The unwanted visitor” is the theme of many thrillers and horror films. This is certainly for good reason: the concept of someone imposing on a place of sanctuary and privacy like a person’s home is a terrifying thought. The Strangers, Funny Games…audiences have seen this premise before. Nevertheless, writer/director Duncan Birmingham manages to tackle the theme with a fresh eye in Who Invited Them, adding a little extra humor and bougie sexiness to the ominous subject matter.
Adam (Ryan Hansen) and Margo (Melissa Tang) are a married couple who recently moved to a high-end neighborhood in Hollywood Hills. They found a great deal on a house because of its dark past, which Adam has been keeping mum about in front of Margo. In order to celebrate this move, they decide to have a fancy housewarming party for their friends. The night goes off without a hitch, but as Adam and Margo are winding down for the evening, they discover a couple of extra houseguests, neither of whom were formally invited to the party. Enter Tom (Timothy Granaderos) and Sasha (Perry Mattfield): an attractive, young pair who initially claim to be neighbors who showed up because their car was blocked in by another party guest. They then slyly admit that they like to play a game with new neighbors where they get them drunk and try to keep them up until dawn, but is that even the real story? The more Adam and Margo get to know about their new neighbors, the more they begin to question it.
Who Invited Them is Duncan Birmingham’s feature-length directorial debut, and it’s a small but slick character piece with plenty of appeal. The film primarily takes place in Adam and Margo’s new house, and it’s a stylish backdrop for a tale of tensions progressively rising. The script has some charming banter between the main characters that seems perfectly feasible for Hollywood Hills types, and the entire film is well-acted. Ryan Hansen and Melissa Tang are pure naturals in these parts and do a great job of offsetting Timothy Grandaderos and Perry Mattfield’s eccentricities in character. Granaderos and Mattfield also have great chemistry on screen together, which is both playful and charismatic. Combined with some well-done cinematography, the film has many merits.
The most compelling aspect of the film is how Tom and Sasha serve as catalysts to highlight the flaws in Adam and Margo’s marriage. What initially starts off as vapid conversation between two couples slowly devolves into secrets being exposed, character flaws being highlighted, and vices being celebrated. While it’s a gradual journey toward the most pressing questions being answered, the film never feels dull and the actors keep the story feeling fresh.
Where the film fails is its lack of ability to give some key details the attention they deserve. For instance, Adam and Margo’s son is staying elsewhere for the evening, and that subplot feels like an afterthought whenever the story shifts gears over to it. There’s also some foreshadowing about Tom and Sasha that feels sloppily handled and perhaps a bit obvious to seasoned horror fans. The climax also seems a bit rushed, which is a shame considering how deftly handled the buildup of the story is.
Who Invited Them is a film that will likely seem familiar to audiences, but it’s done in a way that feels fresh enough to re-explore. Check it out on Shudder now if an intimate thriller about passive aggressive marital strife and upper-class intruders sounds like a good time.
—Andrea Riley