The Invitation is a 2022 horror/mystery film that was released in late August. The film centers around Evie, a struggling New Yorker, who is reeling from the death of her mother and trying to deal with an overwhelming sense of loneliness, takes a DNA test and ends up locating distant relatives in England. Almost immediately, Evie is whisked away by a newfound cousin to the English countryside for a wedding, where she is swept into a dark, mysterious world that is not as glamorous as it seems. 

While I did enjoy this film, I can admit that it was not marketed toward the correct demographic. This is a movie that would appeal to dark fantasy lovers and dedicated fans of classic supernatural franchises, like Twilight and The Vampire Diaries. Regardless, I found this film extremely enjoyable. With a runtime of only an hour and 44 minutes, Nathalie Emmanuel, known mainly for her role as Missandei of Naath in HBO’s Game of Thrones, portrays a confident Black woman with plenty of determination and a strong sense of morality. Playing opposite her is Thomas Doherty, who played Harry Hook in Disney Channel’s Descendants franchise. The duo has palpable chemistry from their first interaction that will have any romance lover swooning.

Directed by Jessica M. Thompson, there is nothing clearer than this fact: this film was created by women, for women. I can already predict that this film will become a prime example when people bring up the ‘female gaze’ in modern media. Despite its 25% on Rotten Tomatoes and 5.2 on IMDb, I enjoyed this film a great deal. It is by no means the best horror movie of all time, but it is not nearly as bad as some fans are painting it to be. It is simply a victim of a few bad marketing decisions.