The Invitation (2015)★★★☆☆

This one was weird. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great, it was just weird.

It started off interesting – I really liked how there was no background music during the opening sequence, which definitely had promise. Then the opening credits went on a bit too long and its jump cuts got a bit too distracting. In fact, that’s kind of how I feel about this whole movie. It went on too long and its various twists or jump cuts or scene changes became distracting and even disorienting at times.

I get that that’s part of what they’re going for here. You’re supposed to feel disoriented, especially as Will becomes more and more paranoid. But the build up is so slow that it’s not quite scary. It’s definitely creepy, but that’s sort of where it sits throughout.

It feels like one of those films that you’re not really supposed to understand, but everyone pretends to get it and praises it for being super deep and thoughtful. I think it’s just lazy storytelling. While I may not see eye to eye with the statement I Will Follow You Into the Dark made, at least it made a statement. This movie feels like it’s…statement adjacent or something. Like it wants to say something but never quite gets the words out.

And what was with those silly slow motion scenes? Totally unnecessary, and the high-pitched whining as background score didn’t do anything but annoy me and my dog. This might be worth watching if you enjoy slow-paced torture (umm, but not the literal kind, at least not for most of the movie) with unsatisfying payoff.