The Invitation, a new supernatural horror film starring Game of Thrones' Nathalie Emmanuel and Gossip Girl's Thomas Doherty, has received its first reviews
Inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula, the film follows Evie (Emmanuel) and the unintended consequences of her search for belonging after the death of her mother.
Evie's search takes her to England to meet some long-lost British relatives, where she encounters a handsome family friend (Doherty) before things take a dark turn as her family's evil secrets are exposed.
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The Invitation also stars Fleabag's Hugh Skinner, Sean Pertwee, Courtney Taylor, Mr Selfridge's Alana Boden and Mr Robot's Stephanie Corneliussen.
The film has just hit cinemas and the first reviews are in and well, let's just say The Invitation appears to lack bite.
As of Friday (August 26) the film holds a Rotten Tomatoes rating of just 33%, with most critics declining to RSVP to The Invitation.
Slashfilm called it a "defanged Dracula update", while Variety criticised the "predictability of events during the film's first hour of gothic-thriller setup [being] all the more annoying because of the plodding pace".
The A.V. Club said: "For audiences who'd rather RSVP to horror-lite moviegoing, The Invitation is a bloody good time – sans the blood."
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"If the horror flick The Invitation were an actual invitation, the RSVP would stand for 'regurgitated, silly vampire pap'," Culture Mix said, while Richard Crouse added: "Keeps the horror strictly for folks who thought Twilight was the best vampire movie ever."
However, it wasn't all negative, as Collider shared: "The Invitation offers an inventive reimagining of a literary classic while asserting itself as a fun addition to the modern Gothic canon."
Bloody Disgusting also gave the movie a thumbs-up: "The Invitation functions well as a gateway horror movie. It's a well-crafted gothic romance light on scares that could sufficiently introduce the genre to unfamiliar audiences."
The Invitation is out now in cinemas.
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Stephanie is a writer who specialises in pro wrestling, covering everything from AEW and WWE to NJPW.
After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she went on to study journalism at Birbeck University.
Outside of her journalism work Stephanie is also a YouTube content creator focusing on AEW and interviewing talent from AEW, WWE, and across the indie wrestling scene. She has also worked for Revolution Pro Wrestling as a backstage interviewer and commentator.
