If you haven’t watched The Invitation yet, open up Amazon or iTunes and watch it right now. I’ve said it about other movies, but if I had to choose one movie for you to not know a single thing about before watching, it is this movie. You’ve been warned.
I’m going to just come right out and say it. The Invitation is easily one of the best, if not the best movie of the year so far and one of the best thrillers in years. Nearly all the thanks has to be given to Karyn Kusama’s careful and increasingly tightening direction of the material. Starting with the opening. We open completely silent on Will (Logan Marshall-Greene) driving up a winding mountain road. As the sound slowly seeps back into the scene, we hear Kira (Emayatzu Corinealdi) telling him that they don’t actually have to go the dinner party they were invited to. They admitted to themselves that it was odd that they were invited considering they haven’t seen the hosts in a couple years. In a jump, Will hits a coyote and puts it out of its misery. However, it is shown in this gorgeously composed and claustrophobic shot before Theodore Shapiro’s Hitchcockian score suddenly breaks the silence.
Once the couple reaches their destination, Will is immediately taken aback. The first part of the film really plays on an interesting look at grief and really makes you question what Will, and therefore you, are seeing. Since Kusama presents the film through Will’s lens, when the rest of the party stops seeing what he does you become frustrated like him. You support him, but in the back of your mind nags you that maybe Will is letting his grief get to him.
Kusama is extremely patient. She doesn’t give too much. She isn’t one for theatrics. Instead, she uses strong imagery to make you feel off-centered. We have been wired to expect something explosive from a movie of this premise. We expect a moment where everything goes to shit. That puts you on edge. Whether it is Pruitt (John Carroll Lynch) carefully skulking in the background of a shot or a door being locked, nearly every beat that Kusama puts in makes you flinch because you have no idea what is going to happen. She plays her cards extremely close to her chest until she slaps them down on the table and then flips it. That’s how good the third act reveal is.
Brian and I watched this movie purposely without watching the trailer or reading any plot description more than a sentence. During the movie, it led to a great discussion what we think is the end game. We were both completely thrown.
In this new horror renaissance, it’s been established that you don’t need jump scare after jump scare to make an effective horror movie. Movies like It Follows, The Babadook, and The Witch prove that all you need is an atmosphere that unsettles you and makes you feel the anticipation of that big scare or terrifying image. That’s what The Invitation does so effectively. It waits and makes you question what kind of movie it is until it finally reveals itself in a beautiful finale. That’s what makes it truly one of the best movies of the year.
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