Invitation to Hell (1984)

Network: ABC
Original Air Date: May 24, 1984

While I’ve always felt Invitation to Hell was the least of Wes Craven’s first three TV movies (he directed four telefilms in all, along with some episodic television), it’s still an interesting and fantastical (well, preposterously fantastical) look at the excessiveness of the 1980s. It also plays heavily on the destruction of the family from outside forces – this force being a gorgeous Susan Lucci as a female Satan! We call that a win.

Robert Urich is Matt Winslow, a hard working family man who swaps Midwest winters for the temperate rolling hills of a suburban community in Southern California. He gets a job with a place mostly referred to as “The Company” and his life goes upscale fast. In fact, the Winslow house is brimming with gadgets and new, expensive things. But, despite the posh surroundings, the family (mostly Matt’s wife, Pat, played by the lovely Joanna Cassidy) long to find entrance into “The Club,” or rather, the more aptly titled, Steaming Springs, which is the playground of the In Crowd. It’s also a gateway to hell, but I mean, other than that, this is everything they’ve ever wanted (again, you know, minus hell). Cars, big houses, a feeling of stability, and the loss of their soul. Oh wait. That last part wasn’t supposed to be part of the bargain.

At work, Matt is developing a fairly ludicrous “space” suit that will allow someone to get close to the core of the earth, which works out nicely since, you know, hell is down below, ya dig? But it’s mostly a plot point and a way to concoct a rather outrageous and aesthetically oh-so-80s version of a trip to Hades.

The meat of the story revolves around excess, consumerism, the desire for acceptance and a deep need to project the right image. Some of the dialogue is surprisingly clever and telling, and Urich is great as the fraught family man who seems to be the only one who can see through Jessica Jones’ (Lucci) otherworldly and sinister charm. Invitation was Lucci’s prime time telefeature debut and in an interview to promote the movie Lucci stated that she felt the film had a “realistic” vibe. This is a statement I’ve always struggled with because, let’s face it… Invitation to Hell is absurd. And I don’t mean cheeky and over the top… I mean the story is ridiculous, That’s not an insult, but you do have to stretch your suspension of disbelief quite a bit to get into the weird premise.

However, as already mentioned, the underlying themes are fascinating and definitely comment on the unabashed yuppie-ness of the decade, while also mingling the high concept with a strong sense of nostalgia for the 1950s (also an eighties trope). So, in short, the viewer has to walk an extremely fine line with Invitation, as it uneasily mixes allegory with melodramatic family dynamics, but it does feature a stunning Susan Lucci in lots of great outfits. And, the gorgeous and much missed Robert Urich is there to help you through some of the flaws.

While I still feel this my least favorite of the “Craven Three,” I’ve watched Invitation more than Chiller or Summer of Fear (in fact, I think I’ve watched this movie three times since 2015 started!). I’m really drawn to the look of it, Urich’s likable persona and the way it creates an insane universe where Lucci is a sexy Beelzebub and Soleil Moon Frye is a possessed demon child. Seriously, what’s not to love?

Invitation to Hell is on DVD (and for cheap!)

And here's an image gallery of some Lucci awesomeness: 

Rosemary's Baby (2014)

Network: NBC
Original Air Date: May 11th & 15th, 2014 

As a fan of Roman Polanski’s excellent adaptation of Rosemary’s Baby in 1968, I was a little put off by the news of a remake, which aired this past week on NBC. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t at least slightly curious as to how they were going to update/change/reimagine the classic tale of pregnancy panic and Satan worshipping. Also, the idea of making it a mini-series seemed both odd and fascinating. So, what can I say, I was in. And, while I wasn't in love with Rosemary's Baby, I did see some flickers of promise, and I also appreciated NBC's return to the classic TVM era.

The beautiful Zoe Saldana (who was also one of the producers) is achingly naïve, sometimes to the point of frustration. As Rosemary, she is a fish-out-water wife who follows her ambitious but somewhat unsuccessful husband/writer to France where he’s landed a nice teaching gig. They have recently lost a baby and the pain of this miscarriage has left Rosemary terrified of trying to get pregnant again. But the couple still seem very happy in their tiny apartment. They’ve also made quick friends with the prominent and wealthy Castavets, who get the couple to move into their gorgeous building after their place catches on fire. Of course the Castavets have something more devilish on their minds, and when Rosemary successfully takes the baby plunge again, it’s obvious that the Prince of Darkness has finally found a mommy.

Ratings were low for Sunday’s airing (and I imagine Thursday’s episode will not fare even as well as the first night), and critical reception was mostly indifferent. Yet, despite the disappointing viewership, I do hope that the Peacock Network keeps in line with this type of programming. NBC also produced a live version of The Sound of Music last year, and while it may not be my cup of tea, I respect that they were thinking outside of the box, and also embracing the traditional. Likewise, although I’m not particularly interested in Hollywood Game Night or Maya Rudolph’s upcoming variety show, I like that NBC is playing around with some of the older tropes of free TV programing in an attempt to find a unique niche for themselves. I’m probably more prone to keep an eye on NBC because of this, so in that respect, Rosemary’s Baby was a bit of a success.

And, I did enjoy some things about the Rosemary's Baby remake. This mini-series is slow but hyper-stylized and gorgeous. The first half is engaging, and, even at times, wondrous and suspenseful. I also loved Carole Bouquet’s subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) menacing turn as Margaux Castavet (athough admittedly, I missed the more eccentric round of character actors that filled up the original film). The second half is not quite as successful as the first and I feel the mini-series could have easily been a one-night event. And I guess that’s the key word here… Event (NBC did pimp Rosemary as an “NBC Event”), because the network harkens back those TV movies of yesteryear, making it feel like one of those programs I just had to catch. And I not only welcomed the sentiment, I loved it.