THE INVITATION (2015)

The Invitation, an enjoyably tense but unsubtle slow-burn thriller, is often engaged in silent warfare with its own storytelling. An effective but derivative opening scene—where couple Will (Logan Marshall-Green) and Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi) have their drive to a dinner party interrupted when they accidentally run over an animal—gives way to an uncomfortable evening where no one at this party knows exactly where they stand. It’s hosted by Eden (Tammy Blanchard), Will’s ex-wife, who has re-married to David (Michiel Huisman), an unnervingly friendly figure who she met in Mexico (and who is also present). Interspersed amongst Will and Eden’s friend group—none of whom, including her ex-husband, have seen her in two years—are some new friends of Eden and David; the sexually provocative and childlike Sadie (Lindsay Burdge), and the effortlessly creepy Pruitt (John Carroll Lynch).

It’s an odd affair, with plenty of warning signs broken up by Will’s unwelcome dips back into the past. Being in the home where he and Eden raised their son Ty (Aiden Lovekamp) before his death at a young age must be an emotional rollercoaster, so these well-timed breaks from reality help break up the abundance of red flags on display. But here’s the issue: once the film settles into this formula, you know exactly what to expect from the following scene. Grief punctuates a story that would appear brain-dead if it persisted with its conversations, almost all devoted to exploring just how creepy these hosts and their new acquaintances are. It also cheapens the flashback sequences, which might not be beautiful or haunting, but are delivered with enough finesse to feel like more than a gimmick.

With this repetitive formula in mind, the slow-burn qualities of this screenplay–which are much appreciated—are largely squandered when screenwriters Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi inject so many hints that these hosts have ulterior motives that there’s nothing subtle about this film’s developments. It’s not even the existence of these red flags that’s the main problem, but the fact that they end up being the focal point of virtually every scene. Films set during a dinner party have so much room to use their single location to dive into the ensemble of guests and what makes each of them tick, so it’s a shock to reflect on The Invitation and recognise that so few of its characters are fleshed out. Sadie is simply crazy; imagine any media representation of an impulsive, mentally fraying woman and you’ve summoned as much as you will ever need to know about her personality.

Many of Will’s friends are similarly one-note. Ben (Jay Larson) is a trashy guy who likes to talk about sex and makes for an appropriate recipient of Eden’s offer to kiss someone when the group play a game where they express their desires. Gina (Michelle Krusiec) is a featureless party girl, with an unexplored litany of precocious activities she got up to in college. Half-joking when she tells David that she would like to do coke, he calls her bluff by giving her some, but nothing more comes of this interaction; we last see her holding the baggie in her hand without much urgency to do anything with it. If Krusiec imbued her performance with any subtleties from hereon out that suggest drug use, it’s not obvious.

Many of these actors are quite amateurish, with Huisman and Lynch providing the stand-out performances, selling their monologues and knowing looks to one another effortlessly. But while they’re both tasked with some seriously heavy lifting in the way of stellar acting, the sense that something is distinctly ‘off’ about these performances isn’t always a bad thing. Instead of being awkward or embarrassing to watch (luckily, the other actors never stoop to that low), it adds something unique and worthwhile to the sense that something is seriously amiss at this party. That said, I can’t fail to mention that the originally announced cast members for the film, which consisted of Luke Wilson, Zachary Quinto, Topher Grace, and Johnny Galecki, are much more intriguing than the ensemble we’re given.

Out of boyfriends Tommy (Mike Doyle) and Miguel (Jordi Vilasuso), only the latter is given room to show some personality, and that’s mostly through scenes with Will where he’s either answering a pressing question or reassuring his grief-stricken, anxious friend. Characters that exist solely in support of someone of greater importance in the narrative are hard to care about, though one must begrudgingly accept that they’re still better than relative blank slates like Tommy. But it’s Kira who represents the biggest missed opportunity in this film. As Will’s current girlfriend, it’s worth investigating whether the pair’s relationship is incompatible given that Will is still entrenched in the grieving process, or if their love transcends such difficulties. Of course, a plot twist involving this character would be even greater, and could work given how little we learn about Kira, but that’s also off the cards. Picking the worst of options, The Invitation carves out yet another possibility for emotional investment and hastily covers it up.

Given the developments in this film’s lengthy, climactic final act, it’s too easy to criticise its inability to incorporate ideas that relate to The Invitation’s final shot, and rather difficult to conceptualise how such setups could even be introduced. That doesn’t change how abrupt that final moment is, heralding in a spirit of change that’s wholly unwelcome, and robbing us of the opportunity to reflect on what will befall these characters (psychologically or otherwise). This attempt at a haunting, thought-provoking denouement is too hollow to offer anything new to ponder. These same criticisms can be applied to the rest of this plot, which ignores wider societal concerns for the immediate ones at this get-together, yet mucks that up with a predictable formula of grief scenes intercutting unsubtle warning signs.

Anyone who wouldn’t be highly alarmed by the behaviour at this party is deluding themselves, but what’s most damning is that Will, whose paranoia is continually eroded and rebuilt because he spends so much of the evening thinking about his dead son, is the only one here who keeps sinking away from the present moment. Yet, for whatever inexplicable reason, he’s also the only person consistently alarmed by his hosts’ behaviour.

These warning signs are this film’s dramatic content; virtually every scene is built around them. There’s some subtle acting on display, especially when Kusama trusts the audience enough to hold off on overbearing close-ups of knowing looks or curious expressions. But while there are some impressively creepy, haunting scenes, and the tension is never fully diminished despite the endless foreshadowing, this screenplay acts as both the coyote and the car in The Invitation’s opening scene, continually getting in its own way. It hardly ever tries to deceive the audience into thinking that it cares about any character not named Will more than its set-ups.

While The Invitation’s third act has received some criticism, it shouldn’t be surprising that this experience can’t sustain its momentum. There’s no uncomfortable, anxiety-inducing tension in answers, and this film is undoubtedly at its best when it keeps presenting the audience with questions. The violence here is well-delivered, but never heart-stopping, a more pronounced disappointment given how much The Invitation is reliant on its viewers being immersed in this slow-burn narrative. An admirable degree of tension can only go so far in this ultimately unabsorbing experience, which repels investment more often than encouraging it through an intriguing but self-defeating script.

USA | 2015 | 100 MINUTES | 2.35:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

director: Karyn Kusama.
writers: Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi.
starring: Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman, Emayatzy Corinealdi, John Carroll Lynch, Lindsay Burdge, Jordi Vilasuso, Michelle Krusiec, Jay Larson & Mike Doyle.