Struggling to make ends meet in the big city and yearning for a sense of family, Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) takes one of those online DNA tests and happens to find a long-lost cousin from England (Hugh Skinner). After a brief meeting, he invites her across the pond to a posh wedding so she can meet the family she never knew she had. There, she is wooed by a suave Count (Thomas Doherty) who sweeps her off her feet. Of course, he’s hiding a big secret from Evie.
The set-up is fine, and the follow-through is mediocre. After about the halfway point though, it gets progressively worse as it goes along. It also doesn’t help that it’s painfully obvious from the jump what the big secret Evie’s new beau is hiding. Unless you’ve only seen like… ten horror movies in your life, you’ll know exactly where this thing is going the second he appears on screen. (Especially when it’s revealed that he owns “Carfax Abbey”.) Another problem is it takes seemingly forever to get to the twist as the pacing really drags.
Hell, once the twist is finally sprung, the ensuing horror is tepid at best. I could’ve probably dealt with the ho-hum suspense scenes if they had a strong payoff, but they often conclude with offscreen kills and/or shitty CGI deaths, which is frustrating to say the least. To top it all off, there’s not much style on display as the film feels like a bland CW show a lot of the time.
Emmanuel is okay in the lead, but she’s not given much to work with and her chunky nose ring is distracting to boot. There is some chemistry between her and Doherty. However, the dialogue and drama are about on par with a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. Stephanie Corneliussen is kind of fun to watch as the bitchy cousin who has a funny/awkward encounter with Emmanuel during their “spa day”. Whenever she’s on screen, the movie shows sign of a pulse. It’s a shame she’s the only one who seems to enjoy a chance to vamp it up.
Overall, this invitation isn’t worth an RSVP.
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