Who Invited Them

It's strangely creepy how much we seem not to notice or inquire. Who Invited Them present us the modern man who has blurring personal boundaries and a compromised individuality. It's so common these days that what this plot offers seem to be a scary possibility. Strong performances by Ryan and Melissa to portray a couple still settling in a new set-up. Great dialogues and indeed a satisfying story that would have been a little better if there was a third party who would have attended to the friend who visited back for the toy. Tension was not present nore was sound effects. But when all things considered Who Invited Them is a interesting plot that deserves your time.

The movie is not bad. I did enjoy it.

It's surely not a horror though, don't know why put that tag. It's straight up a thriller.

There's nothing flashy about it, it's all set in the same place and you see where it is going from miles away. I guess it's not claiming or pretending to be any kind of great or genius stuff. It's simple and it's probably something around something you already seen before. I sure did. Still there's something about it that kept me watching.

I guess, I liked the actors and the characters, and the ending is well played, abrupt, but makes sense. And yes, one other thing, I believe it was light. You know, like there are many high tension, pressure thrillers, dark, gory, violent. This one it not like that. It's like a dark comedy, although comedy is lacking, but in a sensible way, because comedy tends to make movies unserious and ridiculous. This one remained sensible.

It's like one of those movies that you watch during your lazy Sunday. It's not for Friday eventings.

There is definitely a fun idea here and the cast, especially the two antagonists, really had my attention. The absolute glee that came from them as they caused chaos was just so interesting to watch.

The story is incredibly predictable. I do wish they could have worked out something that was a tiny bit more subtle rather than a very basic plot device that gave the ending away.

Speaking of the ending, I found it to be lacking. There wasn't really any resolution and it kinda caved in on its self. It seemed messy. Maybe that was the point and it was meant to be like a farce. I just wish it was a little tighter at the end.

Who Invited Them sets itself up nicely. An attractive couple shows up uninvited to a party and lingers around long after the other guests have left. The hosts seem to be taken in by them. You place your bets with your friend or spouse quickly. A home invasion thriller or a twisted cat-and -mouse story? One of you wins the bet. Both of you ask "Is that it?".

The film relies entirely on borderline menacing banter and little action of consequence until it is too late. And when the action come, it is underwhelming and unintentionally funny.

The film's final act while understandable in terms of the characters' intent is ultimately pointless and showcases lazy writing.

This could have been exciting, witty and terrifying. Instead, it is just a fluff piece.

Who Invited Them has the same premise as most home invasion thrillers, but where it sets itself apart is in their antagonists' backstory. It takes way too long for the film to get to its foregone conclusion, and by then, any steam for thrills have already vanished. All the characters in the film are grey to the point of not caring for their eventual survival. The characterization of the leads is just bizarre. One moment they're acting right and the very next moment, they're making a series of naïve, pointless decisions. It becomes obvious very early on that the antagonists are gas-lighting them, but these rich protagonists act way over their heads, fueled by alcohol and coke.

There is hardly any humor (even of the dark kind) or horror except for a couple of killing scenes. The performances are pretty good across the board (except for one truly idiotic character who is shown to be driving around the neighborhood all night instead of using Google Maps), and that's probably what keeps the film afloat even when the screenplay has little to offer. Shudder backs some good horror ventures sometimes, but this definitely ain't on that list.