‘The Invitation’ Film Review: Nathalie Emmanuel Can’t Save Cliched Take on Socially Conscious Horror
If the mostly by-the-numbers plot of “The Invitation,” and its eventual ridiculous twist, is tolerable at all, it’s due to the effortless effervescence that star Nathalie Emmanuel lends to this modern-day horror with gothic embellishments, as a mix-raced woman barely getting by in NYC who gets to live a British royal fantasy until it turns into a literal bloody mess.
Invoking “Twilight” and “Beauty and the Beast” with watered-down hints of “Crimson Peak,” the new feature from director Jessica M. Thompson (“The Light of the Moon”) opens with a suicide scene that insinuates the timelessness of its story. It’s here that its efforts to misdirect the audience about the type of supernatural entity we are dealing with begin.
In a more recognizable present, Evie (Emmanuel), a ceramics artist that stays afloat through catering jobs, takes a DNA test that connects her with a (white) cousin in England, Oliver...
Invoking “Twilight” and “Beauty and the Beast” with watered-down hints of “Crimson Peak,” the new feature from director Jessica M. Thompson (“The Light of the Moon”) opens with a suicide scene that insinuates the timelessness of its story. It’s here that its efforts to misdirect the audience about the type of supernatural entity we are dealing with begin.
In a more recognizable present, Evie (Emmanuel), a ceramics artist that stays afloat through catering jobs, takes a DNA test that connects her with a (white) cousin in England, Oliver...
- 8/26/2022
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
The Dracula-inspired horror movie The Invitation sinks its fangs into theaters this Friday, August 26, 2022. Described as “a contemporary horror thriller,” The Invitation tells “the story of a young woman who is courted and swept off her feet, only to realize a gothic conspiracy is afoot.”
That conspiracy involves bloodsuckers of the classic literature variety. Ahead of the film’s release, Bloody Disgusting spoke with director Jessica M. Thompson about the modern interpretation and its production. The filmmaker shared with us that she filmed her vampire movie in a castle that shares ties with blood-obsessed serial killer Elizabeth Bathory.
But first, why was Thompson interested in Blair Butler‘s script in the first place?
She explains, “It was to me, the Bride of Dracula origin story. That was what captivated me because we haven’t seen that. We’ve done Dracula so many times; let’s do the brides. There are...
That conspiracy involves bloodsuckers of the classic literature variety. Ahead of the film’s release, Bloody Disgusting spoke with director Jessica M. Thompson about the modern interpretation and its production. The filmmaker shared with us that she filmed her vampire movie in a castle that shares ties with blood-obsessed serial killer Elizabeth Bathory.
But first, why was Thompson interested in Blair Butler‘s script in the first place?
She explains, “It was to me, the Bride of Dracula origin story. That was what captivated me because we haven’t seen that. We’ve done Dracula so many times; let’s do the brides. There are...
- 8/23/2022
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
The round-up returns once again! With so many independent releases hitting theaters here in early September, it’s almost impossible not to have to play catch-up like this. Today, we’ve got five new films to give a quick take on, including one in Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! that I admittedly forget to discuss last week. Joining that documentary are the horror efforts Depraved and Haunt, along with the doc Liam Gallagher: As It Was, as well as the indie comedy Can You Keep a Secret? It’s quite the group! How many of them are worth your time and money? Do any especially stand out from the pack? Time to dive in and answer just that… Can You Keep A Secret? Romantic comedies used to be big business. Hollywood loved to put them out. Now? Not so much, and it’s a shame. It has become...
- 9/14/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Netflix has been slowly but steadily reviving the once marginalized romantic comedy, but their newest offering infuses the genre with the rather refreshing idea — long overdue in movies — that friendship is perhaps the greatest romance of all. The streamer recently released the first official trailer for “Someone Great,” a comedy that appears to begin as a romance with a man, but ends up looking more like a love letter to self love, and friends that always have your back.
And who better to anchor this positively 21st century feminist message than Gina Rodriguez, with her megawatt smile and her infectious charm?
The official synopsis reads: “Aspiring music journalist Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) has just landed her dream job at an iconic magazine and is about to move to San Francisco. Rather than do long distance, her boyfriend of nine years (Lakeith Stanfield) decides to call it quits. To nurse her broken heart,...
And who better to anchor this positively 21st century feminist message than Gina Rodriguez, with her megawatt smile and her infectious charm?
The official synopsis reads: “Aspiring music journalist Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) has just landed her dream job at an iconic magazine and is about to move to San Francisco. Rather than do long distance, her boyfriend of nine years (Lakeith Stanfield) decides to call it quits. To nurse her broken heart,...
- 3/6/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
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