Tacticalin
An absolute waste of money
SparkMore
n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Scotty Burke
It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
Rich Wright
It may be directed by Wes Craven of Nightmare On Elm Street fame, but this is a more interesting movie that a frightening one. Shades of Stepford Wives abound, only this time, instead of becoming perfect people, the new members of this exclusive club turn into nasty little hellions. You know something is wrong when your daughters cuts up her cuddly bunny with a kitchen knife, and your beloved wife tries to decapitate you with a golf club. The only way to return them to their former lovable selves is to put on the space suit you invented, and delve deep into the depths of hell itself. But don't be tempted by the charms of the sexy she-devil who's pursuing you!!Yep, it is as weird as it sounds. But the mystery behind what's going on will keep you viewing... to a point. Then, when the not-so-surprising rationale for everyone acting cuckoo shows itself, it all fizzles out in a damp squid of a finale as all the dad has to do is LOVE HIS FAMILY to set it all right. Yup, not even a chainsaw or shotgun in sight. YAWN. Still, the journey getting there ain't so bad, and I was slightly beguiled by the 80's apparel on display... from the dodgy fashion, starchy hairstyles and primitive computers. In GREEN font. Compared to them, my ZX Spectrum looks like HAL-9000... 5/10
FieCrier
In the opening scene, a chauffeur is distracted by two women in bikinis and runs over Susan Lucci's character Jessica. She pops back up and fries him.A family with a young boy and girl move to a new neighborhood. The father has developed a sensor of some kind which his new employer wants for a Venusian spacesuit. The suit can already withstand blasts of flame, as well as shoot lasers and flames. His old fraternity buddy recommended him for the job.The fraternity buddy gets initiated with his family into a local "club," called Steaming Springs, run by Jessica. They, and practically all the other characters want the new family to join too, but the father is very resistant. He grows more resistant the more insistent and strange the others become. People who belong exhibit sometimes strange behavior, like a boy at a sleepover who is found watching violent stuff on TV late at night, and who becomes hostile when it is shut off.Not surprisingly, the spa contains a gate to hell, the door code of which starts off with 666.It's a somewhat entertaining movie with lots of familiar character actors in it. Despite being directed by Wes Craven, there wasn't anything about it that really bore his hand, to my eye.
Claudio Carvalho
When the scientist and family man Matt Winslow (Robert Urich) finally accepts the invitation to work the Micro-Digitech Corporation in a space suit project, he moves with his beloved wife Patricia (Joanna Cassidy) and their son Robbie (Barret Oliver) and daughter Chrissy (Soleil Moon Frye) to a huge modern house in the corporation compound. They meet their friend Tom Peterson (Joe Regalbuto) and his family completely adapted to the new lifestyle, and Tom invites the Winslow family to join the Steaming Springs Country Club. Tom tries to seduce Matt telling him that every member of the club has a meteoric professional ascension in Micro-Digitech, but Matt is not tempted with the offer. Later he is introduced to the director of the club, Jessica Jones (Susan Lucci) that befriends Patricia and convinces her to join the club with her children. Matt feels the changing in the behavior of his family and decides to investigate the club, finding an evil secret about Jessica and the members.In the 80's, when I saw "Invitation to Hell", I liked this movie that partially recalls "The Stepford Wives", with people changing the behavior in a suburban compound. I have just seen it today, and I found a great metaphoric message against the big corporations, when people literally sell their souls to the devil to climb positions and earn higher salaries. I am not sure whether the author intended to give this interpretation to the story, but I believe it fits perfectly. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Convite Para o Inferno" ("Invitation to Hell")
dee4j
Ignore negative comments on this film: from the very start when an unsuspecting motorist runs over Lucci and she nukes him, you know who the bad guys are! An interesting investigation of the evil that lurks amid materialist splendor: don't you WANT the biggest, best, most expensive of everything??? You can HAVE it...for a price!! (Note:SCI-FI special-effects highlight the ending...)
