Audience Member
Solid production value, clunky direction, dismal character development, adequate plot but insultingly inept screenplay. Hammy moralizing does not work for a denouement. No background to legitimize any character's behavior? Mischa Barton deserved much better.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
05/16/25
Full Review
Uncle O
Great Expectations.
This is a murder mystery if made by Temu. Excruciating to watch beyond the first 15 minutes
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
05/11/25
Full Review
NotPoisonIvy C
Review: Invitation to a Murder (2023)
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)
"Invitation to a Murder is like attending an elaborate costume party where everyone forgot to dress up."
As someone who adores whodunits, especially anything with a vintage setting and a locked-room premise, I wanted to love Invitation to a Murder. It had all the right ingredients on paper: a secluded estate, a cast of strangers, and a clever amateur detective. But something went wrong. Actually, quite a few things.
Let’s start with the setting. In classic mysteries, the house isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a character, a place with mood, secrets, and menace. But here, the house lacked real presence. It didn’t feel eerie, grand, or even particularly mysterious. From the outside, it looked more like a pleasant weekend rental than a location worthy of a dark and twisting murder mystery. The flat lighting and uninspired camerawork further diminish any chance for a genuine atmosphere.
And the staff? Their ominous behavior felt forced, as if they were trying to play “sinister” rather than inhabit one naturally. The maid was somewhat more believable, nervous, a little ditzy, but even she felt like a trope more than a real person.
Miranda Green, the protagonist, had the potential to be a standout. She’s clever, observant, and charming in a way that brings a young female Poirot to mind. But that’s the problem: she feels like Poirot instead of being herself. Instead of building her out as a truly unique and compelling character, the story leans too hard on evoking Agatha Christie’s influence. I wish we could’ve dived deeper into Miranda’s backstory, inner life, and emotional stakes. She’s introduced as a florist and an admirer of detective fiction, but who is she? What drives her? A character this promising deserves to stand on her own feet, not in someone else’s shadow.
Plot-wise, the premise is solid, but the execution is underwhelming. The dialogue, where there should be wit and tension, falls flat, bogged down by heavy exposition and on-the-nose observations. The twists felt too predictable or abrupt, with little to no emotional tension or psychological layering. I never quite believed the stakes. The pacing dragged in places, and the entire production felt more like a made-for-온라인카지노추천 movie than a polished feature film. Most disappointing is how the mystery's mechanics lack internal logic. Red herrings aren't so much planted as randomly tossed in, and the final revelation depends on coincidences that stretch credibility. Christie, Conan Doyle, and other masters of the genre understood that the most satisfying mysteries feel inevitable in retrospect, clues hidden in plain sight that viewers kick themselves for missing. 'Invitation' offers neither the pleasure of solving alongside our detective nor the thrill of being cleverly deceived.
Invitation to a Murder stumbles into theaters during mystery's modern renaissance without understanding what fuels it. Unlike Rian Johnson's Knives Out films, which brilliantly blend social commentary with genre celebration, this movie feels oddly out of step. It doesn't grasp why today's audiences crave whodunits or why stories of clever detectives and hidden motives still matter to us. It's a mystery that misses the mystery of why we need mysteries.
Ultimately, Invitation to a Murder felt more like a missed opportunity than a mystery worth solving. With stronger writing, deeper character development, and a house that knew how to hold a secret, this could've been something special. But as it stands, it’s a puzzle with pieces that almost fit, just not quite.
Invitation to a Murder delivers precisely what its title promises: an invitation, not an experience. It's a murder mystery that forgets the most crucial element: making us care—who lives, who dies, and who lies.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
05/05/25
Full Review
Occasional W
Another ridiculous girl boss movie. Middle aged unmarried and overweight spinster runs the show and is shown to be clever af.
Very unrealistic romance between two half siblings and a mute Asian woman. Total waste of time.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
05/05/25
Full Review
Mathis O
Horrible. Characters weren’t great at all. Basic acting. Boring
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
04/15/25
Full Review
Jess F
The movie feels like a bad Agatha Christie fanfiction, complete with an author-insert who is too "brilliant" for her how good. Especially early on, the clues she finds and deductions she makes from them are outright ridiculous, to the point that several just don't make sense. This is especially the case when the lead meets the other characters and they play 'two truths and a lie' to learn more about each other and she rattles off facts about the others like an AI trying to write a law brief. Frankly the "mystery" is convoluted and overly complicated as well. This isn't an homage to Agatha Christie, it's almost a parody.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
04/05/25
Full Review
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