The Invitation (2022)

OK, so this is about as derivative as it is possible to get - but you know what, I actually quite enjoyed it. It's a short and sweet tale of the young "Evie" (Nathalie Emmanuel). She does one of those online DNA tests and before she knows it, is having a posh lunch with "Oliver" (Hugh Skinner) - a posh British lad who claims that she is his long lost cousin. After about thirty seconds, she is invited to come to Yorkshire for a wedding and, as you would - readily accepts. Upon arrival, she encounters their irascible butler "Fields" (Sean Pertwee) and then the hunky lord of the manor "Walt" (Thomas Doherty). She is smitten, indeed they are at it within twenty four hours - but soon she starts to sense that things at the new "Carfax Manor" are not quite what they may seem - not least because there is a distinct lack of bride and groom; and the waitresses employed to cater for the occasion have a habit of disappearing. What could be going on...? Well, it's fairly clear to us from the start who the baddie is, and that "Viktoria" (a sort of Angelina Jolie-esque Stephanie Corneliussen) and her pal "Lucy" (Alana Boden) are in on the cunning scheme too. It has clearly been done on a limited budget, but the direction is still just about adequate. The story, though, is pretty thin and the acting is drama school stuff for the most part before an ending that really does let the whole thing down rather badly. Still, I watched it with considerable trepidation in a pretty empty cinema, and left thinking it passed 100-odd minutes amiably enough. Not great, no - but not rubbish either.