The Invitation (2015) Revisited – Horror Movie Review

The episode of Best Horror Movie You Never Saw covering The Invitation (2015) was Written by Andrew Hatfield, Edited by Juan Jimenez, Narrated by Kier Gomes, Produced by John Fallon and Tyler Nichols, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

Horror doesn’t always have to be jump scare after jump scare or a non-stop gore fest. It doesn’t have to have Aliens, Terminators, or Predators to say nothing of any of the other monsters we’ve seen over the years. Movies that don’t include those coveted horror checklists typically get lumped into the thriller category like Silence of the Lambs or even Get Out. Funny how those are the movies that the Globes and Oscars want to award. Without a shadow of a doubt horror films that can be labeled something a little more friendly to draw more audience demographics or get better ink in reviews. I’m here to tell you though that sometimes a movie comes along that doesn’t have a big bad monster and has very little blood to speak of but can be more affecting and horrifying than anything you can dream of. Sometimes the very real horror of loss and people you thought you knew can be the scariest thing of all. Here is my invitation to you. Let’s get this out of the way. No, this isn’t the vampire movie from 2022 that was a surprise hit for Screen Gems and Sony Pictures. The Invitation (watch it HERE) that I’d like you to accept is the movie from 2015 that had a very limited release but wowed at SXSW, has incredibly high critical ratings, and continues to find new audiences via streaming. Of all the movies I’ve covered on this show, it is the one that messes with me the most and the one that I hope to expand it’s audience for. It was written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi with directing duties falling to Karyn Kusama. Kusama might not be a name that is front and center on your mind but prior to The Invitation, she directed Girlfight, Aeon Flux, and Jennifer’s Body. Since today’s movie she has stuck mostly with TV with the likes of The Outsider, Dead Ringers, and new favorite of this writer, Yellowjackets.

The writing duo has quite a bit under their belt too while also being frequent collaborators of the director. I think that’s a big reason that this movie feels so personal, the cohesion between the behind the camera talent gels really well together. The actors chosen for the roles are a good mix of known character actors and I think that’s another reason why the movie works so well. The group of friends mostly feels like a group of friends that any of us could have, and you aren’t watching someone like Brad Pitt have a conversation with oh I don’t know, let’s say Emily Blunt. Logan Marshall Green plays the partially broken and very haunted Will. We learn pretty early on in the movie that the reason for his separation from his wife was due to the death of their young son, something they both take the blame for as well as blame each other. Green, or as my brother calls him, “we have Tom Hardy at home”, does an amazing job. Green is much better than that label my brother crowned him with and has been in more than a few big projects. On the small screen, he carved out minor roles early on on things like 24 and The OC. He would continue that trend with larger roles in shows like The Quarry, Dark Blue, Damnation, and Big Sky. For the silver screen, he’s no stranger to genre and horror either. One of his big breakout roles was in Prometheus but he also showed up in Devil and the criminally underrated Upgrade. His pain, unease, and suspicions are all palpable here and you experience the journey with him. Joining him in the cast are Michiel Huisman from Game of Thrones, Lindsay Burdge, Tammy Blanchard, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Toby Huss, and almost always MVP John Carrol Lynch in one of the most John Carrol Lynch roles ever.

The movie opens with a couple, Will and Kira on the way to a gathering of friends at his ex-wife’s house. It’s strange because they received a very fancy invitation and Will, and his former wife haven’t seen each other in a long time. Will hits a coyote and puts it down out of mercy before they arrive at his former home with Eden. He is happy to see his friends who used to be part of the same group together, but he keeps seeing flashbacks of his deceased son and even some memories involving Eden. The group is so loving and happy to include his new girlfriend Kira, but you can tell there is sadness and tension in every conversation, every interaction between the friends, particularly when Eden and Will speak for the first time in a long time. David is introduced to the movie and he and Eden met in a grief group after his own wife passed away. They are dating now and the whole point of this party is to let grief, pain, and sadness go.

