Billed as Taiwans first ever slasher film, Invitation Only is a gratuitous gore fest firmly anchored in the torture porn realm of the Hostel and Saw franchises. While far from perfect, at least those series brought something new to a crammed table, but Invitation Only simply arrives too late to make any real impact and hold its own.
The film is a simple, by the numbers effort with a lacklustre story to match. After young chauffer Wade (Chang) catches his wealthy boss (Huang) in a compromising position, the young slacker is silenced with all expenses paid invite to an exclusive VIP party. Once there, Wade finds himself immersed in the decadent world of the rich and the beautiful, proving himself a whizz at the roulette table and a hit with the beautiful Dana (Ozawa).
But what starts off as the best night of Wades life soon turns into what could be his last. Locked away in a room with four other guests; the unlucky group discovers their true reason for being on the guest list. Soon, the unfortunate guests are fighting for their lives as their murderous hosts begin to pick them off one by one for the entertainment of the wealthy partygoers.
As setups go, Invitation Only can hardly boast an original premise, but theres been worse. Unfortunately, the big problem with this horror is that lacks originality in every department and constantly resorts to imitating the successes of others, often failing. The grimy warehouse surroundings are straight out of Saw, the torture scenes and murderous organisation an almost direct lift from Hostel.
Likewise, the characters are a tried and tested knot of stereotypes who behave completely as youd expect in a slasher film. Within moments of realising their hosts murderous intentions, the group quickly resorts to infighting, decide that splitting up in an unfamiliar labyrinth is a smart tactic and generally serve as their own worst enemies. However theres a bright spark in the mix; Hitomi (Julianne), the only character that shows a smidgen of initiative, created the films best and most tense moments.
Director Kevin Ko has put great stock into the films gory set pieces, making some of his characters near invincible just to kill them twice over. The meeting of an unfortunate victims genitals and pair of jumper cables proves memorable, as does a scene that takes the term extreme makeover to new heights. Theres plenty to squirm over here, but not enough to keep the film propped up in the less eventful and blood splattered stretches.
Invitation Only calls out for a decent story at root. Hostel had those profiting from human torture, Saw had the warped crusade of the inventive Jigsaw. Here, were offered a ridiculous motive behind the violence; rich folk cant abide the great unwashed judging them. Its an ill conceived, undeveloped idea; much like the film in general.
Overall Verdict: A disappointing horror that relies too heavily on a shock value that, in the wake of superior gore films, seems old hat.
Special Features:
None
Reviewer: David Steele