The Invitation is boring. It's a television episode that's dragged out to feature length with painful predictability. Exposition is obvious, characters are one-note, and tones are ineffective. The humor, horror, and romance rarely even register. Consequently, The Invitation is filler, stalling until it gets to the telegraphed twist. Then, once things start moving, it rushes through repetitive confrontations that are neither clever nor satisfying. Therefore, The Invitation is too little too late with clumsy momentum, cliche plot points, and cringey emotions. The acting isn't bad and there are some weak social commentary attempts, but overall, this film is a dramatic flatline.
Technically, The Invitation is messy. Its editing has passing cuts, intercuts, jump cuts, and smash cuts, but the dull pacing rarely builds steam. The sound uses symbolism, exaggerated emphasis, and layers, but also stresses cheap jump scares. The visuals utilize focus, angles, and framing but they're too dark and unmotivated. Plus, the music alternates between generic ominousness and ill-fitting alt-rock. Similarly, the production design is both overly gothic and underwhelmingly bland. Furthermore, the effects aren't convincing, the cast is unknown, and the direction is contrived. Ultimately, The Invitation is stale, thin, and derivative, making it well worth skipping.
Writing: 2/10
Direction: 2/10
Cinematography: 3/10
Acting: 5/10
Editing: 4/10
Sound: 5/10
Score/Soundtrack: 4/10
Production Design: 3/10
Casting: 3/10
Effects: 5/10
Overall Score: 3.6/10
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