The Best Mystery Movies You Can Watch On Netflix Right Now
By Ava Barnes
There's a lot to be said for a filmmaker taking the slow-burn approach on a mystery movie. In fact, the genre itself tends to encourage letting the unknown simmer just long enough to burrow into viewers' brains before letting the narrative boil over into, well, whatever emotional hellscape said filmmaker is planning to unleash in their film. And in terms of starkly slow-burning hellscapes that have come and gone in the mystery genre over the years, few have burned quite as destructively — or burrowed quite as deep — as Karyn Kusama's propulsively somber study in grief, The Invitation.
Part bracing chamber drama and part tightly-wound psychological thriller, The Invitation follows the story of Will (Logan Marshall-Green), who's accepted an invitation for himself and his girlfriend Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi) to attend a dinner party at the home of his ex-wife, Eden (Tammy Blanchard), and her new husband, David (Michael Huisman). With their old friends all joining the party, Will expects nothing but good vibes. But while the night kicks off jubilantly, an ominous energy begins to seep through every single moment, and it quickly becomes clear Eden and David have very specific reasons for getting the gang together.
Yes, that reason is every bit as troubling as you think. And yes, everyone on this party's guest list is in imminent danger. As the tragedy unfolds, Kusama meticulously ratchets up the tension and guides The Invitation toward a finale as genuinely shocking as it is utterly inescapable, with viewers left to wonder if anyone will make it out alive.
