Nathalie Emmanuel (‘The Invitation’): “The story of Dracula is a metaphor for power”

Human beings have a strange fascination with vampires. And this is one of the key points of “The Invitation”, the new horror film from Sony Pictures. The film, which can already be seen in theaters, tells how young Evie travels to England to an old mansion to meet her distant family and roots. But what seemed like a simple journey to rediscover yourself and attend a wedding turns out to be a bloody and terrifying experience. Even if you will also have time to fall in love first.

“It’s the combination of how sexy they are with their violence, their immortality and their lust for power”tells its protagonist Nathalie Emmanuel about vampires in an exclusive interview for eCartelera, “are things that humans usually do not have and are curious, they fascinate us, excite us”. Additionally, ‘The Invitation’ director Jessica M. Thompson adds that she did a lot of research and research to prepare the film. “These stories are present in almost all cultures. People who come to life, look like us but turn against us, suck our blood and kill us, feed on us”ensures, “I think it’s something fascinating for us humans since the beginning of time”.

In fact, the director ventures out to make sure the appearance of these creatures is what instills the most terror as they don’t look like monsters. “It could be someone you know, who is inside the bed, not underneath. This scares people.”, Thompson exposes. The film, which features a dance of genres beyond horror, was a huge experience in how it seeks to unravel the most terrifying things about human nature through a timeless story like Dracula’s. “Working with such an old idea and modernizing it … it was great”points to Thomas Doherty, who plays Walter DeVille in the film.

Feminism and oppression of terror

Under its layer of terror, the film tells a story of oppression. “It’s like a Me Too movie without being a Me Too movie”Thompson observes, “I didn’t want to make a movie about Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein or any of those horrible men. I wanted to use one of the oldest and most evil predators of all time as a metaphor”. To this is added Emmanuel, who reflects it “for some reason we can talk about oppression in these fantastic situations”. ‘The Invitation’, in theaters September 16.