Karyn Kusama’s slyly terrifying “The Invitation” is, unexpectedly, a haunted-house movie. The home in question — an elegant modern pile in the Hollywood Hills — definitely has ghosts, but not the bump-in-the-night sort we’re used to seeing on screen. Eden (Tammy Blanchard) and her new husband, David (Michiel Huisman), have invited a group of old friends for dinner, including Eden’s ex-husband Will (Logan Marshall-Green) and his girlfriend Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi). Will, who once lived in the house, hasn’t been back for a long time. It holds, for him, very dark memories.
Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi’s screenplay takes awhile to clarify exactly what those memories are, and for much of “The Invitation” we’re simply watching a dinner party, albeit one more awkward than most.
One frightened guest leaves early; you might wish you could join her during the film’s final act. The horror is all the more effective for having sneaked up on us quietly: The memories in this house, it seems, can’t yet rest.
