The Invitation

Started by jenkins, September 03, 2015, 02:30:25 PM

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jenkins





director: Karyn Kusama (Jennifer's Body, Æon Flux, Girlfight)
release date: not sure

jenkins

release date: USA March 2016

people are saying nice-enough things about this movie from Beyond Fest. it's actually because i was investigating The Tribe's blu-ray release that i realized Drafthouse Films is the distributor. their name absolutely makes me more excited about this movie.

here's Drafthouse's recent roster:

#35 The Look of Silence
#36 The Tribe
#37 Roar
#38 The Invitation

plus outside that roster there's



i consider this post on topic spiritually speaking

jenkins


polkablues

This looks intense and amazing and I haven't the vaguest clue what it's even about.
My house, my rules, my coffee

jenkins

#4
Spoilery trailer


Jeremy Blackman

Yes, yes, and more yes. This was great!

FYI, the full trailer gets spoilery. Don't watch it. But the teaser is good. (And hopefully people realize the trailer in the first post is a joke.)

I honestly can't remember the last movie that put me in fight or flight mode for the entire duration, but this certainly did. Sure, that's partly because I don't like parties, but still.

The Invitation definitely benefits in comparison to The Witch (which is fresh in my mind). This movie develops an atmosphere ten times deeper and more affecting, using only people's faces and very subtle mysteries. It's so expertly crafted to create and maintain tension. What a breath of fresh air to see a movie that so thoroughly accomplishes what it set out to do.

I can get into spoilers once more people have seen this.

RegularKarate

I also loved the trailer, but it's funny you bring up The Witch because.... hmmm....

KINDA SPOILERS... NOT VERY SPECIFIC THOUGH



The Witch builds and builds and pays off while this builds and builds and just ends up where you think it will.
I still loved it, it just made some moves toward blowing my mind and then just kinda gave it a quick handjob.




Jeremy Blackman

Oh RK, will we ever agree?

MAJOR SPOILERS

I totally concur that this is a conventional thriller. And maybe it did have some other kind of potential. But would I have been okay with a crazier ending? I honestly don't think so.

I was momentarily excited when the movie teased that it might have all been paranoia... but then I realized I did not want that at all. It would have just been a movie about grief and what it does to our minds, etc. But how deflating would that be? And is that what anyone signed up for?

What's a better alternate ending? Vampires?

RegularKarate

Haha! Pretty sure we line up with most things. Lately you've just picked a couple of my faves to not like.

SPOILERS

I agree that just paranoia would have been a let down. That's not what I wanted (Vampires would have been hilarious though). Again, I really loved it and I thought the ending was fine, but there was psychology at play that didn't pay off. If I knew what exactly what I wanted from it, it probably wouldn't have been a very good ending because it would have been what I expected (which is what I got).

modage

Short version: I watched this a few days after seeing Green Room which as a claustrophobic thriller beats this in every conceivable way. This was fine. And the ending was creepy and Twilight Zone-ish but the preceding 90 minutes seem to think the movie contains a lot more secrets than it actually does as RK mentions it kinda goes exactly where you think it's going to and just takes a while getting there.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

jenkins

spoiler: i'm going to side with jb, based on knowing i like and respect the talents of Karyn Kusama, and based on jb describing and liking this movie based on what the movie is.

Karyn Kusama's next movie btw:



i mean, come on.

^that's a female directors' horror anthology btw btw, the other directors being Mary Harron, Jennifer Chambers Lynch, the musician St. Vincent, and two directors i've never heard of.

Jeremy Blackman


polkablues

This was exactly everything I want in a movie.
My house, my rules, my coffee

03

i have been known to claim that the theory of watching a movie the second time can make it better is a complete myth and a psychological illusion.

but my god.

i loved this movie the first time i watched it, a few days ago, but then i rewatched it
with my fiancee last night and i lost my shit.
this movie is so amazing. at first i was reminded of 'you're next' and things like that, but it is so incredibly original. with green room and this, 2016 is pretty fucking impressive.

polkablues

This, Green Room, and The Witch are all setting the bar crazy high this year.
My house, my rules, my coffee