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Apr 06, 2016 By Stephen Danay Web Exclusive

Will and his girlfriend Kira have arrived at his former house in the Hollywood Hills to attend a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife Eden and her new husband. Although happy to see old friends, Will cannot shake his painful memories of the past and the sneaking suspicion that something is wrong. As his suspicions spiral into paranoia, the night takes a turn from awkward to something significantly worse.

The Invitation is a difficult film to review because the less you know going into it, the more likely you’ll be to enjoy it. “Enjoy” should probably be in quotes there, as the film attempts from its first moments to make the audience uncomfortable and succeeds mightily. Director Karyn Kusama (Girlfight, Aeon Flux, Jennifer’s Body) has tapped into the all too common fears of anxiety, regret and jealousy that plague even the most basic human interactions. The film keeps them at an excruciating simmer until the violent outbursts we fight to avoid in our real lives feel like a welcome respite. Although almost none of the characters feel quite three-dimensional, the script is sharp enough and the actors have enough chemistry to provide the group with a sense of history and affection that feels legitimate. As Will, Logan Marshall-Green gives an understated performance, bearing a great deal of resemblance to a hollowed-out Tom Hardy, wandering from room to room and conversation to conversation, unable to find peace in a home that is no longer his. Special mention goes to Michel Huisman (Game of Thrones and Orphan Black) who gives Eden’s second husband the perfect amount of ingratiating pleasantness and to veteran character actor John Carroll Lynch who, as an interloping new face, perfectly synthesizes the folksy friendliness of his performance in Fargo and the mundane menace of his appearance in Zodiac. The shot Kusama holds on his face as he reveals his past during a party game is one of the most disturbing moments in a film with no shortage of them.

The endgame of The Invitation may feel slightly over the top compared to the painstaking screw-tightening of the first hour, but the film remains purposeful and specific even when it finally lets loose. For all its pleasures as a tense chamber drama, the film has quite a bit to say about the grieving process and the terrible, terrible things that can happen when people are unable to let go.

drafthousefilms.com/film/the-invitation

Author rating: 7.5/10