The Daily Stream: The Invitation Takes Toxic Love To A Bloody Extreme
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Series: "The Invitation"
Where You Can Stream It: Netflix
The Pitch: Unfortunately for her, Evie Jackson (Nathalie Emmanuel) is a classic horror movie protagonist: incapable of perceiving obvious danger. Recently orphaned by her mother's death and struggling to cope with loneliness, Evie kicks off the movie by sending her saliva to a DNA testing service that reveals she is distantly related to English aristocrats. When they invite her overseas for a wedding, she agrees to attend and despite the many red flags begging to be acknowledged when she arrives, she ends up falling for the mysterious lord of the manor, Walter DeVille (Thomas Doherty). And then s*** gets weird.
Sometimes, it doesn't matter that you have great chemistry with the very rich and sexy bachelor of the mansion, because his family is weird, his home unsettling and it doesn't make sense that you have yet to meet the bride of the wedding you're attending. Evie learns this the hard way as she slowly uncovers the twisted secrets of her family history and realizes that there's a troubling ulterior motive to the generosity she's been shown.
Why it's essential viewing
There's no better way to spice up Valentine's week than with a little gothic conspiracy! For a good chunk of this movie, you could almost be fooled into thinking "The Invitation" is purely romantic — ya know, if not for the very ominous cutaways to mysterious activity in other parts of the mansion. Watching Doherty and Emmanuel work their charms on one another is so distracting that you almost forget how strange the English aristocrats are behaving. And that happens to be half the fun. Very much in the vein of favorites like "Get Out" and "Ready or Not," the film delivers class commentary with a snarky bite. Ad through it doesn't quite measure up to the polish of those films, the end result is still an entertaining romp.
Prior to discovering her wealthy extended family, an all-expenses paid trip to a fancy manor would be unthinkable for Evie. She's a working artist who moonlights as a waitress, frequently harassed by the company's wealthy clientele. Being invited into the world of the wealthy white elite is entirely new for her but unfortunately, the casual abuse of the working class is a key theme of this tale. It only takes a short period of time for Evie to see that her extended family and their wealthy friends are selfish bloodsuckers, happy to bleed the world dry.
Get it? Because they're vampires!
In an ideal world, you have no idea that "The Invitation" has vampires until they start slurping blood from their goblets — or at least until you spot the "Dracula" references for yourself, and realize what this movie is not-so-subtly alluding to. Alas, we live in reality. The Netflix description, movie poster, and (of course) the trailer all spoil the surprise of Walter DeVille's mysterious alter ego. But it all works out in the end because this movie doesn't really rely on the shock of its twist. Plus, if you know about the vampires, then I get to highlight the most important selling point of this movie: "The Invitation" plays like extremely fun Dracula fanfiction!
Fans of vampire lore and all things gothic are given so much to appreciate. Director Jessica M. Thompson and writer Blair Butler clearly did their homework and sprinkle easter eggs everywhere. So if the supreme creepiness of Walter's manor isn't revelatory enough, or you don't catch onto the fact that his surname is DEVIL, then the frequent vampire references will quickly unveil his supernatural origins. Once he's no longer playing the part of a mysterious stranger, Walter shows his true colors and the fun really begins as Evie fights her way through a mini army of vampires.
"The Invitation" takes a stab at modernizing the Dracula mythos and the end result is pretty damn delightful. Succumb to the ominous atmosphere, watch Evie make terrible decisions, swoon over Doherty's count, and then root for him to lose once the heroine comes to her senses and enacts a violent escape plan.