Invitation to Hell

source: Invitation to Hell

Moviecut—Invitation to Hell

source: Invitation to Hell

Before he made his mark inflicting Freddy Kruger on the world, Wes Craven still needed to eat. So he directed this Made for TV schlock which involves a computer specialist who works for a company where everyone works for the Diabolic Health Club. Susan Lucci, showing the skills that got her passed up for the Daytime Emmys for 20 years, plays a demoness, Robert Urich plays a computer programmer. So a question- if everyone came here of their own free will, why take over the kids? The kids can't really make that kind of informed decision... (and the little girl clearly didn't want to go). What is the devil getting out of this, anyway? See how none of this makes sense. Craven's directing does a good job of building tension, but the story is weak sauce.

The Winslow family -- honest, morally upright dad Matt (a fine and likable performance by Robert Urich), sweet mother Patricia (a radiant portrayal by the ever lovely Joanna Cassidy), son Robbie (Barret Oliver), and daughter Chrissy (cute Soleil Moon Frye of "Punky Brewster" fame) -- move to an affluent California suburb to start a new life for themselves. Matt suspects that the local popular country club run by the alluring Jessica Jones (deliciously played with sinister sexiness by Susan Lucci) that everyone belongs to is harboring some kind of dark and deadly secret. Can Matt rescue his family from the club's wicked spell? Noted horror director Wes Craven, working from a compelling script by Richard Rothstein, relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, neatly grounds the fantastic premise in a plausible everyday suburban reality, and does an adept job of creating and sustaining a spooky and uneasy mysterious atmosphere. Moreover, the narrative offers a neat critique about the quintessentially 80's upwardly mobile yuppie obsession with power, success, and material gain that folks will literally sell their souls to obtain. The able acting from a sound cast rates as another substantial asset: Urich makes for an engaging hero, Lucci has a ball with her juicy femme fatate role, plus there are commendable turns by Joe Regalbuto as Matt's jolly, ambitious friend Tom Peterson, Kevin McCarthy as stern, but hearty CEO Mr. Thompson, Patty McCormack as Tom's perky wife Mary, and Nicholas Worth as a menacing sheriff. The climax with Matt venturing into hell to save the ones that he loves is quite gripping and exciting. Dean Cundey's glossy cinematography and Sylvestor Levay's shivery synthesizer score are both up to par. A solid and satisfying film.

If seeing the names Robert Urich, Joanna Cassidy, Susan Lucci and Wes Craven all together on one movie doesn't get you interested, I have no idea why you're reading this site. This movie is everything ridiculous and awesome and wonderful about why I watch these kinds of movies. To wit, Robert Urich donning a spacesuit so that he can see who is a demon and who isn't as he descends to hell through the country club joined behind his back. Originally airing May 24, 1984 on ABC, this is the kind of movie that starts with Susan Lucci's character Jessica Jones getting run over by a limo driver distracted by bikini girls, rising to her feet and roasting the man alive. It gets better from there. Just watching the credits is enough to make one get excited. Kevin McCarthy from Invasion of the Body Snatchers! Joe Regalbuto from Murphy Brown! Michael Berryman from, well, every 80's direct to video movie and The Hills Have Eyes! The Bad Seed herself, Patty McCormack! And look - Punky Brewster herself, Soleil Moon Frye! We're not done yet! Here comes the hero of The Never Ending Story Barret Oliver! Sid Fields, who Jerry adopted on Seinfeld, also known as character actor Bill Erwin. If this looks better than a run of the mill TV movie, that's because it has Wes Craven in the director's chair, during the same year he made A Nightmare on Elm Street and Teh Hill have Eyes Part II. It was written by Richard Rothstein, who also brought us Universal Soldier and Human Experiments. Dean Cundy was the cinematographer, so again, this makes the movie look way better than you'd think. How did this all come about? Well, when Lucci renewed her contract with ABC in 1983, she was guaranteed a movie of the week in the hopes that after years of her gimmick of being always nominated for the lead actress daytime Emmy and not winning, she'd get to win a real Emmy. This film was specifically written just for her. Whoever saw this movie was award fodder had to have been doing the best drugs that 1984 could produce. Aerospace engineer Matthew Winslow (Urich), wife Patricia (Cassidy) and their two young kids (Oliver and Moon Frye) are reaping the benefits of his big promotion for inventing a fireproof spacesuit that will take man to Venus. So of course his family wants that good life, which includes the Steaming Springs Country Club that keeps you young forever, possesses young children to destroy their toy bunnies and turns wives into sex-crazed maniacs. Lucci is Lucci in this, out of control and dressed like a character out of V, as Urich dons that suit - it's actually a G.I. Joe figure for most of the effects - and battles her. That suit comes from the MGM Studio collection, the only one of its like that had official NASA suits at the time. The suit they got was missing a backpack, which had to be designed and made so that Urich didn't overheat. For this and more insane behind the scenes stuff, this movie's IMDB trivia page shames nearly every other IMDb trivia page. Why would the Devil be Susan Lucci? Why would they put the gateway to Hell in a health club? Why wouldn't Urich just leave his wife when she callously kills the family dog? Why is everyone close to him getting replaced and he's just fine with it? Why doesn't anyone realize that the grown up and more dangerous than Satan Rhoda Penmark is in their midst? Aren't 80's computer graphics the best?

