| The Invitation | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jessica M. Thompson |
| Written by | Blair Butler |
| Produced by | Emile Gladstone |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Autumn Eakin |
| Edited by | Tom Elkins |
| Music by | Dara Taylor |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million |
| Box office | $38 million |
The Invitation is a 2022 Americanhorror thriller film directed byJessica M. Thompson and written byBlair Butler. It starsNathalie Emmanuel andThomas Doherty. Inspired by the novelDracula byBram Stoker, it follows a woman who, after her mother's death, meets long-lost family members and discovers the dark secrets they carry.[1]
Originally titledThe Bride, it was produced by Emile Gladstone through his Latchkey Productions,Sam Raimi andRobert Tapert'sGhost House Pictures, with Butler writing the script. However, Raimi and Tapert exited due to scheduling conflicts. By 2020, the film's director, producer and new title were announced. Casting occurred from May to October 2021, with filming beginning that September inBudapest.
The Invitation was released theatrically in the United States on August 26, 2022, bySony Pictures Releasing. The film received generally mixed-to-negative reviews, with critics praising Emmanuel's acting but criticizing the story, screenplay, and horror elements. The film was a box office success, grossing $38 million worldwide on a $10 million budget.
A young woman is imprisoned in a room in a large stately home, later revealed to be New Carfax Abbey. She escapes her room and, despite the pleas of the search party, hangs herself from the staircase.
In present-day New York City, struggling artist Evelyn "Evie" Jackson makes a living freelancing for a catering business with her best friend Grace. Evie takes aDNA test after her mother's death, discovering she has a distant cousin in England named Oliver Alexander. She meets Oliver, who tells her the scandal of her great-grandmother, Emmaline, who had a secret child with a blackfootman.
Oliver invites Evie to an upcoming family wedding in England. She arrives inWhitby at the New Carfax Abbey, where she meets the lord of the manor, Walter De Ville, Mrs. Swift, a longtime maid of the estate, and De Ville's devoted butler, "Mr. Field". Evie also meets the rest of the Alexander family and the maids of honor, friendly Lucy and condescending Viktoria.
During her stay, Evie and Walter develop a mutual attraction. Meanwhile, throughout the house, several housemaids, under the stewardship of Mr. Field, vanish after being attacked by an unseen force. One night, Evie sees an apparition in her bedroom. The next day, she sneaks into Walter's office and discovers that he had been researching her before her arrival. She confronts him and threatens to leave, but the two reconcile and have sex.
The family hosts a rehearsal dinner, where Evie expects to finally meet the bride and groom. Instead, Walter announces that he and Evie are to be wed. Mr. Field slits a maid's throat and serves her blood in wine glasses to Walter, Lucy, and Viktoria, who are all revealed to be vampires. Walter explains that Evie's ancestors, the Alexanders, are one of the three families who, for centuries, have each offered one of their women to become his wife in exchange for protection and wealth. Viktoria, Lucy, and Emmaline were wedded to him, but Emmaline killed herself due to her guilt of killing humans, and due to the loss of her love, Evie's great-grandfather, and their infant son. The Alexander family had trouble finding a female member until they tracked down Evie.
Evie is imprisoned in the cellar and visited by Lucy and Viktoria. Viktoria admits that she was the apparition that Evie had seen, and reveals Dee, an imprisoned maid, who disappeared days earlier. Viktoria locks Evie inside a coffin, but she is freed by Mrs. Swift, who was friends with Emmaline.
Evie hides in anice house in the estates grounds where she discovers the bodies of the maids and of Mrs. Swift, who has been killed by Mr. Field. Evie escapes into town and asks an elderly couple for help. They reveal themselves to beJonathan andMina Harker, who work for De Ville, and they knock Evie unconscious. She wakes to find herself with De Ville, who is feeding on Imogen, another maid. He reveals himself to beDracula.
Evie is forced to wed De Ville, while Dee is tied up next to the altar as a sacrifice. As they finish exchanging vows, Evie bites De Ville's arm, consuming his blood, and instantly transforms into a vampire. She sets the wedding chapel on fire, stabs him in the heart, which rapidly ages him, and flees with Dee. Viktoria ambushes Evie, before Lucy intervenes. The two vampires fight until Lucy impales both Viktoria and herself on a spear, turning them both into ashes. Evie is then attacked by Mr. Field, but she overpowers and kills him. Finally, Evie is attacked by De Ville, who grabs her by the throat. She breaks free by severing his wrist and kicks him into the flames, killing him. She loses her powers due to his death and returns to her human form. Evie escapes as the manor is engulfed in flames.
Two weeks later, in London, Evie and Grace have tracked down Oliver, who prepares to flee after having paid off the police. The two women intend to kill him for tricking Evie and being complicit in the murders committed by the vampires.
In April 2019,Screen Gems acquired an untitled pitch fromBlair Butler, who was also attached to write the screenplay. Emile Gladstone through his Latchkey Productions andSam Raimi andRobert Tapert were on board to produce the film for their production companyGhost House Pictures; however, they eventually exited the project.[2][3] In June 2020, it was revealed that the film would be titledThe Bride and thatJessica M. Thompson was set to direct, with Gladstone producing without Raimi and Tapert.[3] The original script was written by Butler, who drew inspiration fromBram Stoker's 1897 novelDracula, with revisions by Thompson.[3][4] In June 2022, the film's new title was announced asThe Invitation.[5][6]
Nathalie Emmanuel andGarrett Hedlund were cast in lead roles in May 2021.[4] That August, Alana Boden andStephanie Corneliussen were added to the main cast.[7][8] In October,Thomas Doherty,Hugh Skinner,Sean Pertwee, and Courtney Taylor joined the cast, with Doherty replacing Hedlund.[9]
Principal photography began in September 2021 inBudapest, Hungary.[10]
The Invitation was released theatrically in the United States on August 26, 2022, bySony Pictures Releasing.[11] The film was released digitally on September 16, 2022, and onBlu-ray andDVD on October 25, 2022.[12] As part ofNetflix's first window deal with Sony, the film was released in the United States on December 24, 2022.[13] For the week ending January 1, 2023, the film was number 5 on the global chart of Netflix views, with 12.2 million hours viewed on the service.[14]
The Invitation grossed $25.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $38 million,[15] against a budget of $10 million.[16]Deadline Hollywood later reported the film turned a profit for the studio.[17]
In the United States and Canada,The Invitation was released alongsideThree Thousand Years of Longing andBreaking.[16] The film made $2.6 million on its first day (including $775,000 from Thursday night previews)[18][19] and went on to debut $6.8 million from 3,114 theaters.[20] It was the lowest-grossing film to top the box office sinceSpiral ($4.5 million) in May 2021.[21] In its sophomore weekend the film made $4.7 million (and a total of $5.7 million over the four-dayLabor Day frame), dropping 30.7% and finishing fifth.[22]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 29% of 66 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Despite a very likable lead and a refreshingly light touch,The Invitation is ultimately too predictable to thrill as either a romance or a horror story."[23]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[24] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.[19]
Natalia Winkelman ofThe New York Times wrote: "For a fright-fest as broad as this one, there's an awful lot of banal dialogue, and the scare patterns are repetitive enough that even the easiest startlers (I count myself among them) grow immune early on."[25]Joe Leydon ofVariety wrote in his review: "Despite some ambitious efforts to revitalize hoary horror movie tropes with allegorical commentary on race, class and male privilege, [the film] is too wearyingly hackneyed for too much of its running time."[26]