Will is obviously uneasy but there is a sense of distrust within him too. He’s not entirely sure why he is here or why any of them should all be back together. While the house is beautiful and big, there is also a staggering sense of claustrophobia found within as the group all sit together. Two additional new friends Sadie and Pruitt are introduced from the same grief group that David and Eden are a part of. They are strange but also seem very friendly and open to the rest of the group. We see flashbacks of the bad times too. The ones after their son died where Will and especially Eden were very self-destructive. The suspicions continue for Will as he notices how strange Eden is acting but also things like the windows now having bars. Eden explains that it’s a different neighborhood and she is also different. This change is evident again when she slaps Ben for not taking her change seriously.

The whole movie is peppered with these small shock moments followed usually by normal conversation that feels very organic. It feels like conversations you would have with YOUR friends. David locks the door and Will again needs to prod into what is going on, but David relents and leaves the key in the door at least. You feel the same unease that Will feels but you also understand he just doesn’t feel right based on where he is. Finally, the pyramid scheme begins. Eden, David, Sadie, and Pruitt all found closure and were able to let go of their pain through a grief group called The Invitation. They show them a video and the leader of the group is Toby Huss. Look, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck. The group of friends witness the uncomfortable death of a woman on the tape and none of them want in. this does feel very cult like.

The movie was actually going to have a much bigger name cast originally. When it was being developed it had Zachary Quinto, Topher Grace, and Luke Wilson in some of the bigger parts. While I’m sure they would have done a great job, having a lesser-known cast actually helps some of them shine more, particularly Logan Marshall Green. The group explains why they brought them here and its to rekindle the group but also help them. More and more strange occurrences bother Will like one of their friends being absent, a pill bottle that he finds in Eden’s dresser, and the new friends acting strange. He is grounded by his other friends but one of them leaves after she feels uncomfortable, and she is almost guilted into staying. Pruitt has to move his car to get her out and we don’t see her fully leave, in fact she is flagged down by Pruitt and we never fully see her leave. Will is the only one watching but of course so are we from his perspective. His friends and hosts all tell him there is nothing to worry about, but he just can’t shake the feeling that something is very off. He finally gets service on his phone, something the movie cleverly plays off with where they are not getting good reception and it’s their friend Choi, he wasn’t late and actually got there first but he’s gone now, and they deny seeing him.

This leads to a blow up. All the tension, angst, and suspicion that Will was feeling before turns into a need to protect his friends and accusations are thrown around. They have had a nice dinner, but he just can’t believe that everything is normal. Then Choi walks in and his world and sense of right is completely turned around. Has his grief led him to hold in so much anger and distrust that he can’t just be happy for his ex-wife? His friends are embarrassed for him but still willing to help and understand his grief. Will apologizes and collects himself before going off to take a minute to compose himself. He watches a different tape that is much more ominous before seeing David hang and light a red lantern in the backyard. Back at the table Will can’t help himself and knocks a few of the wine glasses over and starts another scene. Now, at this point in the movie we have seen some pretty suspicious behavior, but it’s all explained away. Not here though. Will was right and the rest of the movie is that much more terrifying because of it.

Sadie erupts with anger towards Will who defends himself in the struggle and knocks her out. Its there we notice that Gina, who had unfortunately drunk the wine before Will knocked it away, has died from obvious poisoning. The other cult members scramble and start killing their guests one by one. The movie becomes an inverse home invasion flick where the innocent folk are doing their best to try and escape a house full of crazies instead of holding off their base from intruders. Everyone except Will, Kira, and Tommy are the only survivors and they are able to take out their assailants. The movie has one more frightening reveal when the survivors go to the backyard to put Eden’s dying body out as a last request, they hear the screams from all over the city. There are fires, gunfire, and screams all beneath the glow of countless other red lights. The cult was much bigger than we thought.

The Invitation was only released in a very limited number of theaters but did well and still holds very high critical and audience praise. The director and writers had complete creative control over the project, and it was released as a true indie movie. This helps go a long way in making the movie special and should be one of the next movies you cross off your list of Best Horror Movies You Never Saw.

A couple previous episodes of the Best Horror Movie You Never Saw series can be seen below. To see more, and to check out some of our other shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!