Who Invited Them

source: Who Invited Them

Who Invited Them (2022) follows a couple as they host a housewarming party which is attended by a mysterious man and woman that they've never met. The concept for this film was fairly simple and I feel it has been done before but I actually enjoyed it a lot! It wasn't perfect and had some issues but it was gripping and had some great twists and turns. The cinematography for this movie was actually surprisingly impressive! It wasn't too over-the-too but was super effective. There were a lot of strong colour palettes making every shot pleasing to the eye. The score wasn't really anything special and wasn't used often. I wish it was a bit more unique to further add to the atmosphere. The sound mixing itself was pretty good though and the sound design was effective! At first I found the two leads quite annoying, but as the film went on I grew to really like them! The characters of Tom and Sasha specifically were very interesting and the actors played them in a charismatic yet eerie style; I loved seeing the the cracks that showed through in their characters! Some of my favourite parts in this film were when the characters were sat just talking. However, some of the dialogue was way too cringeworthy and it occasionally let the film down. The film builds up the story well and is consistently engaging. It was mainly a slow-burn but I feel it was done right and not only kept my attention but made sure I was fully immersed all throughout. It was a little predictable but this wasn't a huge issue. The climax felt a bit rushed but I enjoyed it regardless and loved the somewhat ambiguous ending.

"Can we hit the reset button?" Uh no. Just get out of my residence and never come back again. Wait, why aren't you leaving? And what's with the smirk? Anyway, a couple introduce their new home by having a party with some of their friends. Another couple crashes said party uninvited and unknown in their identity. Vexing. That's the rub of 2022's sometimes tantalizing but overly taunting, Who Invited Them. "Them" is a psychological tease of a film that occasionally revels in the conch of snobbery. It could be classified as horror but it's too new-fashioned for that. For 85 percent of the movie's 81-minute running time you're involved because rookie director Duncan Birmingham turns those screws. The way his camera moves and the way he sets up scenes in smoke-screen fashion, Duncan is an enlivened expert in the Hitchcockian. You kind of know where Who Invited Them is headed but at the same time, you kind of don't. That's the fun part. "Them" stars Ryan Hansen, Melissa Tang, Timothy Granaderos, and Perry Mattfeld. They credibly play the two couples (or maybe couples) who through drink and drug, have a psychosomatic tug of war with each other. Through all the various subterfuges and gruesome flashbacks, Who Invited Them maintains its status as a talky flick that throws shades of creeping you out. Its setting of the Hollywood Hills shows us that these hills are "Hollyweird". What keeps Who Invited Them from greatness however, is how things wrap up. It eventually becomes part routine, home invasion slasher and part confusing ending (talk about a cinematic oxymoron). You'd think that after Birmingham's effectively off-kilter direction he'd settle in and deliver a more tighter final act. "Them" leaves you on the edge of interpretation and not in a good way. As a viewer I wouldn't have "invited" that.

It's not a bad film from relatively newb filmmaker Duncan Birmingham, who wrote and directed this drama. I'm not sure why it's listed as a comedy and horror, because there were only a few chuckles, nothing horrific, and only about 10 minutes of any actual thrills or suspense. The rest of the time is mostly dialogue-based scenes that really don't add much to the film. Birmingham's directing was decent, but the screenplay needed more action to fill in all the social awkwardness of the scenes with mostly irrelevant dialogue. Plus the the final act needed more of a punch, instead of just a push on the shoulder.

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.

Not a bad film considering it's a Shudder film. They've yet to release a film that is really good. Their films just sit at average and this one is probably the best I've watched. Yet still not quite good enough. It's far too obvious who the mystery couple, Tommans Sasha are, so there was no shock factor there. Tom and Sasha were pretty good in their roles. Unfortunately the wife Margo really irritated me. One of the most annoying characters I've ever seen in a film. Rude, ungrateful, abrupt...I was praying for her demise. At the end of the movie when Adam is basically trying to tell her Tom and Sasha have been back in their home, she's not even listening to him. She's not happy with the house, then she's happy with the house....awful person. Film could have been a bit slicker, it just failed to create much of an atmosphere.

The movie has lazy writing and bad/cliche cinamtography. The "twist" of the movie (if you can call it that) is blatantly obvious 20 minutes in. The scenarios are incredibly unrealistic and the acting is atrocious from all but one or two actors. These movies are produced and edited faster than cost effective housing. I'm starting to believe the film industry just doesn't care about quality entertainment anymore. They didn't even bother to Ty up any loose ends with other characters who seemed to be important to the plot. The movie has lazy writing and bad/cliche cinamtography. The "twist" of the movie (if you can call it that) is blatantly obvious 20 minutes in. The scenarios are incredibly unrealistic and the acting is atrocious from all but one or two actors. These movies are produced and edited faster than cost effective housing. I'm starting to believe the film industry just doesn't care about quality entertainment anymore. They didn't even bother to Ty up any loose ends with other characters who seemed to be important to the plot.

I can't explain it but when the opening credits began in a light purple font I knew I was going to like this movie. I wasn't wrong. I had a great time with 'Who Invited Them'. The film began with a dream sequence, my most hated film trope, and I got a bad feeling. From there on out though it was a pleasure. Even though we don't know the motivations of the antagonists (or even if they are antagonists) for the majority of the film they did a great job of keeping them menacing and mysterious. The film feels darker than what we are actually seeing on the screen for the majority of the runtime. The film as very well done in that sense. The film is very short at only about 80 minutes. It's not often I think films should've extended their runtime, however I did feel the final act was a little rushed in this case. With the very final scene I could see what they were going for, however the execution just wasn't there. One of the few things that they got wrong in this film. Nevertheless I had a great time with this film and would highly recommend it. 9/10.

It's an ok movie to kill time with. Besides that the film lacks any real depth, which probably wasn't the point but still it's short and I didn't really want to watch anymore so that's a plus. The premise is cool enough, but there are too many poor character decisions, nearing the end especially and too many tie-ups around characters being in the right place at the right time, that bridge the plot (aka lazy writing). The acting was good and held it together during some shaky dialogue scenes. 5/10. I did like the overall effort but in the end it just wasn't enough for me to recommend to someone else.

The good: All 4 actors nailed their role. This is especially true for the "uninvited guests". They really fed off of each other. Humor. This wasn't a scary movie. The director kept it clever and embraced the ridiculousness. The bad: You could see the ending from a mile away. I kept thinking things would ramp up into a wild finale. That never came. It was beyond implausible and, at times,, you'll find yourself rolling your eyes. Overall, I do recommend it, though. The acting alone makes some of the silly moments less silly and actually quite amusing. If you're looking for scares, however, this is not the plsce.