Invitation To Murder Review

Amongst the global shifting ideologies of 1934, an invitation to six strangers is sent for their presence on a remote island for a weekend stay at the mansion of a renowned, reclusive billionaire.

Smarter than everyone else in the room, amateur sleuth Miranda Green (Mischa Barton) is sensing something is not quite right when their host has yet to arrive himself, leaving the assorted guests with variable personalities to hang out with the help.

Observant Miranda, completely self assured and able to shrug off the mysongny of the era, is a reader of Agatha Christie novels. So when a murder occurs out in the woods surrounding the property, she is in her element picking off the clues one by one where everyone’s a suspect.

The slightly uneasy help, two butlers and a maid seem to deal with the frustrations of their guests making excuses for their boss, the benefactor who invited them all under strange circumstances.

Besides most of the sets looking similar to a theatre production, the period costumes, the limited cinematography and quaint ensemble are all decent.

London born, Mischa Barton has always been a personal favourite, from her stellar performance as the friendly child opposite Sam Rockwell in, Lawn Dogs (1997) to that eerie under-the-bed cameo a couple of years later in, The Sixth Sense (1999) to iconic pop culture series, The OC, to her arrival on Ramsey street on Aussie soap, Neighbours; Mischa excels acting traits for an effective lead. Her experience masters the aura needed to be a convincing detective.

The plot twists are fine, albeit not overly original, the mystery still holds value of due diligence and fun. Highlights of the cast include Oppenheimer star James Urbaniak, unassuming Grace Lynn Kung and veteran Alex Hyde-White (Pretty Woman, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). Invoking a big smile, the brief appearance of Rae Gray at the start is magical.

You’ll likely have the puzzle solved if paying attention, not a patch of Clue (1985) or Knives Out (2019) and the like, this is still a well presented indie whodunit.