The Invitation
The Invitationintroduces a modern take on a classic Dracula - based story . take by Jessica M. Thompson , and written by Blair Butler , The Invitationcenters on Evie ( Nathalie Emmanuel ) who connects with her distant relatives in the English countryside . She believes her visit revolves around a epicurean wedding and category reunification , but upon contact family ally Walter ( Thomas Doherty ) , she begins to sense that there ’s much more to her relatives ' lives and to her role in the occasion .
Thompson previously write , direct , and appeared in the 2017 filmThe Light of the Moon . She also directed 6 episodes of the Showtime seriesThe End , which aired in 2020.The Invitationalso stars Hugh Skinner , Stephanie Corneliussen , and Alana Boden .
pertain : Every Upcoming Dracula Movie ( Including Renfield )
Homer A. Thompson verbalise withScreen Rantabout the vampire and horror movie stirring behindThe Invitation , what make the film stand out , and more .
WARNING : Minor spoilers forThe Invitation !
Screen Rant : How did you approach incorporating traditional vampire element into the script ?
Jessica M. Thompson : There ’s over 100 Easter egg throughout the film that are all little hints to Bram Stoker ’s Dracula , to other vampire films as well , paying homage to those . So , see if you’re able to ascertain them all .
To me , it was really of import to create a contemporary variation of the old vampire lore . I actually went through account and looked at the lore and what we ’ve make in the last 30 year through modern filmmaking versus what is in reality the traditional traditional knowledge . One of the interesting things to find out out was this whole idea that vampires ca n’t take the air around during the Lord’s Day is not true . In the original Dracula , they do walk around in the day , so that was something that I incorporated . People might be shocked about these sidereal day - Walker , but actually , that is the mode that traditional vampires take the air amongst us , and that ’s why they were so delude .
Which Easter egg is your favorite ?
Jessica M. Thompson : One of my favorites is a little bit of an unsung one . My preferred horror film of all clip isThe Shiningby Stanley Kubrick . If you notice , the pattern on the floor of the main hall inside the castle and the wallpaper is the same pattern as the carpet in The polishing that Danny rides his trike over .
I have to mention how gorgeous that planetary house is . Can you say me how you settle on this localisation for the set ?
Jessica M. Thompson : It was so easy . We filmed this picture show in Hungary , and we get a beautiful circuit of all the beautiful Hungarian castles . I stumbled across this one , and it ’s in that Tudor English style , so as before long as a I walk up to it , I was like , " Oh , this is the one . " When I walk deep down and saw all the beautiful architecture , it was just made in heaven — or Inferno .
What really seal the deal , though , was I found out that it was Madame Báthory ’s neat - great - grandson who actually built the castle . Madame Báthory , for those who do n’t know , is actually called Countess Dracula or The Blood Countess . She used to bathe in the blood of virgins and is arguably the world ’s first female serial killer . I was like , " I have to film in this castle . This is so creepy-crawly , how could I not ? "
It ’s no secret that vampire story are commonplace in media today . What would you say is unique about your overture to this film ?
Jessica M. Thompson : I think the story is really about Evie . It ’s about this woman who is an artist , struggling in New York . She ’s just lose her mother , she ’s grieving , and she ’s look for human link . I think that ’s what sets it asunder . I love genre films that have really deep stories to tell , that have deep part . To me , it ’s all about her connection with Walter . In our motion-picture show , it ’s not about the monster under the bed . It ’s about the giant in the layer .
Which scenery in this flick is your pet either stylistically or story - related ?
Jessica M. Thompson : That ’s so ruffianly , but it has to be the dry run dinner party scene when everything is revealed , basically the penny drop . It was a three - day shoot . First of all , there was an unbelievable amount of rotting food on the table that look so effete , and that ’s what I require . I request the lay decorator that the nutrient look beautiful on the outside but in reality be falling asunder , and molder , and stagnant on the inside . There ’s so many minuscule tactual sensation in that scene but also the agency Nathalie and Thomas worked together , and the whole form was really involve in that one . It was just a really fun thing to dart and a great reveal , I cogitate . A with child climax .
The Invitation Synopsis
After the death of her mother and have no other known congenator , Evie ( Nathalie Emmanuel ) takes a DNA trial … and discover a long - lose cousin she never get laid she had . pay for by her newfound family to a lavish wedding in the English countryside , she ’s at first seduced by the aphrodisiacal aristocrat host but is shortly thrust into a nightmare of survival as she unveil twisted secret in her family ’s history and the unsettling intentions behind their iniquitous unselfishness .
checker out our other interview withThe InvitationstarsNathalie Emmanuel & Thomas Dohertyas well as composerDara Taylor .
