Invitation to Hell

Extremely indie. Extremely low-budget. Weak acting, weak direction, extremely forthright storytelling; "sets" that are obviously the home or homes of those involved, or their friends; bare-faced cinematography, highly variable sound design. In every capacity the contributions here are so humble that this absolutely comes across as amateur horror of the early 80s, except perhaps with production values that are slightly better than "shot on video." Even if I'm mistaken, my point still stands. Yet such words do not specifically, significantly speak to the overall quality. I've watched some amateur horror that was unexpectedly well done, and very fun; some examples are substantially better than what some major studio fare represents. Few skills, few resources, and little experience do not inherently discount the possibility of a movie being deserving and enjoyable; more can sometimes be achieved with earnest effort, hard work, and imagination than with the most recognizable stars and millions of dollars. To whatever extent 1982's 'Invitation to hell' does not meet a loose definition of "amateur horror," you could have fooled me - but even with its shortcomings, I think it's fairly decent!

This is definitely rough; the limitations under which the project operated are very clear, in every regard. The picture is low-grade even by the standards of its most closely related kin, and that comes across in the meager writing not least. Be that as it may, I do see the sincerity in what those involved were making, and the creativity, and the energy poured into it. The attempted acting only gets us so far, but the cast do try so commendably, and some actors and some moments come off better than others. Modest as the writing is, with ample room for improvement in its details, Carl Humphrey penned a compelling story of firm foundations, with appreciable broad strokes of scene writing to begin to flesh it out. The filming location is pretty swell. Michael J. Murphy's direction may be fledgling, but the least that can be said is that he ably put together a cohesive feature. Of all things, I'm actually most impressed with Terence Mills' original music - an array of ambient themes that lend uneasy atmosphere to the proceedings - and with the stunts, effects, and special makeup, all of which look surprisingly good given the otherwise nature of the production.

Strictly speaking issues abound in these (approximately) forty-five minutes, and if nothing else is true, a tad more development of the screenplay would have helped the narrative to gel. Even so, I really do like the story as we see it, sharing much in common with titles of more renown. From beginning to end there are terrific ideas on hand, and it's unfortunate only that the participants lacked greater means to bring them to fruition. It bears repeating, though, that the honest work and enthusiasm that everyone carried with them into 'Invitation to hell' compensates for the skill, experience, and financing they could not, and when these admirable qualities are combined with what really is done well, the result is more entertaining and satisfying than it probably has any right to be. I can fully understand how films operating on this level don't appeal to all comers; there was a time when I would have said much the same. The difference is readily discernible, however, between a title that was made with care and one that was not, and when you get down to it that can sometimes make a world of difference. And just so: I, for one, love what the cast and crew put together here, and I see what they were doing even if they were unable to shape the whole into its ideal. At such a tiny length, and in so crude a form, 'Invitation to hell' is nevertheless fun and suitably well done, and I think it's worth checking out!

Wonky little British trinket wherein a girl is lured to a farmhouse in the pastoral outlands to become an unwitting participant in a Satanic ritual. There are several people staying in the house, and a few end up dying gory deaths or becoming possessed by a demon. The film is badly shot, and the sound quality is occasionally muffled, but this has a surreal edge to it that got to me a bit(and put forward some moments of pretty strong gore). Also strange is the film's subtle gay-rotic undercurrent(one lengthy scene of two guys wrestling almost looks as though it might segue into a man-on-man porn scene).

I would hastily recommend this one to people who enjoy quirky, low-budget horror obscurities. 5/10

This is one of those no-budget movies that may have been sort of cool back I the day because less people were doing them due to not having access to the equipment to pull off such a production. Thanks to improvements in technology and reduction in costs, a growing number of no-talents make boring movies like this for why, exactly? Because they can, I assume. No action, lame gore, horrible dialogue and acting, and only glimpse of nudity makes this thing a chore to watch. There's a certain charm to old movies like this and I usually give them a bit of a pass just for nostalgia's sake, but I can't think of anything nice to say about this one--it's pretty much the bottom of the barrel.

And then there's the sound quality issues. Considering the rarity of this film, if you are unfortunate enough to run across it, odds are it will be that bootleg that went into distribution a few years ago and the sound will be unlistenable and almost unintelligible in parts, just completely blown out. How to describe it? Imagine running the audio from your VCR into a cheap stereo, then running the output into a tape deck with the recording level up to 10, then running the output from the tape deck into a cheap guitar practice amp, sitting at the end of a 30' long by 2' wide drainage pipe with a microphone on the other end of it, the audio recorded from that microphone being used as the audio for this film. It's that bad.

This is a no budget British horror film. Allegedly made for £50, whether that is true or not it sure looks like it.

A young woman goes to a fancy dress party and finds she is to be sacrificed as part of a satanic cult.

The film is influenced by classics like The Exorcist and has some slasher elements like a knife through the throat (best gore effect in the film).

The budget shows and the film looks like it may have been shot on VHS or Hi-8 as it doesn't have the clarity of 16 or 35mm. The film first appeared on VHS tape with the director's other film The Last Night. I was convinced this was a video nasty, but it's a pre-cert that was never re-released in the UK. It does have a DVD release in USA. This film is not recommended but it is a rare curiosity of British horror.

Michael J. Murphy or MJM went onto write and direct a series of straight to video cheapies in various genres: slasher, sex, fantasy. He died in 2015.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Invitation To Hell; before launching into my critique, here's a breakdown of my ratings:

Story - 0.75 Direction - 0.50 Pace - 0.50 Acting - 0.75 Enjoyment - 1.00

TOTAL - 3.50 out of 10

One of the foremost drawbacks of the eighties for movie watchers was the video camera. Video players were an outstanding and life-changing invention - for once, instead of going to the movies, you could go to friends or stay home and watch a film. But any numpty with a camera could shoot a motion picture and find somebody to fund distribution. And that is what appears to have happened with Invitation To Hell.

The synopsis of the story is rather substantial. Sadly the writer wasn't skilled enough to build the outline into a fully-fledged tale of horror. There needed to be more details and believable characters. For example, a scene where the two old friends meet and one invites the other to a party would have anchored the evil twist in the invite's tail better than having the woman just turn up. More background on the evil inhabiting the farm would also pull the audience in more. There's not enough meat on the story's bones to make it fulfilling.

Lamentably, the writer also directed the picture, and his skills are as weak as the scripting. Blissfully, however, he does keep all the scenes well lit. There is even one impressive special effects sequence. The demon knifes one of the farmworkers to a bedroom wall, crucifix style, then pulls the heart from their chest. It's not the best FX, but for this low a budget, it's bloody magnificent. Regretfully, the rest of the camera work is well below par. There are scenes where people talk, but their mouths are closed tight. But worst of all is the meandering pace. The film only lasts three-quarters of an hour, but it feels much, much, much longer.

Ah, now we get to the acting, and it's as bad as the writing and direction. A good cast could have made this drivel watchable. The cast is so wooden in their delivery, that I could have gone outside and watched the trees in the garden and gotten a better performance.

So with a sad heart, I suggest you all miss this picture and do something more interesting with your lives: Like training a snail to race. Invitation To Hell can't even be called a B-Movie, it is that horrendous - there aren't even any unintentionally funny moments. I took the bullet on this one so you don't have to.

Please feel free to visit my Absolute Horror lists to see where I ranked Invitation To Hell - and to find a more enjoyable viewing experience.

Take Care & Stay Well.