"The Invitation" - movie review

It has been proven that the trauma, once happened, carries a lasting impression on brain functions. A person who has experienced an extreme stressful situation is recovering slowly and with a lot of effort. The post-traumatic syndrome deprives the person over whom it dominates from any control - and even more disturbing - it takes away the opportunity to reasonably rationalize and combat its situation. " The Invitation" is a film about the consequences of such pain.

The film begins with Will and his girlfriend Cyrus, who are invited to his former wife. Will has not seen her for two years, and all he knows about her is that she is now married again and lives with her husband in the house they previously lived together. After a musically rich upside-down (the soundtrack is incredibly cool and spectacular!), the action takes place in Edon's and David's luxurious home in Beverly Hills, where guests have gathered for the evening. The atmosphere is loose and sparkled with an obscure conflict. "Invitation" has specific horror elements, but is not a horror in the core of its idea. Psychological thriller and drama fits better. Classic hordes rely on rapid twists and shock situations. According to a number of studies and theories such horrors unlock the narcotic sense of catharsis after the end of the film. That is why many people like to watch horror - to feel the dark side that (hopefully) will never live in life, and to be close to some existential, full-blown sensation - to the universal existence of death. Before proceeding, I will warn you that I have limited myself from the spoilers as far as I can to write a relatively informative and adequate text. Still, it would be pointless to write anything without hinting at the themes and suggestions of the film. If you are one of those very sensitive or aggressive people who bounce like sticks on spoilers and want to watch unimpeded, stop reading. Just know that the movie is really good and is waiting for you to take it. We have a clear division into three classical acts - while shortly after Will and Kirra arrive at the house, the shaping of the conflict and the end. For the end of the hordes and thrillers, there seems to be some sort of social agreement that they should be as surprising and unexpected as possible, otherwise the movie is not worth it. However, I have a problem with this concept. For me, fear is the most complete when it is accumulated throughout the movie to the point where the end is obvious. Then the claustrophobia of life and the notion that there is no escape is the most obvious. That's why the nightmare "Irréversible" is spectacular in its reverse chronological sequence - the worst happens at the beginning. Each subsequent frame should be lighter and quieter. However, the viewer is terrified throughout the movie because he susptes that there is no escape from the horror. Take for example "The Shining". All the time we know that Jack is crazy. It is clear that Jack's wife is weak mentally and will most likely suffer. It is also clear that the child will suffer because it is ultimately a child of his father - the mad psychopath - and all three of these people are imprisoned in a hotel from which the exit will not be easy. Blood, madness and axes? "Radiance" is an unusual story, but it strikes right at the heart of fear with its magnificent craftsmanship to accrue suspense in a balloon that we as spectators look forward to burst with horror.

The actor in the Invitation is so well-chosen that there is really nothing wrong with anyone. Most actors are unknown faces who have played second-rate roles in second-rate films. Perhaps the only exception is John Carroll Lynch, who has a queue behind him with perverse psychopathic characters - for example, I can give Finchar's “Zodiac”. Will is played by Logan Marshall Green, who is doing great with entering the skin of a self-absorbed and pain-consuming man who has never seen his ex-wife for two years, nor knows where she was during that time. He has a girlfriend he loves, but she can not help him forget the trauma. The 7-year-old son of Will and Eden, Tai, has died. Eden however seems utterly different from what Will expects to see. She appears dressed in a white evening gown, beautiful and blissfully smiling. Will asks her, "How can you go back to this house and be so relaxed?" And she replied in a plastic voice that "This unnecessary pain is no longer part of me." Eden and David behave inadequately only with Will, but with all his guests. Here too, some torn thriller / horror narratives such as the wine glass, the locked door, the strange pill, are being stolen. Also, Seydy, a girl who met Eden and David while they were in Mexico, also appears. Lindsey Birch, who plays Seedy, has reached a new level of disgust. Her character is so disgusting that I would certainly not be able to stand in a room with her for even ten minutes.

There is a premeditated technique called false scares in the armed forces. These are all the moments in which we were horrified without the need to accumulate suspense and tension to prepare us for true horror (for example, a friend of the frightened protagonist appears behind the corner of the room). In the first and second third of the movie, such moments are not really missing, but since the movie is still a thriller more than a horror, here I would not call them scares, but creepiness. Unpleasant smiles, strange words, traumatic memories - all of which make up the rich palette of the film directed by Karin Cussama. The conflict in the Invitation is apparently between Will and everyone else. He has no idea who his enemy is and who is his friend. He has not seen these people (friends) for so long, but he does not seem able to relax and talk to them. For him, the evening turns into real hell when he meets his ex-wife's artificial smile and when they start a game called "I Want". "There is nothing to fear" turns into the film's nightmare's motif. The hypocrisy of those who are afraid of life preaches that there is a reality in which you can close your eyes and forget what has happened to you. "Pain is a matter of choice" is another big lie that the film unceremoniously points to a finger. Perhaps the plot sounds tense and depressing. It's not a June comedy, there's nothing to be wrong about. But it is a work that gladly uses the potential of a thriller and a horror genre to horror and contemplate the deepest and darkest aspects of human existence. How much can we endure? What happens to a person who has suffered too much pain? And of course, the most important and difficult question: Is there a grudge escape?

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