Invoked (2015) User Reviews (32)

The Blarney Witch Project....

[FlashCallahan · 3/10 · 15 March 2017]

Another week another found footage horror. I'm a big advocate of the found footage genre, ever since the behemoth of The Blair Witch Project exploded onto our screens in 1999, we have had an abundance of film makers trying to emulate that films success.

Many have nearly succeeded, like Cloverfield, P.A, and Skew to name a few, but there have been a plethora that have really failed to make the cut.

And here is another example of a failing.

So we have your atypical team of teens going away for the weekend to have a party and a something a little more spicy, but of course, we always have the one with the video camera, the one who knows about the legend of the house/place, and the one who for some reason thinks it's a good idea to do a Ouija board...

And this is where the film fails, it never offers anything original, we just have our gang hearing very loud noises in the shadows, one swears that they have seen something, the others think that the party boy of the gang is playing a prank, and then they begin to get picked off one by one.

The setting looks like an abandoned working men's club, the cast are your atypical unlikable group you can't wait to see the back off, and that's the film.

It's boring, and even though it has quite an encouraging premise, the makers never really give the concept the respect it deserves.

I'm sure I will trudge through more found footage films that are just as bad, but you never know when that gem will pop up next, so in some sadistic way, it's worth putting up with dreck like this.

I'll suffer for you guys....

I'd rather watch a drunk leprechaun singing Danny Boy.....

[s3276169 · 2/10 · 12 December 2015]

I'd rather watch a drunk leprechaun singing Danny Boy than sit through anything as awful as Invoked again.

When are film makers going to get the message that crappy amateur cam films are just not all that entertaining? Its not, however, just the horrible cam work that makes this Irish film a flop.

The storyline is incredibly hackneyed. Predictably horny teens out for a nights boozing and debauchery, who start meddling with other worldly Quija board style supernatural nonsense at a creepy remote house with predictable results. A head trauma patient could see whats coming, but sadly our future fast food industry workers, have no idea.

So are there any redeeming aspects to this film? Well, to be fair, the acting is reasonable and consistent throughout. Sadly, however, any talent that may be on offer is buried beneath the general horribleness of this film. Two out of ten from me.

My children

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 10 October 2017]

Five young adults spend Halloween in an empty Hostel "west of Ireland." There is no electricity except there is power to the installed cameras, go figure. They drink, smoke, start a fire and play "ask the glass" a home made Ouija board. They managed to invoke (Conjuring has already been taken) a spirit (Paula Phelan) that wants "my children." Oh yes, this is a murder house too. At 53 minutes things begin to happen, no one believes the man who first filmed the ghost and apparently he had a camera you can't rewind and look at what you just shot.

The film degrades into the classic run cam, floor cam, shoe cam, whine and snivel cam, scream in the dark cam, and girl dragged across the floor cam...been there done that and better. One of the characters mentions the film "Visions of Darkness" known for using paradoxical backgrounds. Normally clues like this are mentioned and then tie into the film in such a way to demonstrate creative genius of the script writer/director. I didn't notice that in this film where seeing landscapes was severely limited by the hand held genre.

Guide: F-word. sex. Nudity? (Lynn Larkin) Actors used their real names.

Read this before watching

[codystafford-86238 · 21 October 2015]

Unless you actually want to waste your time then go ahead watch this film. It's the most uninteresting Irish paranormal film I have ever come across. The storyline was what caught my eye but the actual film didn't really correlate with the name and the cover. For 45 minutes of the film the most exciting thing that happened was the couples having sex! Heading towards the end of the film Aaron and Paddy went scraps and that was the best fight I've seen since McGregor. Moral of the story is, the film is sh*t. Don't watch it, unless maybe you're drunk or high. Other reviews here stated that there was decent CGI, I can safely tell you that the "CGI" was an utter joke, and looked to be done by a 3 year old. I am usually the type who gives movies a chance before judging it, however from the start I just knew this movie was going to be one of the worst things I've ever watched, and let me tell you - I have watched a lot movies okay. Save yourself experiencing the reoccurring thought of "what the actual f*ck" and do not watch this. You've been warned pals.

85 Minutes Of People Talking Over Each Other And Screaming In The Dark

[HorrorOverEverything · 1/10 · 26 September 2015]

First off I would like to say I really hate it when people who are attached to a film come on here and give it positive reviews, just let your movie speak for itself, why try and trick people into seeing it? With that said I feel like I must say that those fake reviews in no way effected my thoughts on this film or my following review.

