Is this a film about grief masquerading as a horror film -- or vice versa?

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 26, 2016

Psychological thrillers just don't get any better than this.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 21, 2016

Beautifully paced, the movie traces a steady arc from amiability to apocalypse.

| Apr 21, 2016

John Carroll Lynch shares credit with a superb ensemble, but it's his halcyon turn as a pitiable demon that unifies the action.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 21, 2016

All this foreboding produces no suspense: It's evident from the bloody prologue where "The Invitation" is headed.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 21, 2016

Will is the proxy through which we experience the increasingly confounding web of suspicion and surprises that are obfuscated by social niceties and facades of politesse.

| Apr 15, 2016

Accept "The Invitation" and don't ask any more questions.

| Original Score: B | Apr 15, 2016

It's an unusually evocative achievement in suspense, and in a brand of cinematic paranoia unique to the hills, canyons and denizens of LA.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 14, 2016

The Invitation maintains a unique intrigue that constantly defies expectations.

| Original Score: B | Apr 11, 2016

A skillfully executed slow-burn thriller for a cynical age.

| Original Score: B+ | Apr 11, 2016

It's ruthless, the degree to which 'The Invitation' toys with you, overwhelming the narrative with a mood of slipperiness and unsteadiness.

| Apr 9, 2016

It's simple stuff, but it's remarkably effective, working to a sinister climax that largely pays off after 90 minutes of build-up.

| Apr 8, 2016

The mysteries of grief form the emotional core of director Karyn Kusama's unsettling thriller.

| Apr 8, 2016

Kusama ratchets the story's tension masterfully, building to a final shot that's as chilling as it is perfect.

| Original Score: A- | Apr 8, 2016

An intimate, highly effective chiller in a confined space with an armrest-grabber of a payoff.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 8, 2016

If the movie works as well as it does, it's because Ms. Kusama can coax scares from shadows, silences and ricocheting looks.

| Apr 7, 2016

Kusama's handling of point of view is diabolically shrewd. She maximizes the terror potential of the vapidly ostentatious modernist mansion without fetishizing it. She intensifies the monstrosity of some of the characters by making them all too human.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 7, 2016

The cast is uniformly great, and the film is elegantly shot. But when the third act reveals the film's intentions, it feels less like a procession of startling revelations and more like plot points are being crossed off a checklist.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 7, 2016

Kusama ratchets up the tension expertly; we, like Will, become increasingly uncomfortable, seeing evil omens everywhere.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 7, 2016

With the wickedly sharp The Invitation, Kusama has demanded that Hollywood give her a seat at the table. I'd give her one - or else.

| Original Score: A | Apr 6, 2016