WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Justina The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

maximumkate No one going into a low budget film like this should expect a masterpiece, but reading the reviews, I was prepared for something far less competent than this movie about an intergenerational curse as the product of a witch burning (think Mario Bava's Black Sunday but set in modern day - well, 1971 - Staten Island).You sort of expect barely-good-enough performances and barely competent direction with something like this, but several things really threw me for a loop:First is the performance of the smoking hot Shelby Leverington, the revengeful protagonist of the movie. Her performance here exceeds expectations which adds to the surreal quality of the film generally. I should also mention, in particular, the performance of Norman Parker as Jake, who matches her excellently and believably.The other thing is the unsettling yet appealing left-field prog-psych soundtrack which was notable enough that it kept drawing my attention.There are no big twists here and the plot is hardly original, but the direction is competent and it exceeds a lot of other films with this sort of subject matter from that time period.I don't agree with the negative reviews of this film. Compared to all of the other occult horror of the period, this one stands up a lot better than most of the rest, avoiding exploitation elements in favor of something a little more subtle. There's some blood and some sex, but it is muted and serves the plot.This is not Citizen Kane. You have to suspend a few critical faculties for this. But for what it is, you can do a whole lot worse.Also: if any woman ever starts telling you a story about the Southern Tribes, my suggestion is to head for the exit immediately.

Leofwine_draca DEATH BY INVITATION is very similar in tone to that other indie feature of the era, MARK OF THE WITCH, albeit not as good. The reason for that is that the budget is even smaller. Things start off with a historical witch-burning before we move to the then-current day, where a mysterious young woman is possessed by the spirit of a vengeful witch and wreaks havoc by murdering the descendants of the townsfolk responsible for the immolation. Being an independent feature, this is a story which is very dragged out and static, mostly consisting of just two or three characters conversing in a small room. There's a little atmosphere which comes from the creepy soundtrack, although occasionally a blare of library music takes you out of the zone. Where this film does hit home is in the acting of Shelby Leverington, in her debut performance. She hits just the right creepy note and is surprisingly powerful; a shame that the rest is merely so-so.

Scott LeBrun This low, low budget clunker begins with a Salem Witch Trials type of sequence wherein a young woman is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Then we abruptly - and I do mean abruptly - cut to modern times where another young woman, Lise (the attractive Shelby Leverington) has insinuated herself into the lives of an affluent but insipid family. Eventually a few deaths occur; it seems as if somebody wants to get revenge for the death of that long ago witch.Nothing interesting ever happens in this dull and dumb film. It just plods along, with way too much filler. For whatever reason, Lise feels compelled to tell people stories about ancient tribes where women were the hunters-gatherers. Sequences such as those in an office building are simply inane and go on too long. The dialogue by director Ken Friedman is lame and badly delivered by a mostly nondescript cast. Use of music is particularly egregious. Gore and fight scenes are as inept as the balance of the film. Because of this, "Death by Invitation" isn't without its little amusements, but there's simply too few of them.Leverington went on to have a fairly good career as a character actress, appearing in things like "The Long Riders" and "Dutch". A good thing, considering how inauspicious this film debut was. Another performer here did reasonably well, and that's Norman Parker (who plays Jake), whose other credits include "Prince of the City" and "The Clairvoyant". Aaron Phillips is awful as grumpy patriarch Peter Vroot. Friedman, to his credit, would hone his craft and go on to write or co-write such movies as "White Line Fever", "Heart Like a Wheel", and "Johnny Handsome".With an underwhelming and unsatisfying ending, and a story too thin to sustain much viewer attention, this has to rate as very forgettable. Even people who crave discovering obscure efforts like this may find their patience tested.Four out of 10.

utgard14 Laughably inept movie about a witch's hippie descendant named Lise (Shelby Leverington) who takes revenge on the descendants of those who burned her ancestor at the stake. I've seen this plot done before and better. Terribly directed, edited, acted, written...you name it, this movie sucks at it. Does have some merit as an unintentional comedy, however. My favorite scene is Lise's monologue where she tells this sad sack Roger about how women used to run things and then this one big guy took over and the men started running things so the women killed the big guy and ate him. When she was done with her long-winded story, she seductively says "Hand me the ashtray, Roger." It was supposed to be erotic or something, I guess, but it just made me burst out laughing. This is strictly amateur hour stuff, so avoid unless you're into that sort of thing.