Inspired by the novel ‘Dracula’ written by Bram Stoker, ‘The Invitation‘ almost runs on similar lines. Directed by Jessica M. Thompson, the movie offers suspenseful background scores, aesthetic scenes, and horror twists. It begins normally, but an hour into this horror film, the most shocking twist is revealed. Thompson’s film is explicitly about destroying the prolonged legacy of the European colonialist aristocracy.
‘The Invitation‘ follows the story of a young woman named Evie who takes a DNA test after the death of her mother in an effort to reconnect with her family. In the process, she receives an invitation from an estranged cousin to attend a wedding in rural England. There, Evie meets a charming aristocrat named Walter De Ville who seduces her into a false sense of security. Evie soon discovers that her family has a dark secret and must fight to survive against her bloodthirsty relatives.
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‘The Invitation’ Ending: Does Evie Remain A Vampire?
The film presents a feminist twist to popular vampire fiction. As it turns out Evie is brought to be the bride of Walter De Ville, and the result of this union is to provide protection and wealth to the Alexanders. Walter, Lucy, and Viktoria are all revealed to be vampires who then drink the maid’s blood. During their wedding ceremony, Evie bites Walter’s arm, sucks his blood, and turns into a vampire. Dracula thinks she has finally accepted her fate, but it’s all a ploy. As soon as she’s powered up by Dracula’s blood, and before she gives her own blood away, Evie attacks Walter setting the church on fire and stabbing the vampire in his heart.
Evie tries to escape but is attacked by Viktoria, the first bride. After spending five hundred years as a vampire, Viktoria is used to her power and doesn’t want to lose her prestigious position. To protect Walter, she decides to kill Evie with her own claws. Lucy, the younger bride protects Evie. Lucy and Viktoria literally jump on each other’s necks, and for a moment, it looks like the older vampire has almost won. However, Lucy sacrifices her own life to impale herself and Viktoria onto the spear of a huge Saint George statue. Evie is then chased by a wall-crawling Walter, who grabs her by the throat. She breaks free by severing his wrist with a cutting wire and kicks him into the flames. As he burns alive, she loses her powers due to his death and reverts back to human form.
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Is ‘The Invitation’ Related ‘Dracula’?
The jump scares of the movie, are like any other horror film. But the chanting of the butler after each maid is a victim to the blood-sucking vampire truly gives the chills. And surprisingly towards the end of the film, it is revealed that Walter De Ville indeed is Count Dracula. Jessica M. Thompson drops a few pretty obvious hints at the very beginning. When Evie arrives at her family’s enormous estate, it is said to be near Whitby harbor at the New Carfax Abbey. Fans of Bram Stoker’s 1987 novel ‘Dracula‘ will recognize those locations as the primary setting of the famous vampire book.
Dracula, it seems, has spent the last few centuries protecting the wealth and land ownership of a trio of local aristocratic families, while he, in exchange, has been allowed to marry their daughters in a polygamous setup. Dracula has also got brides from two of the families and now wishes to marry Evie, essentially completing his Bride collection. It’s certainly notable that Dracula was based on the Romanian ruler Vlad Țepeș, known for his cruelty and his habit of impaling his victims. The casual human aristos in the film aren’t literally transformed into vampires, but they certainly are keen to retain their legacy.
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