So here we go again with another cliché found footage film. Since the success of Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity we have seen a huge influx of these types of movies, and honestly I think it's safe to say that this may be one of the worst ones that I have seen (I have seen a lot). The film kicks off with a group of friends driving out to a hostel, once they get there we are treated to about an hour of them talking over each other and saying things that no body cares about. We never learn anything about our characters, we are never given any information that would make us care about them or what is going to happen to them.

So after an hour of nothingness things start to pick up a little bit, there are one or two flashes or a creepy girl in a dress and then things just get obnoxious. There is a point in the final 25 minutes where one of the female leads screams almost non stop until the final scene, a high pitched extremely annoying scene. I really wanted to shut the film off at this point but figured I had made it that far so I might as well finish it. So the friends just run around in the dark while they get picked off one by one (I guess, it doesn't really show what happens to most of them), then we get one more really poorly edited scare scene and the credits roll.

This is a bad movie, odds are the people who made it knew it was a bad movie. Found Footage is the go to genre for film makers who don't have an original idea or any kind of budget. Obnoxious characters, no real dialogue, bad effects, and a terrible pace make this one of the worst found footage films ever made.

Airheaded protagonists that talk too much

[antoniokowatsch · 1/10 · 24 October 2016]

10 minutes in and I was already hating every single one of the protagonists. They were all equally annoying, generic and stupid. The only thing that kept me from walking out on the movie was the prospect of seeing every one of those "characters" getting chopped to pieces.

Good Horror movies usually try to form some sort of bond between the viewer and the protagonists so that the casualties end up mattering. Well, you won't be seeing any of that in this movie.

The same applies for character development. If you like one- dimensional characters this movie will be a treat for you.

And don't even get me started on the fake/Ghetto DIY Ouija board. That scene was beyond horrible. I was literally confused as to whether I was supposed to laugh or just shake my head in disbelief.

Constant annoyance

[kylejcustodio · 1/10 · 10 September 2016]

As soon as you meet the main characters their personality becomes apparent. Personality is singular because they all have the same one: annoying grade-school child. from the start of the movie they are constantly talking, playing stupid jokes and laughing at butts several times.

The plot is not surprising in any way. If you've seen any ghost story plot this one is not much different. The only difference between this and a ghost story is the character development they borrowed from slashers, by having the characters annoy each other as well as the audience as well as getting drunk and high which never should be mistaken for characterization. This movie was agonizing and the only reason why I watched it all is because I never ended a movie early before.

Why was this movie made? Furthermore, why did I watch it?

[buddypatrick · 1/10 · 12 March 2017]

A film that lacks any form of substance is going to get a very brief review from me. This is another found footage film, a genre which I totally disapprove of.

I can't even think of anything to say in a review as there really isn't anything to point out in the movie other than how crap it is. This movie is an hour and half of shaky camera work and screaming with all the actors arguing over the top of each other non stop. Its painfully frustrating.

Its unforgivably awful. Think of all the time, effort and money the cast and crew could have been investing into other recreational activities instead of giving birth to this frightful abomination of celluloid.

Why am I even reviewing this movie? Why am I giving it any more attention that I already did by falling into the trap of watching it!?

Disappointing towards the end

[fairlesssam · 2/10 · 15 July 2017]

A group of friends travel to a deserted hostel in an isolated area of Ireland. After a long road trip they have to travel to it by row boat (which they do in the dark of night).

When they arrive at the hostel there is no electric so they are in darkness. They begin drinking and smoking weed and decide it would be 'fun' to play the Ouija board game by using a glass and paper.

They appear to make contact with a spirit who doesn't want to say goodbye which freaks one of the girls out. Strange things begin occurring which escalate as the movie progresses.

This is a found footage style movie which, initially, is one of the better of the genre. The acting is initially excellent, very believable; the banter and chatting between the characters is very fluid and natural. The characters are happy, fun and likable. There is a subtle depth between them, showing solid relationships, affection and care.

The beginning of the movie is really good and engaging but as it progresses it loses it's grip on you as the script and story begin to become shallow, predictable and annoying.

