The Invitation (2015)
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The story
Will travels to the Hollywood Hills to attend a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife, Eden, who is now married to David. Following the tragic death of their son, the couple has joined a mysterious group called 'The Invitation' to help them cope with their grief. As the evening progresses, Will becomes increasingly uneasy about the strange behavior of the other guests and the atmosphere of the home. When David locks the doors citing a neighborhood threat, Will's suspicions about the group's true nature begin to mount, leading to a tense confrontation as he tries to determine if the gathering is a sanctuary or something far more dangerous.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Will and his girlfriend Kira attend a dinner party at the home of Will's ex-wife, Eden, and her new husband, David. The group includes friends and a woman named Sadie who met the couple in Mexico. The atmosphere is tense as Will notices strange behaviors, including Eden hiding a pill bottle and the group participating in a game called 'I Want'. David reveals they belong to a cult called 'The Invitation' to manage their grief over the death of their son. When Will confronts the couple about their behavior and the cult's nature, the situation escalates. After Will smashes glasses he fears are poisoned, a violent confrontation erupts. Sadie attacks Will, and several guests are killed by David, Pruitt, and Sadie. Will, Kira, and Tommy manage to flee and hide, only to discover that the 'Invitation' is a mass suicide pact. In the final confrontation, several characters are killed, and the film ends with the survivors discovering that many other nearby homes are also participating in the same ritual, signaled by red lanterns and sirens in the distance.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 100
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Karyn Kusama
- Writers
- Phil Hay · writer; Matt Manfredi · writer
- Cast and characters
- Logan Marshall-Green; Tammy Blanchard; Michiel Huisman; Emayatzy Corinealdi; Lindsay Burdge; Michelle Krusiec; Mike Doyle; Jay Larson; John Carroll Lynch
- Genres
- psychological horror-thriller
- Themes
- grief; anxiety; paranoia
- Tone and mood
- tense; unsettling
- Setting
- A home in the Hollywood Hills.
- Premise and plot tags
- cult; dinner party; psychological thriller
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising its atmosphere and execution as a well-crafted thriller.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 74 · scale: 100 · review count: 21
- Production trivia
- The film was originally intended to star Luke Wilson, Zachary Quinto, Topher Grace, and Johnny Galecki.; Karyn Kusama was influenced by the films Let the Right One In and Festen.; The film was the second feature financed by Gamechanger Films.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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