The ideal would be to go see a movie like ‘The Invitation’ (The Invitation, 2022) without knowing anything about it, but part of the film’s campaign was to sell it as a modernized version of a literary classic, which in a way it is. But given that the marketing strategy is to propose it as a new horror movie, it seems that they are not quite clear on how to present this kind of perversion of traditional gothic romance cinema.
It would not be surprising if fans of A24’s new horror movies or stronger dishes were scared of what Jessica M. Thompson’s film offers, which despite its lukewarm reviews managed to win number one at the American box office (in a particularly slow weekend). And this is because, actually, the movie has more to do with the novels body rippedthe fantasies of romance between poor girls and aristocrats or series that mix Instagram backfire with snooty romantic comedy.
maids and lords
However, ‘The Invitation’ begins with a classic horror movie scenario, lightning illuminates a gothic mansion and a woman in the candlelight prepares to jump from a second floor. There are whispering shadows and something creepy, but we don’t see it. Blair Butler’s screenplay doesn’t eschew familiar horror tropesbut the weight of them will vary between the mystery and the playful moments of girls being bitchy with each other and an American in a high-class British environment.
Evie, played with conviction by the divine Nathalie Emmanuel, is a New York artist mourning the death of her mother who discovers, thanks to a DNA test, that she has a family of aristocrats in England and her cousin Oliver Alexander (Hugh Skinner) invites her to a wedding across the ocean. Following the plot of ‘Dejame Salir’ (Get Out, 2017) by jordan peeleignores the warnings of her friend Grace (Courtney Taylor) of not trusting rich white people, but Evie’s desire for a family connection convinces her and she ends up in a luxurious mansion in the English countryside.
It’s the same mansion, of course, from the movie’s prologue, Evie picks up weird things, but she’s somewhere between dazzled and outraged by the rich snobs and their treatment of the maids. But she soon starts flirting with the party’s friendly host (Thomas Doherty), Walter DeVille. and is this game of seduction the one that occupies the largest section of the filmas in any romance between commoners and bourgeois, there are misunderstandings, dream dances, erotic elements and the idea of power and luxury as an escape route for a girl full of dreams but without resources.
All gothic display unleashed
Meanwhile, we see some scenes of goofy scares and other strange things happen to the maids whose boss (Sean Pertwee) sends into dark rooms that hide a hidden danger. Shrikes crash into Evie’s bedroom windows and the grounds of the property are perpetually foggy. However, although there are some notable moments, terror is not the part that most interests its directorwho prefers to delight in the mystery of the Alexander family and the evolving romance of Evie, a surprisingly well-written character within the ensemble.
She is a smart girl, aware of the fantasy she is living, she is in charge of verbalizing the clichés that the viewer is noticing and has a special connection with the service, since she herself belongs to the hospitality sector. It is entertaining to follow his journey, although the surprises that await him are predictable -ideally, you should not even watch the trailer-, so what remains is a tense game of cat and mouse during the three days of a chaotic wedding, although the most of the bloodier elements happen off-camera, making it clear that the public to whom ‘La invitacion’ is directed is not going for the viscera, but for the pullitas between guests.
Everything points to those gothic novels, with covers of ladies in nightgowns and chandeliers in front of ominous fog-in-the-dark mansions and the production design of Felicity Abbott reflects it with wrought iron gates, vaulted stone ceilings, which the photograph autumn eakin bathes in blues and darks. A shadow-shrouded library door, hidden keys to secret chambers, bells for the maids, dank abandoned cellars, and a cobweb-filled cellar all hint that the film he prefers to recreate himself in the spaces than in the real action that happens in them.
A perverse but soft story
By the time everything is revealed to us and Evie shows the strength that has been ahead of us, she knows little and it is too late. ‘The Invitation’ has an enviable rhythm at all times, but its third act is too short, and everything that happens after the twist is rushed. Many opportunities are wasted, such as all that the town next door had to offer, or the moment of final disarray, which alternates what camp with everything expected in a film of the genre that it turns out to be, but compressed in a succession that seems to want to move on to another place.
What could have been a big studio gothic version of ‘Wedding Night’ (2019) remains a movie for fans of ‘Bridgerton’ or ‘Downtown Abbey’ with touches of ‘A light in the dark’ (1970) and a certain history of ‘Wax Museum‘ (1988). Proof of this is that the camera always pays more attention to the outfits of costume designer Danielle Knox than to the violence and the darker aspects. It’s that kind of movie and it’s not ashamed of it, so, aimed at the right audience, it’s not a bad version of that kind of thing.
But if there is something that stands out in the group, it is the interpretation of Emmanuel, far above the rest of the production elements, a charming heroine who deserves her leading lady status. She is the best of ‘The Invitation’, which is light and goofy enough to fill a rainy Sunday afternoon and has the added bonus that she can look like a wicked satire on Meghan Markle’s froggy fairy tale in the British royal family.