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  • Thomas Doherty, the Mysterious Lord of the Manor in “The Invitation”

    Video Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

    In the film “The Invitation”, after the death of her mother and having no other known relatives, Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) takes a DNA test…and discovers a long-lost cousin she never knew she had. Invited by her newfound family to a lavish wedding in the English countryside, she’s at first seduced by the sexy aristocrat host but is soon thrust into a nightmare of survival as she uncovers twisted secrets in her family’s history and the disturbing intentions behind their generosity.

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    Photo Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

    “At first he seems like a charming, sweet man who doesn’t fit the aesthetic of what Evie’s just been brought into,” says Doherty of his character. “When he and Evie first meet, there’s a lot of chemistry – a spark. And as that relationship evolves, it intensifies pretty quickly. It seems that because he doesn’t fit into this very conservative world and he sees her as a strong, independent woman from New York, and for that reason, he wants her to stay, to run away with him. Of course, he has his own agenda.”

    Playing a character who holds those secrets was a process for Doherty. “To try to embody the character, the best thing to do is to have the weight and heaviness in my eyes. Everything comes from that,” he says. “Obviously, there’s a confidence and a knowingness. It was useful to me to know the character always has a knowing thought at the back of his head.”

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    Photo Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

    “Thomas has that X factor,” says director Jessica M. Thompson. “You can’t not watch him. Part of it is the way he looks – he has these incredible features, so sharp and defined. But the way he commands the space and handles himself… he brings a lot of layers to the role. It’s almost like he’s playing two characters – the charming romantic Lord of the Manor, our leading man… and then he reveals who he really is. That could have been difficult to balance, but Thomas commands the space and makes it look easy.”

    Doherty stars in the highly anticipated reboot of Gossip Girl for HBOMax, which premiered in 2021 as HBO Max’s most-watched original series over launch weekend. It has been renewed for a second season. He was previously seen in Hulu’s High Fidelity opposite Zoe Kravitz. He is a graduate of The MGA Academy of the Performing Arts who at the age of 27 has gained a huge following from his starring role as Harry Hook in Disney’s hit franchise Descendants, which garnered nearly 21 million viewers in the most sought after demographic. Doherty has amassed over 4 million social media followers.  He can also be seen in HBO’s Catherine the Great opposite Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke.

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    Photo Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

    In Philippine cinemas August 24, The Invitation is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Connect with the hashtag #InvitationMovie

  • Nathalie Emmanuel Attends the Wedding of Her Nightmares in “The Invitation”

    (Courtesy of Columbia Pictures)

    Emmy-nominated actress Nathalie Emmanuel is best known for her remarkable performance in the role of Missandei in the critically acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones.  She also made a mark as Ramsey in the seventh and eighth installments of the blockbuster film series Fast and the Furious. Now, Emmanuel stars in the lead role of Evie in Columbia Pictures’ new horror thriller The Invitation.

    After the death of her mother and having no other known relatives, Evie (Emmanuel) takes a DNA test…and discovers a long-lost cousin she never knew she had. Invited by her newfound family to a lavish wedding in the English countryside, she’s at first seduced by the sexy aristocrat host but is soon thrust into a nightmare of survival as she uncovers twisted secrets in her family’s history and the disturbing intentions behind their generosity.

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    Nathalie Emmanuel in Screen Gems THE INVITATION (Courtesy of Columbia Pictures)

    Emmanuel was attracted by Evie’s story being given a modern point of view. “Marriage can be a beautiful thing, but if you think about it, a long time ago, marriages were made so that two families could further their prosperity, in money or land,” says Emmanuel. “We’re making that modern. Times have changed and Evie has real power and agency. When things take a  turn, she is going to fight back.”

    Emmanuel’s portrayal of Evie is as a very compassionate person, in a way that doesn’t fit in with her newfound family. “When she gets to the castle, she introduces herself to the maids, she gets to know their names and who they are as people – to the horror of her aristocratic English family,” says director Jessica M. Thompson. “She sees humans as humans, and not as a class or status. And she maintains that throughout the film – if she’s going to go down, she’s going to go down fighting for these women, to save them from her fate.”

