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The Invitation (2015)

Started by Hey, Punk!, November 14, 2018, 08:17:03 PM

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Hey, Punk!

Just finished watching this so my thoughts will be a little rough, but has anyone seen a film where the ending makes the film better in retrospect? I found this a fairly competent thriller that built up the tension very well, but it didn't seem to be saying anything beyond 'cults are bad', which is indeed a decent message, but the ending seems to present a different message. It presents the preceding action as futile, I'm not saying the film was great, but the ending was at least bold.

There are probably many example of films with endings that cause a rethink, but this is the first that I was acutely conscious of. Actually now that I think about it, I like that it presents a dark side to new age bullshit, which you find in most cults: wishy washy hippy shite.

amputeeporn

Saw this on release after hearing the director interviewed on the Bret Easton Ellis podcast. Agreed that the ending elevated it but it sounds like I enjoyed the rest of the film much more than you, as I was filled with believable dread and foreboding throughout. I also really sympathised with the protagonist having to spend an evening with an ex he clearly still has feelings for. Might have helped that I watched it in the dead of night in the remote Japanese countryside though. Good little film.

SteveDave

Reeker is the only other film I've seen where the last 2 minutes makes the preceding 88 minutes slog worth it.

I liked the Invitation. Fake Tom Hardy does a good Father John Misty. 

amputeeporn

Quote from: SteveDave on November 17, 2018, 03:28:36 PM
Fake Tom Hardy

I mean, the poor guy but it's undeniable. I think he's a good actor in his own right, though.

Mister Six

I don't think it has a "message" at all, nor does it need one. It's a well-directed, mostly very well-acted psychological thriller that impressed me because it so resolutely remained within the real world, never descending into fantasy schlock with indestructible killers or any similar nonsense. Not every films has to say something beyond the story it's telling.

I called the ending, because it seemed like the only way to punctuate the finale and elevate the events of the film beyond "a couple of nutters knock off their pals".