Last night I saw the new horror film The Invitation. And... I liked it. I liked it a lot actually. Yes, the full trailer does reveal most of the plot but it's actually really good. Yes, it is predicable and has some cliché tropes but that does not make it bad by default. It has excellent atmosphere and lots of wonderful homages to the Bram Stoker's Dracula (the original novel).
The Invitation from Sony Pictures actually feels like a 1960s Hammer Horror film. If not for the use of the Internet, DNA kit, and smartphones the plot could have easily come from a Hammer.
It's a pretty straight-forward plot. The main character is Evie. Her mother has just passed away so she decides to do a DNA kit to find out more about her ancestry. She discovers she's a part of an old British family line and is quickly invited to a wedding, all expenses paid. Here's where I reveal the "Surprise twist" that many vampire horror movie fans might catch on to right away. It turns out her family is one of three that serve as human vassals to the very real Count Dracula. He never directly calls himself Dracula but he does, at one point, say that he is known as "Son of the dragon" and liked that name and Evie responds with "That means you're..." It's never out right said out loud but it's there nevertheless. (For anyone reading this who doesn't know, Dracula means Son of the dragon or Son of The Devil, depending on the translation.)
There are so many "Hints" that he's Dracula that you have to have never heard of the character to not realize that's who this is. There's implications he's taken bat and wolf form (both off camera for obviously budgetary reasons), the manor house is called "New Carfax Abbey." (Carfax was the home Dracula bought when he moved to England in the original Dracula novel). He uses the alias DeVille (which is an alias Dracula used in Bram Stoker's novel.) There's even an elderly couple named Mina and Jonathan Harker (two of the protagonists of the original Dracula novel).
Anyway, the surprise twist is not just that this is a family serving Count Dracula but that Evie is to be the new bride to replace one that killed herself rather than take mortal life.
As someone who loves the original Dracula novel I do like that they follow the old rules of the story. For example Dracula doesn't burn in the sun. He's just nocturnal in nature and likely weaker by day. And when wounded or badly starved for blood he ages to the form of an elderly man. The actor for Dracula is a bit young (Dracula's more youthful form is usually about forty-five or forty-six-years-old based on the novel and Vlad the Impaler's age when he died and would have become the famous vampire. However he IS an excellent actor and does convey the right combination of charm and charisma as well as menacing and predatory behavior.
I dare say this is the best Vampire film I've seen since Let the Right One In (2008) and this is the best version of Dracula I've seen since Netflix's Castlevania. I still think Castlevania's Dracula is the best recent depiction of Dracula but this was a good one all the same.
I had not heard of The Invitation until very recently and I was not sure what I was really expecting other than an apparently very predictable plot and "twist" reveal but I was pleasantly surprised. For a low budget horror film it had some great ambiance and atmosphere. It has some excellent visuals and it feels old fashioned, in a good way. It did not rely heavily on "deconstruction" like a lot of other modern horror films. This was a true, old-fashioned Gothic Horror movie and I liked it.
My only complaints are the actor who plays Dracula is a bit younger than I'd like (though he plays the part well). There's a little bit of implied racism (as Evie is of mixed race) but it's not hamfisted. I do like that it's indicated that Dracula does take animal forms (You hear a wolf howl and you hear a bat) but because the film is low budget it is off-camera. I am glad they at least made the effort. Most modern vampire films (especially low budget ones) remove animal shape-shifting powers all together. I suppose my only real complain is one feeding scene has an obnoxious light flicker effect common in low budget horror films. This effect can induce headaches in some people or even seizures in epileptics. It's not scary. It's just cheap and inconsiderate. Other than that I loved the film though I will admit here I prefer the alternate ending (available to watch for free on Youtube).
After the disappointment that was the Interview with The Vampire TV series I actually really liked this movie much more than I expected. I recommend The Invitation to anyone who likes old fashioned Gothic Horror.
The Invitation from Sony Pictures actually feels like a 1960s Hammer Horror film. If not for the use of the Internet, DNA kit, and smartphones the plot could have easily come from a Hammer.
It's a pretty straight-forward plot. The main character is Evie. Her mother has just passed away so she decides to do a DNA kit to find out more about her ancestry. She discovers she's a part of an old British family line and is quickly invited to a wedding, all expenses paid. Here's where I reveal the "Surprise twist" that many vampire horror movie fans might catch on to right away. It turns out her family is one of three that serve as human vassals to the very real Count Dracula. He never directly calls himself Dracula but he does, at one point, say that he is known as "Son of the dragon" and liked that name and Evie responds with "That means you're..." It's never out right said out loud but it's there nevertheless. (For anyone reading this who doesn't know, Dracula means Son of the dragon or Son of The Devil, depending on the translation.)
There are so many "Hints" that he's Dracula that you have to have never heard of the character to not realize that's who this is. There's implications he's taken bat and wolf form (both off camera for obviously budgetary reasons), the manor house is called "New Carfax Abbey." (Carfax was the home Dracula bought when he moved to England in the original Dracula novel). He uses the alias DeVille (which is an alias Dracula used in Bram Stoker's novel.) There's even an elderly couple named Mina and Jonathan Harker (two of the protagonists of the original Dracula novel).
Anyway, the surprise twist is not just that this is a family serving Count Dracula but that Evie is to be the new bride to replace one that killed herself rather than take mortal life.
As someone who loves the original Dracula novel I do like that they follow the old rules of the story. For example Dracula doesn't burn in the sun. He's just nocturnal in nature and likely weaker by day. And when wounded or badly starved for blood he ages to the form of an elderly man. The actor for Dracula is a bit young (Dracula's more youthful form is usually about forty-five or forty-six-years-old based on the novel and Vlad the Impaler's age when he died and would have become the famous vampire. However he IS an excellent actor and does convey the right combination of charm and charisma as well as menacing and predatory behavior.
I dare say this is the best Vampire film I've seen since Let the Right One In (2008) and this is the best version of Dracula I've seen since Netflix's Castlevania. I still think Castlevania's Dracula is the best recent depiction of Dracula but this was a good one all the same.
I had not heard of The Invitation until very recently and I was not sure what I was really expecting other than an apparently very predictable plot and "twist" reveal but I was pleasantly surprised. For a low budget horror film it had some great ambiance and atmosphere. It has some excellent visuals and it feels old fashioned, in a good way. It did not rely heavily on "deconstruction" like a lot of other modern horror films. This was a true, old-fashioned Gothic Horror movie and I liked it.
My only complaints are the actor who plays Dracula is a bit younger than I'd like (though he plays the part well). There's a little bit of implied racism (as Evie is of mixed race) but it's not hamfisted. I do like that it's indicated that Dracula does take animal forms (You hear a wolf howl and you hear a bat) but because the film is low budget it is off-camera. I am glad they at least made the effort. Most modern vampire films (especially low budget ones) remove animal shape-shifting powers all together. I suppose my only real complain is one feeding scene has an obnoxious light flicker effect common in low budget horror films. This effect can induce headaches in some people or even seizures in epileptics. It's not scary. It's just cheap and inconsiderate. Other than that I loved the film though I will admit here I prefer the alternate ending (available to watch for free on Youtube).
After the disappointment that was the Interview with The Vampire TV series I actually really liked this movie much more than I expected. I recommend The Invitation to anyone who likes old fashioned Gothic Horror.