Sadly there is a lack of originality, this has all been done before - and better. The characters begin to become extremely irritating with constant shrieking and screaming from the female characters which becomes unbearable at the end, so much so that I had to turn the volume down.

The ending comes with basically no explanation of what has gone on or why. It's so disappointing as at the beginning the movie had so much promise. I have rated it a two purely on the quality at the beginning.

Half movie nothing

[kimssorensen-09854 · 1/10 · 10 December 2015]

Seriously I've seen hundreds of horror flicks and this is def. not one of them, it takes more than 45min to get any interest in the movie, really ? nothing more to this than the old group up of friends going to an abandon place to see if something is there, OND OH! something is there, perfect acting, super lame plot in the film in my opinion. come on someone has to do better than this, this movie could be SO! much better with a better script, Actors did a perfect job, plot was lame again in my own opinion :). . . . . . . . . . the rest of movie you have to watch yourself but be warned, this is bad :) more than bad even bad'r

Just give up already....

[The_Celluloid_Sage · 1/10 · 20 September 2016]

I really don't know where to start with this one, there is just so much wrong with it. I will start by saying that this review is only for the first forty minutes of the film. That's right, didn't even make it to the end, which is actually a first for me. OK, the director and writer hails from Brazil. Seems he has written/directed/edited/produced a few things over there and runs his own production company (Red Line Films). This appears to be his first English speaking feature.

We follow a group of highly obnoxious college kids on a trip out into the middle of nowhere to go to what seems to be an old disused hostel of types (though they have keys for the joint). The guys barely have the maturity level of ten year old, and the girls...well, while passable to look at I guess could not be anymore stereo-typically 'helpless females' if they tried.

Let's get to the film style. This is a found footage, but the shaky cam is beyond bad. I normally don't mind stuff like this, but after twenty minutes even I was starting to get a headache. Suffer from motion sickness, stay away from this one (in fact, stay away from this garbage regardless). Now, anyone with half a brain (and remember folks, Ireland and specifically County Sligo is not a big place) would maybe set off in the morning to get to your destination? Not these bozo's.

They arrive at a lake (which takes them all of four minutes to row across) in the middle of the damn night, then hike (once on an apparent island) to the hostel...where more school-ground humour is to be inflicted upon us. It never got any better and by all accounts from other reviews around the web, I didn't miss much.

Now, I believe this was filmed in 3 days. It really shows. Secondly, they used an estimated budget of approximately two thousand Euro. This doesn't show. Quite frankly I'm struggling to figure out where the money went. Maybe on the shopping trip at the start of the film...petrol maybe? Perhaps they bought a new mobile phone to film with on the way? I have no idea. They couldn't even get a real Ouija board for the film which you can buy for a tenner! Now in fairness to the people involved, I admire that they are trying to do what they want. But seriously, surely at some point in time, you have to realise and accept, that you're just plain not very good at it? Also annoyingly, let your product stand on its own feet, don't get your mates to big it up. Of the 313 current votes on IMDb, 45 idiots rated this film an eight or higher! Please, stop! This is one to truly forget folks.

The Sage's Rating: 1/10

Amazing film

[elenildamontes · 10/10 · 24 August 2015]

'Invoked' is an Irish found-footage film (albeit co-written, directed, produced, shot and edited by a Brazilian, but that doesn't really matter, I don't even know why I mention it, it's just an interesting factoid... blah blah blah) in which we watch as a group of young people head out to a remote hostel for fun and frolics, but end up fearing for their very souls and all that stuff. I really enjoyed this film. Sure, it has a slow start, but that's the norm with this genre, but once the action starts, it's a thrill- ride and often quite scary. The cast are good and quite personable (although I could have slapped them for entertaining the notion of conducting a séance in a spooky location where the lights don't work!). Unfortunately, they also also frequently quite loud, but I suppose I'd be quite loud if a screaming ghost was chasing me down a corridor. The special effects are excellent and the climax is satisfying. My favourite part, though, is easy to miss, as the cast head into a tunnel beneath a cemetery, the camera waves about randomly as dialogue is exchanged and a terrifying figure is seen for a fraction of a second. I had to rewind, to make sure I had seen it. Great stuff! This was another DVD that I found on the supermarket shelf (quite close to 'Camera Trap'!), so give it a whirl.

