The Invitation ★★½

AFTER a reasonable first act the American supernatural horror film The Invitation loses much of its impact.

Don’t mistake this film for a couple of better horrors with the same title.

This is the 2022 release directed by Jessica M. Thompson and starring Nathalie Emmanuel and Thomas Doherty.

It’s a familiar story, inspired of course by Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but Emmanuel does a good job of playing a young American woman tricked into visiting an allegedly long-lost rich relative’s estate in Rural England.

The Lord of the Manor is one dashing dude who sweeps the down -to-earth common lady off her feet.

But we all know that behind that smile lurks a pair of nasty, blood-thirsty teeth.

So the narrative eventually becomes as familiar as your face.

Having said that, it’s mostly still fun to watch apart from a badly-judged epilogue.

Nothing to write home about, but not horrible either.