Invitation to Hell (1984) * 1/2 (out of 4) A scientist (Robert Urich) moves his wife (Joanna Cassidy) and their two children to a new town where he's going to create a new high-tech spacesuit. Right from the start he realizes that the entire town is expected to be like one another and this includes joining a health club ran by Jessica Jones (Susan Lucci). Soon the scientist begins to realize that something is off and it might all lead back to the club. INVITATION FROM HELL is a pretty boring, bland and predictable made-for-TV movie that even director Wes Craven seems bored by. I say this because there's very little energy or style in his director and it really does seem as if he's stuck in the TV limitations and can never overcome them. It certainly doesn't help that the screenplay is basically a predictable re-working of THE STEPFORD WIVES and in the end there's really very little entertainment to be found. One of the biggest problems is that it's very easy to figure out what's going on yet the lead character just keeps walking around like an idiot and never being able to figure it out. While the viewer waits for him to figure things out, you grow more and more tired with everything you're watching. There are a few twists thrown in but they're all rather predictable. Another thing that doesn't help is the fact that the lead character is just a bore as are the supporting ones. If you don't care for a family then you're really not going to care if they live or die. There's no one to really root for or against in the picture. Urich is a fine actor but he's just too bland here to draw any attention to the character. Cassidy is good in her supporting part and I also thought Lucci was good in her role. Kevin McCarthy also shows up in a brief bit and it was nice seeing him. INVITATION TO HELL really has very little going for it. Craven certainly doesn't bring any energy to the material and seems to have been a project done more money more than love.

I already knew Susan was Lucci couldn't act, this just proves it. Moronic plot horrible acting, 🌿 outfits look like something out of the series V.

Wes Craven's career sure blew hot and cold in the mid '80s: 1984 saw him bring us iconic box-office hit A Nightmare On Elm Street, but the same year he also gave us the lamentable sequel to The Hills Have Eyes, and this tepid made-for-TV chiller, which delivers cliché after cliché, borrowing heavily from films such as Invaders From Mars, Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (the star of which, Kevin McCarthy, appears as Urich's boss) and The Stepford Wives (albeit with a Satanic twist). Robert Urich stars as scientist Matt Winslow, who has moved with his family into a new home close to his new place of work, Micro-Digitech, where he is developing a spacesuit capable of withstanding great heat (no prizes for guessing that said suit will come into play in the finalé). Matt's close friend Tom Peterson (Joe Regalbuto) works for the same company and tells Matt that to get ahead in business, he and his family should become members of Steaming Springs Country Club, run by mysterious beauty Jessica Jones (Susan Lucci). Matt isn't convinced, but his wife Patricia (Joanna Cassidy) and kids Robbie (Barret Oliver) and Chrissie (Soleil Moon Frye) go ahead and join anyway, after which they seem to change personality. Fearing that something terrible has happened to them, Matt breaks into the club and, wearing his high-tech space clobber, enters a hellish world to try and rescue his loved ones from the grip of evil. Incredibly dumb (the spacesuit comes equipped with a heads-up display that can identify non-humans and is armed with a handy laser/flamethrower), with uninspired direction from Craven, who seems to be going through the motions, Invitation To Hell is a far cry from Wes's best work. Actually, it's a far cry from his more mediocre work as well. The cheesy ending sees Matt's love for his family defeating evil, which I guess is no more corny than the 'If I don't fear you, you have no strength' plot device of the Elm Street series.

Everything is idyllic in Suburbia when the little family moves in, as the father have got a new job in a computer company there. But no paradise would be complete without its snake. Strange things happens as the family joins the local country club without the husband, as it certainly holds secrets. The father is not a joiner, but pressure is on him to join, as everyone who is anything in the neighborhood and at work are members. Robert Urich's good guy part is a bit tepid, but Joanna Cassidy as good natured housewife turning nasty sizzles. Suspenseful and well-made chiller with a bitchy Susan Lucci as club chairperson. Look out for cult favorite Michael Berryman in a bit part as a valet. The movie captures the sense of paranoia and the special effects final is worth waiting for. I have seen this movie quite a few times.