Surprisingly entertaining--

[jswindter01 · 6/10 · 10 September 2015]

..and entertaining is sadly something I cannot say for many, many horror films these days. Much different is the fact that I continue to be disappointed by the vast majority of horror genre movies.

Quite some time ago I gave up on having any expectations in regards to "theatrically" released horror films. I don't know exactly why but the powers-that-be who pick/choose what films are worthy of any type of release(be it wide release, or minimum release) into theaters..their picks of movies have continued to go from bad to worse..to even the bottom of the barrel, in terms of any quality content whatsoever.

Due to that fact I have become more and more open to finding, and even seeking out, what are known as independent/indie films, as well as what critics would label as B-grade horror films..and in all honesty it is in those "type" movies that I have found entertaining horror genre films. I've found time and time again great, thrilling content..and sometimes come across those little indie flicks that are truly, real gems!

No doubt there are tons of them that are worthless, but hey, I've found that the high dollar, theatrically released films are just the same in being worthless so, so much of the time..and especially here, recently I've found that there are actually more indie horror flicks that by far, and wide, surpass the quality/content of the "big-name" horror films.

"Invoked" isn't one of those truly, fine gems of a horror, but it is an entertaining flick that actually had some chills/thrills, which is much more than I can say for multi-multi-million dollar horror films like the recently released Sinister 2.

Finally, an objective comment

[jcamacho-35733 · 3/10 · 16 September 2015]

OK, i'm gonna try to be objective about this film.

The only thing i save from this movie, is the acting. They do their job very well. But even that can't save this film from being a waste of time.

Like usual, the people who commented and rated this film are sure related to it. It is sad, because it has a potential to be a good film, but NOTHING happens in the first 45 minutes. There's no tension, suspense, nothing.

Some effects are OK, however the "scary" scenes are so fast that you don't even have the time to understand what you just saw. Big mistake over there.

The editing is poor. There's like 30 min (after the movie really begins at minute 42) of shaky camera and dark images where you can't see anything.

Believe me, this is nothing like the Blair Witch Project. It's just another found footage, that could have been decent.

The 3 points go for the cast.

Don't Do It

[albrightcass · 1/10 · 10 September 2016]

Saw this on netflix. The only good thing about this movie is the female cast is easy on the eyes. That's it.

The guys are so young that they even have acne on their faces, go figure the quality of what you're about to see :)

If the screenwriter is reading this, he/she should not forget that you need a god damn story if you wanna make a good movie. There's no story here. It's even obvious that most of the dialog, if not all, is improvised.

If you are bored and have nothing else to do, then just get some nyquil and get some sleep. Your dream will be more fun to watch then this pile of crap shoot.

1/10 Awful.

Huh?

[solotl · 3/10 · 9 September 2016]

This doesn't contain spoilers, I don't think, but I checked the box anyway. I always give a movie I watch to the end a 3. I figure, if I've invested this much time to watch the ending, it deserves a 3. I don't understand found footage films. I keep watching them but have never found one remotely scary. Why do people keep filming when their life depends on getting the hell out of there - wherever "there" is. this one is no different. I laughed at most of the running around. I usually save this kind of watch event for when I REALLY don't have anything else to do. This one met that goal. The sex scenes weren't even good soft porn. I didn't even hide those scenes from my wife. These last few lines were to meet the 10 line review requirement.

Children gone wild

[takato0524 · 1/10 · 30 January 2021]

If you want to see a group of 20 something year olds act like 12 year olds at their first coed sleepover, this is the movie for you! With 0 character development, we are left to assume these people are friends. If I had friends like this I'd kill myself. All they do 90% of the time is argue and yell and play pranks even a 5th grader would be ashamed to do. This was supposed to be a horror movie, but there was 0 horror. You can't expect your audience to be engaged if the camera is shaking literally the entire time like it has Parkinson's. And that's another thing. This is "found footage" but there are two cameras: the big one and the water one, yet at many times you see the shots switching between both cameras seamlessly. The ending is also confusing. The owner or whatever says no one has keys but him, so the kids probably broke in. But the kids had keys to the place as we saw when they arrived after the awful "the door is locked" gag.

I have no idea who the target audience was, and I don't think they do either. Why this purely Latino, non English speaking director/writer/whatever is trying to create an Irish horror film is beyond me.

found footage BS

[jcroak-18174 · 1/10 · 9 April 2021]

I wish people would get over this whole found footage for good. Shakey cameras are not my thing. Others might not mind found footage, all power tothem, but I hate it.

