These early sequences give major “Get Out” meets “Ready or Not” vibes, especially as she’s courted by the ambiguous Walter DeVille (Thomas Doherty – dashing and charming as ever) who can’t seem to keep his eyes off her.
Get Out and Ready or Not will likely come up in conversation for those who have seen The Invitation, but it is more reminiscent of classic Dracula adaptations, where vampirism is unwanted versus desired.
Do you hear echoes of “Get Out”?
When an overly enthusiastic second cousin (Hugh Skinner) invites Evie to join him for a posh family wedding at a decadent English estate—and she arrives and realizes uneasily she’s the only person of color besides the maids—there’s hope that “The Invitation” might have something more relevant and substantial on its mind along the lines of Jordan Peele’s “Get Out.”
If you thought Get Out was too nuanced, Ready or Not too wickedly funny, and what they both needed was some trusty Twilight obviousness, The Invitation is waiting for you.
In fact, there is a generous air of Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) in the film’s approach to English stereotypes, with liberal dips into the respective mythologies of Downton Abbey, Eyes Wide Shut and Get Out .