Who Invited Them

I have often written, here at Eye For Film, about the danger of moving house in a horror film, and viewers at Frightfest, where this film screened, will no doubt become especially wary when they learn that the house it features was bought well below market value. The reason for that is something which Adam (Ryan Hansen) has kept secret from Margo (Melissa Tang), who is naturally more inclined to be superstitious; but the problem they have to deal with as this story takes shape is very much of the real world variety.

Margo doesn’t really feel ready for a housewarming party, but she recognises that it’s important to Adam’s work. He needs to take the opportunity to suck up to his boss, even if she finds it disgusting to watch. It also gives him a chance to show off his treasured vinyl collection. She mingles and does her best to have a good time, but at the end, when the other guests leave, she and Adam realise that they don’t actually know the younger couple who remain. Each of them had thought that they were friends of the other. Confronting the situation as directly as decorum will permit, they show them to the door, only to be offered, at the last minute, what seems like a perfectly plausible explanation. Apologies are made all round and the four decide to wind down the evening by sharing a few drinks. Although this is fun at first, it could be a very bad decision.

The idea is not a new one, but by exercising restraint and developing the chemistry between the actor, writer/director Duncan Birmingham manages to do a few unexpected things with it. His slick approach suits the location and adds to the sense that the expensively dressed younger couple, Tom (Timothy Granaderos) and Sasha (Perry Mattfeld), are in control, more naturally suited to these spaces than their hosts. Tang’s intentionally rough-edged performance provides some contrasting texture and becomes all the more interesting as the guests work to get on her nerves and drive a wedge between her and Adam. Playing more of an everyman character (or the Hollywood idea thereof), he has significantly less substance, becoming a bit of a sidekick, as Sasha is to Tom.

In this postBurning age, blank psychopaths don’t really cut it anymore, but Granaderos at least gives his character a hint of quirkiness which makes him more than a machine. Birmingham is good at handling the tension, ratcheting it up early on but knowing how to put viewers at ease again even when most will recognise the danger of the situation. He also doles out social discomfort in measured doses, never letting it become overwhelming but using it to shift the balance of power. Margo gets a more lengthy character arc which extends this beyond the tight framework of the action to which we are directly privy.

Whilst parts of the underlying plot are a little too easy to guess, Who Invited Them is a solid little thriller which shifts gears smoothly and exerts a solid grip on viewer attention. It might not stick in your memory for long, but you’ll enjoy it whilst it lasts.

Who invited them screens on Shudder from 1 September.