The cleverly creepy final shot of The Invitation can’t make up for what is otherwise a frustrating thriller, in which elements such as pacing, tone and performance are all poorly modulated. Co-written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi and directed by Karyn Kusama, the movie has an intriguing scenario: two years out from a traumatic divorce, Will (Logan Marshall-Green) accepts an invitation to a dinner party from his ex-wife (Tammy Blanchard) and her new partner (Michiel Huisman) in the home she and Will used to share. Once there, painful memories intermingle with his hosts’ odd behavior, until Will suspects something insidious is in the works. Unfortunately, in both its narrative structure and direction, The Invitation never really allows us to simmer in the tension between Will’s reality and his paranoia. One minute Will is screaming that something is very wrong, then the next he’s calmly whispering his suspicions to other guests. Early on the hosts deliver an outlandishly wacky presentation, yet later everyone sits down for dinner as if they were at a normal, friendly reunion. There’s something off with the hosts, yes, but also with the whole movie. If the best thrillers escalate with expert precision, The Invitation clumsily stumbles to its bloody end.
