The Invitation (2022 film)

The Invitation is a 2022 American horror thriller film directed by Jessica M. Thompson and written by Blair Butler. It stars Nathalie Emmanuel and Thomas Doherty. Inspired by the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, it follows a young woman who, after her mother's death, meets long-lost family members and discovers the dark secrets they carry.

Originally titled The Bride, it was produced by Emile Gladstone through his Latchkey Productions, Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert's Ghost House Pictures, with Butler writing the script. However, Raimi and Tapert exited due to scheduling conflicts. By 2020, the film's director, producer and new title were announced. Casting occurred from May to October 2021, with filming beginning that September in Budapest.

The Invitation was released theatrically in the United States on August 26, 2022, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received generally mixed-to-negative reviews, with critics praising Emmanuel's acting but criticizing the story, screenplay, and horror elements. It grossed $38 million worldwide on a $10 million budget.

Plot
A young woman is imprisoned in a room in a large stately home, later revealed to be New Carfax Abbey. She escapes her room and, despite the pleas of the search party, hangs herself from the staircase.

In present-day New York City, struggling artist Evelyn "Evie" Jackson makes a living freelancing for a catering business with her best friend Grace. Evie takes a DNA test after her mother's death, discovering she has a distant cousin in England named Oliver Alexander. She meets Oliver, who tells her the scandal of her great-grandmother, Emmaline, who had a secret child with a black footman.

Oliver invites Evie to an upcoming family wedding in England. She arrives in Whitby at the New Carfax Abbey, where she meets the lord of the manor, Walter De Ville, Mrs. Swift, a longtime maid of the estate, and De Ville's devoted butler, "Mr. Field". Evie also meets the rest of the Alexander family and the maids of honor, friendly Lucy and condescending Viktoria.

During her stay, Evie and Walter develop a mutual attraction. Meanwhile, throughout the house, several housemaids, under the stewardship of Mr. Field, vanish after being attacked by an unseen force. One night, Evie sees an apparition in her bedroom. The next day, she sneaks into Walter's office and discovers that he had been researching her before her arrival. She confronts him and threatens to leave, but the two reconcile and have sex.

The family hosts a rehearsal dinner, where Evie expects to finally meet the bride and groom. Instead, Walter announces that he and Evie are to be wed. Mr. Field slits a maid's throat and serves it in wine glasses to Walter, Lucy, and Viktoria, who are all revealed to be vampires. Walter explains that Evie's ancestors, the Alexanders, are one of the three families who, for centuries, have each offered one of their women to become his wife in exchange for protection and wealth. Viktoria, Lucy, and Emmaline were wedded to him, but Emmaline killed herself due to her guilt of killing humans, and due to the loss of her love, Evie's great-grandfather, and their infant son. The Alexander family had trouble finding a female member until they tracked down Evie.

Evie is imprisoned in the cellar and visited by Lucy and Viktoria. Viktoria admits that she was the apparition that Evie had seen, and reveals Dee, an imprisoned maid, who disappeared days earlier. Viktoria locks Evie inside a coffin, but she is freed by Mrs. Swift, who was friends with Emmaline.

Evie hides in a shed where she discovers the bodies of the maids and of Mrs. Swift, who has been killed by Mr. Field. Evie escapes into town and asks an elderly couple for help. They reveal themselves to be Jonathan and Mina Harker, who work for De Ville, and they knock Evie unconscious. She wakes to find herself with De Ville, who is feeding on Imogen, another maid. He reveals himself to be Dracula.

Evie is forced to wed De Ville, while Dee is tied up next to the altar as a sacrifice. As they finish exchanging vows, Evie bites De Ville's arm, consuming his blood, and instantly transforms into a vampire. She sets the wedding chapel on fire, stabs him in the heart, which rapidly ages him, and flees with Dee. Viktoria ambushes Evie, before Lucy intervenes. The two vampires fight until Lucy impales both Viktoria and herself on a spear, turning them both into ashes. Evie is then attacked by Mr. Field, but she overpowers and kills him. Finally, Evie is attacked by De Ville, who grabs her by the throat. She breaks free by severing his wrist and kicks him into the flames, killing him. She loses her powers due to his death and returns to her human form. Evie escapes as the manor is engulfed in flames.

Two weeks later, in London, Evie and Grace have tracked down Oliver, who prepares to flee after having paid off the police. The two women intend to kill him for tricking Evie and being complicit in the murders committed by the vampires.

Production
In April 2019, Screen Gems acquired an untitled pitch from Blair Butler, who was also attached to write the screenplay. Emile Gladstone through his Latchkey Producitons and Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert were on board to produce the film for their production company Ghost House Pictures; however, they eventually exited the project. In June 2020, it was revealed that the film would be titled The Bride and that Jessica M. Thompson was set to direct, with Emile Gladstone producing without Raimi and Tapert. The original script was written by Butler, who drew inspiration from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, with revisions by Thompson. In June 2022, the film's new title was announced as The Invitation.

Nathalie Emmanuel and Garrett Hedlund were cast in lead roles in May 2021. That August, Alana Boden and Stephanie Corneliussen were added to the main cast. In October, Thomas Doherty, Hugh Skinner, Sean Pertwee, and Courtney Taylor joined the cast, with Doherty replacing Hedlund.

Principal photography began in September 2021 in Budapest, Hungary.

Release
The Invitation was released theatrically in the United States on August 26, 2022, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film was released digitally on September 16, 2022, and on Blu-ray and DVD on October 25, 2022. As part of Netflix's first window deal with Sony, the film was released in the United States on December 24, 2022. For the week ending January 1, 2023, the film was number 5 on the global chart of Netflix views, with 12.2 million hours viewed on the service.

Box office
The Invitation was released on August 26, 2022 and opened #1 in its opening weekend in the US and Canada. Ultimately it grossed $25.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $38 million, against a budget of $10 million.

In the United States and Canada, The Invitation was released alongside Three Thousand Years of Longing and Breaking. The film made $2.6 million on its first day (including $775,000 from Thursday night previews) and grossed $6.8 million from 3,114 theaters during its opening weekend. It was the lowest-grossing film to top the box office since Spiral ($4.5 million) in May 2021. In its sophomore weekend the film made $4.7 million (and a total of $5.7 million over the four-day Labor Day frame), dropping 30.7% and finishing fifth. Deadline Hollywood later reported the film turned a profit for the studio.

Critical response
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.

Natalia Winkelman of The New York Times wrote: "For a fright-fest as broad as this one, there's an awful lot of banal dialogue, and the scare patterns are repetitive enough that even the easiest startlers (I count myself among them) grow immune early on." Joe Leydon of Variety wrote in his review: "Despite some ambitious efforts to revitalize hoary horror movie tropes with allegorical commentary on race, class and male privilege, [the film] is too wearyingly hackneyed for too much of its running time."