The Invitation

2015 Directed by Karyn Kusama

There is nothing to be afraid of.

Will and his new girlfriend Kira are invited to a dinner with old friends at the house of Will’s ex Eden and her new partner David. Although the evening appears to be relaxed, Will soon gets a creeping suspicion that their charming host David is up to something.

Logan Marshall-Green Tammy Blanchard John Carroll Lynch Michiel Huisman Lindsay Burdge Emayatzy Corinealdi Mike Doyle Jay Larson Michelle Krusiec Karl Yune Jordi Vilasuso Marieh Delfino Toby Huss Aiden Lovekamp Danielle Camastra Trish Gates

Alternative Titles

La invitación, Приглашение, La invitación 2015, Ftesa, O Convite, Поканата, A meghívás, 不吉な招待状, Kvietimas, Zaproszenie, Позив, Запрошення

thriller

100 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Grooveman ★★★★½ 6

My wife and I got a diner party invitation to one of her co-workers place in the next few weeks. We are not Fucking going!!
Review by DirkH ★½ 24

So here's the thing.
Foreshadowing is a powerful storytelling tool if used correctly. It can give you a feeling of unease in a story that conveys a sense of normalcy. Without being able to put your finger on it, you get the sensation something is off, making you feel tense without knowing why.
The Invitation gets this. For about ten minutes. What remains is 60 minutes of foreshadowing with bits of story and character development in between. It lacks any and all subtlety. The main character literally keeps telling everyone something is wrong for two thirds of the film.
We get it. You're leading up to something.
I love slow burn thrillers. I love films that start out normal and…
Review by maria ★★★½ 7

at some point i thought they were gonna start a 10 people weird orgy thing or something... close enough
Review by davidehrlich ★★★ 6

undeniably tense as fuck, Kusama works wonder on a tiny budget and also there's Lindsay Burdge, but this is the latest in a long line of kinda cheap / formally excellent domestic horror stories that feel content to be genre exercises, and deny themselves the opportunity to become more than that. it's a hell of a ride, but it's all surface... it's all putting the right beats in the right places... it works, but it might work too hard.
Review by Leticia Fernandes ★★★★½ 4

But Why Did They Go To His Ex's Dinney Party In The First Place
Review by Kurdt ★★ 9

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

- Boy, these people seem suspicious
- Oh, turns out those suspicions were all valid
- The end.
What do you expect when you invite the zodiac killer to your dinner party???
Review by josh lewis ★★★★ 5

"... that was mercy"
the destructive, wavelike nature of grief as a communal experience that permeates every space we occupy, every movement we make & every interaction we have. kusama's formal grace is the obvious star here, the masterful staging, gestures & spatial awareness she shows off in particular, but as the film goes on & the screws tighten agonizingly slowly all the way until its haunting final image, kusama achieves something far beyond form -- her genre thrills deeply woven with a sense of the pervading, inescapable pain that, whether we're struggling to remember or forget, can blind us as easily as it brings us together.
Review by Lucy ★½ 3

fucking dinner parties
Review by Marian ★★★ 5

you tell me if you went to someone's house and their doors locked from the inside you would not get the fuck out immediately
Review by demi adejuyigbe ★★★ 9

Genuinely shocked at the rollercoaster of ratings my subsequent viewings of this movie have taken me on, especially because this time it really reminded me of some bad student films I had to watch in Austin during college.
Review by Hollie Horror ★★ 27

Was Logan Marshall-Green trying to look exactly like Tom Hardy or was I just obsessing over it so much that I began projecting his image onto LMG? Either way, I found it quite distracting as I tried to settle into The Invitation, it became a struggle of trying to force myself to just allow its methodical ambiance wash over me (despite the never-ending barrage of complaints launched by my restless brain).
The first hour had a simple (albeit sleek) formula, Tom Hardy has a confrontation with someone -> wanders through his old house -> has a flashback -> stares into the void -> someone interrupts and says something like "let's just leave" or "come on, let's go back inside" ->…
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★½ 3

88/100
A story of distance fed through the impenetrable barrier of grief. LA is seen as a glowing mirage within a hazy landscape, and the hills appear seductive, even flirtatious, in the face of looming modernity. It is where the damaged and the fearful, the deranged and the affected choose to reside, literal detachment encasing their unease. Karyn Kusama builds an entire universe - people as planets and spaces as mysterious areas of darkness and unknown conversations - so that the eventual horror unravels organically, all a singular puzzle although each piece is utterly fractured. And Will - played by a terrific Logan Marshall Green - is the audience surrogate, spinning around uncertain friends and foes in a woozy state,…

Recent reviews

Review by Джайден ㅤВИВО ★★★

tonight on Big Brother
Review by SH K ★★★

중반부까지는 훌륭한 심리 드라마 영화로서 잘 이야기를 풀어가더니, 후반부에 들어서는 차고 널린 스릴러 장르 영화로 전락하고 그렇게 마무리됩니다. 중반까지의 심리 묘사가 매우 마음에 들었기에 더욱더 아쉬움이 크네요.
Review by WALL-E ★★★★

Kusama’s most skilled work as a director so far. She shows such talent in how she uses the limited space of this one location. There is a slow burn aspect that may not work for some but I found it to be necessary for the last act to work as well as it does
Review by kauan ★★★

sinceramente o filme conta com um bom desenvolvimento de roteiro, mesmo que a premissa em si tende a demorar pra acontecer, o que faz nos alimentar com aquela sensação de: realidade ou delírio?
embora tudo seja bem explicadinho, senti que foi vago algumas situações, principalmente dentro dos ocorridos, mas nada difícil de pegar no ar e compreender
amei a sonorização do filme, que tende a ser silencioso, sombrio e frio, tal qual é a sensação de "luto" que acontece durante o tempp todo
O FINAL AAAAA EU ADOREI!!
Review by Dylanthemoviefan ★★★★½

Another underrated thriller. Goddamn this is one of the most suspenseful things I’ve seen in awhile. The acting is all top fucking notch and the technical aspects i.e. cinematography, score and framing is perfect. A must watch
Review by eduarda ★★

muita enrolação desnecessária só o final compensa
Review by Hina Soy ★★★

Is it me or are adults super fucking annoying.
Review by tobias dupuy ★★★★★

UGHHHH
Review by Hamish Brown ★★★★ 2

To use a poorly written football analogy:
Watching The Invitation is like defending against Leo Messi. You know where Messi wants to go - he’s cutting in on his left foot every day of the week. You’ve seen it before, you’ve studied his tricks, you know what’s happening but then he gives you the eyes and does those famous body feints you actually believe he’ll shift the ball to his right foot. But no. Just when you think you have him he’s in on his left, you’re on your bum, somehow stunned, and the ball’s in the back of the net
Review by trrose ★★★½

Interesting twist on the horror/drama genre. Not the usual bad guy.
Review by Mackenzie of the Milk ★★★½

My fourth viewing, now. The film isn't actually good enough to warrant this, but I keep meeting people who show interest in it. Once I've said "Oh yeah, that one's pretty good," on it goes.
The second and third times through, I enjoyed it progressively less, but this one landed differently. Don't know why, exactly.
What previously seemed like stumbles in pace or acting now came across as charming (and I've been particularly hard on performances lately, so it's not a lapse in judgement). There was some cringe, yes, but it seems more intentional than I recall. Maybe "The Invitation" is just worming its way into my heart.
Having lived in Los Angeles the past year, it could be morbid…
Review by briandexter ★★

Lesson learned: Once one of my friends talk about cult in a reunion, I will pack my bag.