Review of Invitation to a Murder

Perfectly bland. Easy to watch in the background, but nothing memorable. Mischa Barton's English accent is straight from high school drama class. It's exactly the same as the many murder mysteries with a cast of characters that came before it, but lacking any thrills. This movie feels like an American trying to capture the spirit of a classic Agatha Christie and missing the mark. I enjoyed the setting of the beautiful old estate and the period costumes. If it had any humour it would be leaning towards Clue, but the movie took itself deadly serious, to its own detriment. As the bodies started to pile up, I knew there should be rising tension, but I just didn't care enough about any of the characters to feel it.