The 2015 film, The Invitation is an American horror thriller directed by Karyn Kusama and written and produced by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Kusama is known for her films Girlfight (2000) and Jennifer’s Body (2009) as well as Æon Flux (2005) and Destroyer (2018) which were also written by Manfredi and Hay. The Invitation premiered March 13th, 2015 at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival and was called “one of the biggest genres hits” of that year (LaBrie). The independent movie had a limited theatrical release in April 2016 but was distributed to video on demand and streaming services by Drafthouse Films (Collis). At one million dollars, the film had an even smaller budget than The Babadook and only made $354,000 in the box office (IMDbPro). Kusama’s thriller received mixed reviews from audiences, however it has been generally well received by critics. In The Guardian, Jordan Hoffman argues that “Kusama’s ability to keep the action all very realistic is to be commended,” noting how “[i]t’s only in the final 15 minutes that we start to get our genre-picture payoff. While some viewers may complain that the action is too heavily weighted toward the ending, I’d argue that this is a strong example of destination-not-the-journey film-making.” Calvin Wilson of the St. Louis Post said the film “creates a tension-filled atmosphere that brings to mind the early, pre-Hollywood films of Roman Polanski.” Additionally, The Invitation won the Sitges International Film Festival’s award for Best Movie (Lopez-Abitang).  

The Invitation is also a tale of grief and trauma. The story follows Will, who after two years of not hearing from his ex-wife Eden, is invited to a dinner party hosted by her and her new husband, David. In the meantime, Eden and David had been in Mexico, but little is known about their years there. Will is accompanied by his new girlfriend Kira as he journeys to the Hollywood Hills where he once lived with Eden and their son, Ty. Years earlier, Ty had died in an accident during his birthday party in the same house. His death was witnessed not only by Will and Eden, but also by their friends, who have been invited to the dinner party as well. As an ensemble film, The Invitation devotes a lot of time to introducing the characters and carries out the plot primarily through conversations. While the other characters casually socialize, Will is suspicious of Eden and David. He spends the first half of the film investigating the couple’s motives and questioning their authenticity. It is revealed that Eden and David, along with their new friends Sadie and Pruitt, are all in a cult called “The Invitation.” The cult members purport that their organization is peaceful and simply supports individuals living with grief, but when one of their guests, Gina, is poisoned, the truth comes out. The dinner party is a ruse disguising a murder/suicide plot, and when the curtain is lifted the cult members attempt to kill all of the guests. The group is forced to fight for their lives, and in the end only Will, Kira, and their friend Tommy survive the massacre. Once outside the house, they hear sirens and helicopters. The friends look out over the Hollywood Hills to see that every yard has a red lantern and realize that similar events have taken place all over Los Angeles as part of “The Invitation” cult.