Student Reviews Slasher Movie “The Invitation”
“The Invitation” is a movie that is labeled as a supernatural horror film and was released in theaters August 26, 2022. It is said to be inspired by the literature novel “Dracula”. This movie follows a young woman who took a DNA test to find her family which she received at an event while working. She was somehow matched with a cousin from England who ends up bringing her into an old vampire’s mansion for a “family wedding.” Little did she know it would be her wedding. When she arrived at the mansion she was quickly swept off her feet by its appearance and likewise, the owners. It did not take long for her to end up in a very strange nightmare of attempting to survive while continuing to discover the disturbing secrets about her family history and the sick intentions behind her family and everyone else at the mansion’s “kindness’. Really their kindness was a mask for their desire for her to marry the old vampire and complete the strange power ritual.
The movie was greatly hyped in the media and had high expectations set. Personally I do not believe it met many of those expectations. Although it was supposed to be considered a horror film I believe there was more romance and suspense. It could also be considered comedic to some, that is if you do not enjoy a handful of cringe scenes. There were many moments in the movie that were cheesy or felt as though you were watching a movie version of a fanfiction. That may be a good thing to some, but to me not so much. The majority of the few horror aspects of the movie were the ones already broadcasted in the trailer. On that note, if you were going to the theater expecting a scary and thrilling movie you might be disappointed. If you prefer a romantic and suspenseful, long build up with just a couple jumpscares and graphic scenes this may be for you.
Although the movie did have some good aspects and was not the worst movie I have seen there was definitely something off about it. It seemed as though it had a very long and drawn out build up to a very short and mediocre climax. The build up was fairly good. It kept you interested with the secretive manners of some of the characters and the romantic scenes, when they were not cringey. Once you got to the climax things felt very rushed and almost confusing. The whole aspect changed and it went through the backstory of what was happening so quickly that it was hard to truly understand. You would probably have to watch this movie multiple times to even have a chance at understanding what was going on.
Overall the movie was alright but I would not recommend it to anyone that has the intent of seeing a true horror movie. It may have been better if there was more to the climax and it was less rushed. It seemed to have a lot of potential, but the execution was mediocre rather than great. If they would have focused less on the steamy romance scenes and more on the dark and creepy scenes I feel as though it definitely could have been improved. Another thing that could have been improved was the cast because personally I think some of the roles could have been casted better, but overall they seemed to pull it off the majority of the time. This movie is not the best but it is not the worst and if you are just looking for something random to watch without any expectations, then it might be a good choice for you.