Nathalie Emmanuel has an interesting presence, although, as Evelyn—or Evie, as she prefers to be known as. The “Recreation of Thrones” actress is a stunner, after all, however there’s additionally a no-nonsense naturalism to her supply that makes her really feel accessible. So when issues go sideways on her too-good-to-be-true getaway to the English countryside, we stay on her aspect all through.

Evie is a struggling New York artist who works as a catering waitress to pay the payments. At an occasion for a brand new DNA testing firm, she snags a swag bag and takes the take a look at inside; after the current demise of her mom, she feels alone and adrift and seeks a way of identification. Seems, she’s received a bunch of cousins, and so they’re all British, and really white. However the script from Thompson and Blair Butler merely skims the floor of exploring the racial implications of this connection. When an excessively enthusiastic second cousin (Hugh Skinner) invitations Evie to affix him for a complicated household marriage ceremony at a decadent English property—and he or she arrives and realizes uneasily she’s the one individual of shade moreover the maids—there’s hope that “The Invitation” may need one thing extra related and substantial on its thoughts alongside the strains of Jordan Peele’s “Get Out.” No such luck.

Her finest pal again dwelling, Grace (an amusing Courtney Taylor), is appropriately skeptical, however Evie will get swept up within the sense of belonging. Positive, the maids are all carrying uniforms with numbers on them. That’s a bit bizarre. And the butler (Sean Pertwee) is a condescending prig. And there’s a hidden key that unlocks the library that’s off-limits. However nonetheless! The younger lord of the manor, Walter (a seductive Thomas Doherty), is tremendous hunky along with his piercing blue eyes and his sq. jaw and his shirt unbuttoned one button too many. And he isn’t one in all Evie’s kin, which is all the time a plus.

Because the three-day festivities unfurl, Thompson depends approach too closely on low cost bounce scares to place us on edge, which is a disgrace, as a result of there’s sufficient ambiance throughout the movie’s preliminary thriller. A spa day for Evie and the imposingly glamorous maids of honor (Stephanie Corneliussen and Alana Boden) is staged and paced significantly effectively. And she or he may have taken extra time in constructing suspense to the massive reveal, which happens at an ominous, masked feast that’s like one thing out of “Eyes Wide Shut.”