directed by:
Navin Ramaswaran written by: Monica La Vella genre: Horror |
Linda is going through one seriously tough time in life right now. You’re about to as well. Warning: some spoilers ahead. I really dig the way that “Invited” sets up its story. Filmed in a similar way to things you’ve seen in the Horror genre, like the “Unfriended” series, you’ll bounce around the online realm as you start to piece together the puzzle that Writer Monica La Vella has put together for Director Navin Ramaswaran. We meet Jessica’s mom Linda before the rest, discovering that she’s been a bit of a train wreck as of late, drinking too much, injuring her son in an accident, losing her nursing license, and having a very tough time communicating effectively with her daughter, who’s about to get married to someone the family doesn’t really know yet. Jessica has been distant from the people she loves, roaming around the country with her fiancée and making new memories while she’s in the prime of her new relationship. Many of you out there have likely experienced similar things, with your own levels of family drama mixed in. But then again, still not quite like this – and you should probably be thankful for that.
As the family all tune in for a Zoom-based wedding, you see the screens populated with Jessica’s family members and one that is dedicated to the ceremony. It’s not long before you see a cloaked figure and a knife presented. “Ceremonial, I guess,” says James. Perhaps, we think as we watch, but not heckin’ likely. There ain’t no cake around either, so believe me when I tell ya, seeing that knife brings up a whole lot of questions. As we endure the banter of a normal family that hasn’t seen each other for a while, we can’t take our eyes off the ceremony screen. For the most part, it’s just an empty room, sparsely decorated, and yet somehow ominous to the point that it’ll make your stomach churn. You meet the prospective groom’s sister Yasha before anything else, who kindly informs the family that they’re about to be muted – as in, they’ll be able to hear the ceremony, but those that are actually there, like Jessica & her husband-to-be Adrik, won’t be able to hear anything that they say. Even the technical difficulties and glitches added in are a brilliant touch from Ramaswaran that increases the level of anxiety and intensity as we watch. You’ll see evidence that it’s been more than three months since the last time Linda (Martina Schabron) spoke to Jessica, which is majorly concerning despite knowing she eloped with Adrik. Maddy (Mandy Magnan), her sister, is doing her best to reassure Linda that things are gonna be okay - but she also reveals that Adrik seemed a little controlling when she met him a while back. To make things even more uncomfortable for us as we watch, much of the ceremony – also referred to as ‘the ritual’ – is spoken in Russian, which the family doesn’t speak - and there are no subtitles for them to make sense of it. They’ve all been sent their own wedding presents, which they had been instructed not to open until the time is right – how thoughtful! “Invited” is only about seventy minutes long, so it keeps things moving at a good clip while still giving everything a bunch of time to develop and let the dread set in. I gotta say, as I made my way into the first third of this movie, I was fascinated by how much I felt the impending sense of doom and credit where credit is due; that’s all thanks to a great ensemble cast, the hauntingly twisted writing from La Vella, and the expert direction from Ramaswaran. The family opens their gifts to discover a bottle of liquid, presumably a celebratory alcohol drink of some kind, and their own special knives. Everyone is invited to take part in the ceremony by having a drink – which, in theory, should rule out at least three of the guests we see – but that’s the thing… it doesn’t - and that’s when we really start to sense how much trouble is brewing. Ultimately, it’s only Linda, the troubled alcoholic, who refuses to drink along with them - for plenty of good reason. I mean, she has put her son in a wheelchair, presumably permanently, as far as we know. Behind the scenes, Jessica’s sister, Maddy, confesses to Linda that things are not at all as they seem. At this point, we know this is already way too late – and to make matters worse, even if the family did have any substantial objections, they can’t be heard through the screen, and they’re all half a world away. The degree of tension and anxiety that La Vella and Ramaswaran have created together is excruciating, and the level of danger seems to visibly increase dramatically with every ticking second that goes by. “I don’t like any of this,” says Linda…and were I not so entertained & outside of the family, I’d likely agree. As it stands, I certainly get where she’s coming from, but there’s no way that I’m turning away from the screen – I don’t think anyone watching this could at this point – we HAVE to know what the hell is going on and how this all turns out. I was right on the edge of my seat as I watched “Invited,” marvelling at how well this was all constructed. You’ve all seen a Zoom call before, but I assure you, not like this one.
The family begins to scramble in fear as they start to research symbols that lead them to believe what they’re seeing might be a ritualistic ceremony from a deadly cult, and the feelings of helplessness rise as quickly as the terror does. They’d be powerless to stop anything that would happen from here on in – and what about that stuff they drank? As watchers, we feel the same effects of isolation as the family does, and that’s one of the most brilliant things about the way “Invited” is shown to us. It’s like we’ve been “Invited” to this wedding as well, and we’re no different than another family member watching on. We start to see Grandpa William (Andrew Bee) struggling physically. We get to see Father James (Sean Irvine) realizing how badly he’s f**ked up by allowing his daughter to elope with this stranger. We see Linda, Maddy, and her brother Logan (Alex Di Brita) panic. We get to see them talk with Jessica for a brief moment before she’s taken away, and she seems as out of it as a person could ever be in that cult-like way. I mean, goddamn, this cult believes that freakin’ castration is the pathway to God! And right when you think you can’t possibly take anymore, the video feed gets CUT, and we’re all left in the dark, wondering what the heck is happening to Jessica. I’m tellin’ ya right now, you pretty much don’t want the feed to kick back in because what you will see is f**kin’ MORTIFYING. This movie is truly scary beyond anything I could tell ya…you can only imagine what it would be like to be on this horrible call – and just as you think things couldn’t get any worse, I promise you, La Vella & Ramaswaran have ensured that they do. The horror & gore is convincing to the point where you’d swear this was really happening. “Invited” is a serious masterclass on how to make an amazing film on a shoestring budget – I’m beyond impressed, and I honestly can’t believe how much terror I felt as I watched. Every member of this cast was absolutely outstanding, the filming was perfect, and the writing was practically second to none. There are no holes in the plotline; it is stunningly original and clever beyond any words I could write to explain it to you. Don’t go judging ME here based on this rating, but “Invited” deserves four and a half stars out of five for how incredibly terrifying it is…I ain’t saying it’s not sick AF, cause it IS…but man, oh man, this was great! I’d go as far as to say “Invited” isn’t just one of the best Horror films you’ll see this year, but that it truly deserves to be talked about in the same breath as some of the very best of the best in the entire genre. Damn. |
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