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    Nathalie Emmanuel in Screen Gems THE INVITATION (Courtesy of Columbia Pictures)

    For producer Emile Gladstone, part of the key was setting up Evie as a character yearning for something. “There really isn’t a nightmare unless there’s a dream first,” he says. “It starts off Gatsby-esque and inspirational: Evie goes to this incredible wedding and finds this incredible guy, and finally thinks the worm has turned for her.  And then the penny drops, and the dream turns to nightmare.”

    “Nathalie has a beautiful presence,” shares Thompson.  “She’s the most empathetic person – she really feels deeply for her characters and finds the humanity in them. All of the nuances – from the way she wears her clothes, to the way she creates her art, to the way she honors her mother… all of those little details give Evie so much breath and life.”

    In Philippine cinemas August 24, The Invitation is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Connect with the hashtag #InvitationMovie

  • “The Invitation”, Horror Told From a Female Perspective

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    The Invitation gave Thompson the chance to work in the horror genre which was irresistible. “I grew up on horror, on thrillers. They are sacred to me,” she says. “I always wanted to make a horror movie told from a female perspective.”  

    Thompson made her feature writer-directorial debut with The Light of the Moon, which won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film at SXSW. The film holds a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics calling it “harrowingly effective” (Variety), “honest and complex” (The Hollywood Reporter), and Film Inquiry stated that “for any filmmaker this would be an unmitigated triumph, but for a first-time filmmaker this is revelatory.”

    The Invitation centers on Evie (Emmanuel), a struggling artist in New York.  After the death of her mother and having no other known relatives, Evie takes a DNA test…and discovers a long-lost cousin she never knew she had. Invited by her newfound family to a lavish wedding in the English countryside, she’s at first seduced by the sexy aristocrat host but is soon thrust into a nightmare of survival as she uncovers twisted secrets in her family’s history and the disturbing intentions behind their generosity.

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    Thompson says her favorite and most challenging scene was the rehearsal dinner, where the true motivations of the hosts are revealed. “It starts off as a beautiful, sumptuous ball, and then halfway through, the penny drops. In that sense, it was like making two scenes in one: the beauty is covering a nightmare boiling under the surface,” Thompson explains. “All of the decadent food is actually rotting and melting and dripping, the incredible chandelier is actually made of antlers and skulls. Among the characters, there’s so much to capture: Evie’s emotion, as she’s realizing the true horror of what’s happening to her, so many looks from the guests, so many nuanced beats. It was a three-day shoot to get it all – so that was the hardest scene but also the most rewarding one, because I think it’s one of the best scenes in the film.”

    “It begins as a masked ball, beautiful and decadent and transformative,” says producer Emile Gladstone. “Evie walks in, beautiful, wearing her red dress and her gorgeous mask, and she is sitting next to a man who she’s recently fallen in love with.  She’s never felt more at home or surrounded by family with a solid man in her life.  And then, halfway through the dinner, it all turns. And what’s beautiful turns nightmarish.”  

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    In cinemas across the Philippines August 24, The Invitation is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Connect with the hashtag #InvitationMovie

  • WATCH: ‘The Invitation’ Trailer Teases Escape from a Bloody Vampire Wedding

    A woman finds herself in the center of a vampire wedding in the trailer for The Invitation.

    From the producers of The Curse of La Llorona, the upcoming horror movie follows a girl named Evie who is in search of other relatives after her mother’s death. After taking a DNA test, she discovers a long-lost cousin and gets invited by her newfound family to a lavish wedding happening in the English countryside. While being seduced by a sexy aristocrat host, Evie soon discovers the dark secrets of her family and the wedding celebrations take a dark, bloody turn.

    Watch the trailer for The Invitation below:

    The film stars Game of Thrones and F9 star Nathaniel Emmanuel as Evie, alongside Thomas Doherty, Stephanie Corneliussen, Alana Boden, Courtney Taylor, Hugh Skinner, and Sean Pertwee. It is directed by Jessica M. Thompson and is set for a US release on August 26, 2022. Its Philippine release date has yet to be announced.

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