MovieChat Forums > The Invitation (2016) Discussion > So many clues given away...

So many clues given away...

posted 8 years ago by wilcinema
17 replies | jump to latest

1) Locked doors
2) Windows with bars
3) A video of a woman while she's dying
4) The uxoricide
5) Eden slapping her friend's face
6) No phone coverage
7) No wifi
8) The nympho whispering weird stuff to Will
9) Miguel's birthday celebrated a week or so in advance
10) The pills
11) Two strangers showing up at an old friends' reunion

And yet no one but Will (and Claire) suspects anything, or even feels freaked out enough to leave. How's that even possible?

And the viewer is also offered more hints that the hosts are completely nuts: lighting up the red lantern (it was soooo clearly a signal for someone else) and the video of the cult leader (and btw, you open up a laptop and there you have a video of someone saying it's doomsday, the only big flaw in an otherwise very good direction).

This movie was saved by the direction but the script is just mediocre.

[–] fidgette 7 years ago

My husband and I kept wondering why people weren't leaving BUT it's kinda clear why they didn't. As another character mentions this is the first time they're all together again after the death of Will's son, so its going to feel weird.

[–] discon22 7 years ago

My biggest complaint with the film was its heavy-handedness.
It was obvious from the get-go that something was very, very wrong.

The two cultists at the dinner stood out like sore thumbs.
Pruitt was *so* menacing, and Sadie was *so* nuts, that it was impossible to accept their presence as benign.
Never once did I think to myself, "Maybe Will is interpreting all of this the wrong way."

By the end, the climax wasn't nearly as shocking as it could/should have been.
This movie should have been "The Big Chill," only Kevin Kline and Glenn Close go *beep* nuts and kill everyone at the end.
Instead, when things go completely off the rails, your reaction is, "Annnnd... there it is!"

I hate to sound like some stuffy movie critic going on and on about nuance and subtlety,
but this movie could have used a little more of both.

"Beaver? You mean, vagina?"

[–] minhas4 7 years ago

Although I agree that it was clear the cultists were up to no good, there's a whole other thread on imdb of people thinking Will was imagining it all. So maybe it wasn't so heavy handed.

[–] Jazz_thieve 7 years ago

Didn't you for once think it was so heavy handed on purpose to make you think otherwise? It's like no way that's going to be what is happening for the simple fact because it's so obvious. The movie is very well directed so it seems strange to me that the movie gave out all the clues from the get go and dropping them constantly that you can't help but think the movie is setting me up differently than what you'd think from all the clues.

[–] neptunewaves (75) 6 years ago

Exactly. It was all set as a big red herring to convince you it couldn't possibly be that simple. The "untwist" wasn't the focus of the film either, but rather how Will deal being confronted again with his many losses and the cult gaslighting.

[–] filmklassik 7 years ago

Pointing out the problems you had with a movie doesn't make you "stuffy," it makes you discerning.

It's weird how we only have a "just go with it" attitude toward movies and almost nothing else.

Do we have it toward food? When you order your Porterhouse rare and it comes out well done, do you "just go with it" or do you send it back?

Do we have it toward sex? Your new lover, during your first moment of intimacy, whispers that he'd like to defecate in your mouth, do you "just go with it" or run the hell away?

But with a movie we're supposed to "just go with it" or risk being called "stuffy."

No idea why.

[–] rebekahrox 7 years ago

That was one of the main themes of the movie: how politeness or not wanting to rock the boat leads people to do stupid things or not taking action, when they know they should. They all knew something crazy was going on, but no one but Claire and Will spoke up, and even Claire was super polite about about it.

[–] minhas4 7 years ago

Easy for the viewer to say, because we know we are watching a horror with an ominous score. But if you're legitimately at a dinner with people that are your closest friends (and a couple people that are good friends with your friend's partner), would you be that nervous?

The video Will watched in the room never said it was doomsday. It didn't even explicitly say "kill yourself". Even so, Will connected the dots and told everyone to avoid the poison, so you can't argue he didn't figure it out. The rest of the guests didn't see it so how can you blame them? Will was also the only person to see David light the lamp.

Not to mention when Choi actually did show up late and make Will look foolish. I don't blame the guests for not expecting their best friend killing them.

[–] tgo80 7 years ago

I wouldn't say they were clues. I mean it was pretty clear early on. It was a matter in HOW it was gonna happen.

As for:
7) no wifi... So what? Could be many reasons. Or did you mean wireless provider network????

9) Miguel's bday... They hadn't seen each other in years. I doubt they were going arrange for another party following weekend...

[–] inuimari 7 years ago

In all fairness, it wasn't just a complete stranger but a friend of many years that was going bonkers after losing a child. I think I would have left as well but the woman who stopped the car as she was leaving cuz the big guy spoke to her was a bit dumb. And the guy (protagonist) being fooled by Eden's new hubby was a bit dumb.

However, your post reminded me of this article:
http://www.vice.com/read/why-a-beautiful-promising-law-student-killed-her-boyfriend-by-forced-heroin-overdose

A true crime story in AUS where the dinner guests who didn't know the murderer too well helped her kill her BF. Some people who seem OK are surprisingly dumb IRL.

[–] Lin301 7 years ago

I agree they could have done a better job at hiding the clues and making Will (and the viewer) more confused about whether something actually dangerous is going on. For example, about the door locking thing; I was hoping that David would have some sort of reason for wanting the doors locked, like his wife got killed in a home invasion or something and now he needs to feel secure. It would have fit the overarching theme of dealing with loss and given us another reason to wonder if Will is just imagining things.

[–] running_with_scissors 7 years ago

Kept me guessing to be honest,

one minute I'm thinking it's obvious and they should all leave, the next I was thinking it would be Will who has a mental breakdown and snaps

Great movie.