Are You Ready??

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 1/10 · 1 April 2021]

Okay another movie where some kids / students / youngins getogether and play some silly seance type game similar to homemade ouija. And it's supposed to be like some found footage thing. -1 For Horrendous acting, -1 Star for clothes slowly coming off in some seductive scene to reveal....wait for it.... a bra! A bra reveal is the new naked in todays movies it seems. Where are the days of Last House On The Left and I Spit on Your Grave??? Haha.

So then panick sets in in various scenes as they begin hearing noises in the dark. For some reason the lights dont appear to work in the House.

Okay when CRAIG.... GOES MISSING.....One of the girls goes looking for him wiht a camera and I was done. Screaming and yelling in the dark ....Craig!! Craig! OMG!!!.. and I was done with this garbage with 19::55 left. 1/10.

Utter turd of a film.

[jackstupidjack · 1/10 · 25 May 2022]

Being a fan of the Found Footage gene I have had to sit through some abysmal tripe, but this bilge must be close to the worst, the only saving grace of this disaster is the hotness of the female leads, the rest is nonsense, tropes abound in this turd of film, shot for some reason in near darkness, chills, scares virtually zero apart from the fact this garbage ever got a release.

Yes, it's that bad.

[jhr2012 · 1/10 · 6 March 2021]

As Mr. Mackey on SouthPark would say, 'It's baddd...' This movie is annoying. You find yourself hoping that all the characters get killed, especially the girls. Their hysterical screaming is so bad. The one who plays Ciarra is the worst.

What a Movie!!!!!!!!

[jaypatel-45464 · 8/10 · 14 September 2015]

I have never before written a review for a movie. I actually opened an account on IMDb to write one for this movie. I gotta to say, with the amount of crap horror movies out there, this (considering it's a so called 'B' movie) is better than most I have seen this year and many more before that! From the off..(regardless what you hear about 'the slow start') it grabs your attention! It reminds me a little of Grave Encounters (but just a little mind you). This movie is on a whole different level. It actually scared the S*** out of me for most parts. Which none of the "Hollywood Blockbusters" have done for me in a long while. I will recommend this movie to any horror fan out there...WATCH IT!

Decent found footage film

[jeanh-73357 · 7/10 · 26 September 2016]

I went into this movie assuming that it would be completely terrible based on other reviews. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually all around a better movie than many others in its genre. There is one negative I can think of, and that is the pacing. The pacing is poor and can leave you a bit bored. Fortunately the filmmakers included a few surprises in the background when the characters aren't paying attention, but they can be hard to miss. As for positives, I thought the characters were surprisingly likable and natural, and weren't the sort of protagonists you get used to seeing in these movies (not genre savvy and pretty stupid). The CGI was also a plus; it's used so sparingly that the end result is very effective and not too cheesy. All in all, I enjoyed it. It's too bad that it was so poorly received, since I would've liked to theorize on some of the plot elements.

Seen better!

[hailz-96549 · 2/10 · 3 July 2023]

It looked promising at first , but I lost interest half way through and the CONSTANT screaming and yelling was infuriating ,especially from the female actors. I always get frustrated when people in horror movies do that I end up shouting at the screen because of it 🤣

It's just a typical movie like all the others using camera footage.

I normally like these type of movies but it wasn't for me also the ending oh my gosh!!!

No wonder it was shot in only 3 days but I get there's limited budgeting in some movies.

But still it could of been better it was so disappointing hence me only giving it 2 stars.

I want to live in an abandoned hostel

[dawnferris · 4/10 · 15 September 2016]

I love found footage movies. I don't know why since so many of them are utter garbage. This movie wanted to be good, the filming was typical ff filming, the acting was good, the dialog was...forced. It took a bit to move along but at least was entertaining. It gave a creepy feel and that's nice. One of the most annoying things for me was , if this is supposed to be an abandoned hostel..why the fu** was it so clean and nice? Lol. It was cleaner than my grandmas! I guess I'm about done with FF. It's too far and few there's a truly good one. Loved the fact it's from Ireland though. .......Oh and if this film is supposed to be released in the USA in Sept 2017 why did I just see it on NF?? Lol oops someone did a typo!