Beware of unknown rich relatives and their summons to sinister English countryside weddings. The Invitation is a brainless exercise in standard horror genre tropes. It's got the requisite blood-slurping baddies, spooky mansion, evil cults, and of course, a laughably naive damsel in distress. There's nothing here you haven't seen before and done much better. It also doesn't help that an annoying score and obnoxious sound effects pummel your eardrums for the entire runtime. I will admit a few scares worked. Several jump-out-of-your-seat moments save the film from being an utter disaster.
Nathalie Emmanuel stars as Evie, a New York City artist grieving over the recent loss of her mother. She works as a caterer with her gossiping best friend (Courtney Taylor). They squirrel away gift bags from an event hosted by a DNA testing company. Evie nonchalantly submits her sample. She's surprised to get a matching response from an English relative on their website.
Oliver Alexander (Hugh Skinner) invites Evie to lunch on a business trip to the Big Apple. He's overjoyed to meet his secret female cousin. It turns out there are only boys in this generation of Alexanders. Oliver invites Evie to a client's wedding on a luxurious English estate. He offers to cover every expense when Evie sheepishly admits she can't afford such a trip.
Evie heads across the pond for "the wedding of the century." She's stunned by the elegant Gothic mansion and vast grounds. Evie's trip starts off on a sour note. She doesn't take kindly when the head butler, Mr. Fields (Sean Pertwee), berates a new stock of maids. The manor's wealthy lord, Walter De Ville (Thomas Doherty), yup you read that right, swoops in to settle the argument. Evie's instantly smitten by his good lucks. De Ville takes a liking to Oliver's beautiful American import. Evie doesn't have a clue to the wedding's true intention.
The Invitation Chums the Water Early
The Invitation chums the water early to attract the bloodthirsty sharks. Young maids in numbered dresses are the first warning signs that danger's afoot. Evie blissfully ignores the creepy paintings and sculptures that litter the mansion. Nightmares and strange sightings also don't ring her common sense alarm. Her feathers eventually get ruffled but are soothed by the hunky De Ville. There can't be anything wrong if a handsome rich guy dresses you up like a show dog.
The scares are plucked from the generic horror manual. Evie walks down dark halls as the musical crescendo builds. She inexplicably runs alone at night surrounded by ghostly fog. You know something's coming when the awful soundtrack stops. Composer Dara Taylor (Bad Moms, The Tender Bar) goes overboard trying to create a chilling accompaniment. It may have been palatable without the added sound effects. Screams, thuds, and grating noises are blended in to increase the fright factor. It's an unpleasant aural assault that gets progressively worse.
The film has an ugly racial component. Evie is constantly slighted for her biracial heritage. The elitist white aristocrats and sycophantic servants don't like cream in the coffee or tea. The racist subtext, much like the music, beats you over the head. Nathalie Emmanuel is a decent actress that usually adds charm. She'd have to be doused in honey and sugar to rescue this dreck. Decline this invitation.
The Invitation is a production of Screen Gems, Mid Atlantic Films, and Emile Gladstone Productions. It will have a theatrical release on August 26th from Sony Pictures.