The Invitation (2015) (19/25)

Will (Logan Marshall-Green) has been invited to the home of his ex-wife, a socially awkward situation under any circumstance, but aggravated by the death of their son, which still weighs on them both. But he soldiers on and finds himself in the midst of a party with… let’s just call them “odd” guests, and mysteriously absent close friends.

Will is increasingly convinced that something terrible is going on, but the genius of Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation is that the film doesn’t necessarily agree with him. It’s the ultimate paranoid suspense film: every red flag Will sees is easily explained, and possibly only suspicious to Will because he’s tormented by grief, and possibly only suspicious to us because The Invitation has been marketed as a thriller. There’s no sense revealing where the film goes, but suffice it to say that even if nothing happens, even if it’s all in Will’s head, Kusama’s film would still be a riveting and satisfying descent into terrified anxiety. And if Will’s right, it’s going to be anything but cathartic.