The Invitation (2003)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

How sad is this?

Admirable film.

The acting in this movie is really good.

A philosophical movie that seems to lumber. It does have its moments and is worth your time if you have it to spare. Lance Henriksen plays Roland Levy, a prominent horror writer that resides on a remote wooded island. He has just returned from a globe-trotting adventure and thinks he has discovered a soul-cleansing tactic while in the Andes. Levy invites six friends for dinner and some conversation that turns heavy and dark. He tells of how Andes locals poisoned him and brought him back to life. He wants to share this experience with his friends. At dinner they are unexpectedly poisoned. The antidote...a truthful amendment of their lives. The cast also includes: Stephanie von Pfetten, Christopher Shyer, Sarah-Jane Redmond, Stellina Ruisch, David Livingstone and Doug O'Keeffe.

I really liked this movie. It was not the best movie I have ever seen, but it did move me more than any movie has in a long time. The acting was for the most part very good, especially on the part of Lance Henrickson. When is he ever bad? I have read some negative comments,but it seems obvious the author of those comments weren't really paying attention to, nor did they watch all of, this movie. They would have found the answers they were looking for if they had.It's the kind of movie that makes you think. It makes you wonder if the secrets you hold inside are preventing you from enjoying life the way you should. It also makes you wonder if the people in your life who seem so closed off emotionally are only afraid of revealing their own secrets.

Do not be fooled by the poster and cover art or by the trailer for this film, it is not a horror film. It is a morality play, and a pretty intriguing one at that.The basic plotline: Roland (Henriksen) invites his six best friends to his island estate for a getaway. He tricks them into taking a poison and tells them that the only way he will give them the antidote is if they tell their greatest secrets, if they atone for their sins.This film is actually quite well done, with the characters each struggling with their own demons, wondering whether their secrets are worth dying for. Henriksen is excellent as always, and relative unknowns Christopher Shyer (Joel) and David Livingstone (John) stand out from the rest of the cast by giving fantastic performances.The Invitation is not a horror film by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a very intriguing morality play with solid acting from an ensemble cast of anonymous unknowns, with the exception of Henriksen. Well worth a watch. 7/10.

This movie must have grown out of the near death experience of the writer or a close relative of the writer. When the experience happens and a person gets another chance at life, everything changes and with it the urge to let our loved ones know about the secret. A secret so hard to explain that it can only be heard in the mind's eye by going through the door of knowledge that brings many things into a clearer perception. The urge for Roland takes us viewers on a journey to educate not only us, but the characters in the movie and all of those involved in it's creation as well. I think that this visual story teller will inspire many to think.