not the film for you. It is, though, worth seeing for those who have the patience to let the movie unfold at its somewhat slow pace.
