Who Invited Them presents a situation that every member of the audience can understand. Adam (Ryan Hansen) and Margo (Melissa Tang) have moved into a new posh neighborhood. At Adam’s insistence, they throw a housewarming party. Unfortunately, it ends up being a lackluster affair. Compounding matters are two uninvited guests who decide to stick around after everyone has left to keep the party going. Things start off fun enough, but with more drinks come more secrets and getting the strange couple to leave become the least of Adam and Margo’s problems.
The movie boasts four very impressive performances. Along with Hansen and Tang, Perry Mattfeld who plays Sasha and Timothy Granaderos who plays Tom are the only characters for the vast majority of Who Invited Them. Each one is layered and will leave an impression on audiences. What makes the group so fun to watch is none of them are caricatures. They are well defined people who are trying to make sense of their lives.
This is especially important since so much goes on over the course of their few hours together. Even before Tom and Sasha are introduced, there is an air of paranoia and fear. Hansen is great as the sometime oblivious husband who thinks he is always doing what is best for his family. Tang is sarcastic and frustrated, but also willing to make their new life better. Tom and Sasha add a layer of manipulation and danger to the situation.
Writer-director Duncan Birmingham does a great job of integrating jokes into his tension filled movie. Everyone knows what it is like to have the guests who do not get the clue that it is time to go home. Who Invited Them uses this uneasiness that anyone watching will be able to relate to and adds a heavy does of dark comedy. None of it is done for shock value – for the most part, it is pretty tame. What makes the humor so odd, are the circumstances. As charming as Sasha and Tom are, everything becomes uneasy once they are introduced.
When all is said and done, Who Invited Them will remain with audiences. There are some missteps along the way – anything involving Adam and Margo’s son does not go anywhere – but it never stops being entertaining. It manages to be laugh out loud funny while also making the audience feel uneasy. It will definitely make people check the guest list twice.
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