A single-location film thriller with a slow-burn talky vibe, Shudder‘s Who Invited Them is a competent exercise in keeping your neighbours at a distance: a psychological home- and relationship-invasion movie with a strong quartet of central performances. Adam, played by Ryan Hansen, and Margo, played by Melissa Tang, have just moved into an affluent area. Adam is desperate to impress his new boss and his friends at a housewarming party, making his signature cocktails and trying to impress with his vinyl collection. Their relationship is already rocky, it seems, Margo is resentful of giving up her music ambitions to support her husband’s career. Their son is away on a sleepover and is plagued by bad dreams as the party progresses.
There are two people at the party that neither of them remembers inviting, however: Tom and Sasha, a groomed power couple played with creepy charm by Timothy Granaderos and Perry Mattfield. As the party winds down, they are the only guests that remain. Apparently, they’re neighbours – not quite next door but close enough – and seem pretty cool, but many drinks and several lines of coke later, events start taking an unsettling turn.
The reasons behind Adam getting this swanky house for a song are laid bare and the antics of their surprise guests become more and more uncomfortable, pushing flaws in the already fractured relationship between the central couple. Dead hamsters turn up in old-fashioned and threesomes are suggested before a fairly obvious twist is made plain. A chamber piece well executed by writer/director Duncan Birmingham, Who Invited Them only loses pace and tension when the Shudder film cuts away to babysitting friends; this is a diverting, performance-led, low-key horror that teases throughout before descending into the more obvious territory.
Dir: Duncan Birmingham (15, 81 mins)
Who Invited Them is streaming on Shudder now
words KEIRON SELF
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