Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Invoked’

Written by Scott Edwards

There is something to be said about knowing the history of a place that you are about to visit. When the locals see that you care about their home, they may be willing to go a little out of their way to make sure that your trip is well worth the time. So many people love to go and visit places, but never truly understand what makes them destinations for so many. Make sure to know your facts when you are going somewhere, or else you are just known as the silly tourist that no locals like to see.

Patrick has the best weekend planned for himself and his friends as his father is trying to sell a hostel that never got off the ground. With the building abandoned and nobody really living on the island where it is located, it seems like the best place to go to get away from life and cause some mischief. His girlfriend Kiera, her friend Lynn, along with Craig and Aaron, are all ready to go and are even bringing some cameras to document how awesome the weekend is going to be. But seeing that the building is really on an island, the group is starting to question their choice as the rain has moved in and they are forced to take a rowboat out in the darkness.

Arriving at the building and seeing that there is no power, the group is prepared with their flashlights and candles in order to keep their night illuminated. After drinking for a while, the girls want to do something that is a little less boring than just sitting around and talking. Letting the group know a little about the island's history, with its awesome graveyard for sick people, Patrick also tells the group about what happened in the building a year ago, when the American owners tried to play off of the possible haunting on the island and failed miserably at selling their story when a guest went crazy and killed her husband and kids in the hostel. Thinking that he is full of it, nobody really wants to believe that ghosts could be lurking around the abandoned building, but when the idea to play a game comes into play to prove what Patrick is saying, their eyes are opened.

Setting up a homemade Ouija board, the group tries to contact the spirits before receiving a message that none of them understand. With the girls starting to feel uncomfortable about what is happening in front of them, Patrick tries to get the group to stay and say 'Goodbye', but the ghost on the other end will have nothing of the sort and tells them...'No.' Since it is just a game, nobody expects anything to come from it since there is no such thing as ghosts, but when Lynn sees a glass get pushed off of a table, she may be a little bit more open to what is happening around the building. After the first night draws to a close and nothing much happens, the group forgets about the Ouija session and moves on with their day. Finding the bar in the old building, the group decides to throw a party, and continues to have a good time, but it ends when Aaron is on refill duty, and he sees that there is someone else in the building that no one has seen before. With none of his friends believing him, the group is subjected to a torment that nobody expected to experience over the weekend and it may end up costing them their lives.

Every once in a while I get shocked by a movie, especially a found footage movie since they are not really one of my favorite ways to tell a story, but Invoked did a pretty good job. Needing to keep your eyes on the screen to make sure that you are not missing anything, the trip to the graveyard still has to be my favorite scene when the camera is being put down. With signs of a normal haunting in the hostel, flashlights dying is not something that should frighten you, but when you do not have another option for light, it really starts to get the heart pumping. I liked how the story flowed and am happy that the ghosts around the area only got a little bit of screen time when they were found, keeps it a little creepier in my opinion. When visiting an unfamiliar place, you need to keep your head on a swivel, especially if the history of the area says that the inhabitants are far from kind and willing to kill again. Stay Scared.

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