Phil Hay

Karyn Kusama handily delivered one of this year’s best thrillers with The Invitation, an incredibly unnerving and masterful “horror film for grown-ups” that proves you don’t need gimmicky jump scares and supernatural creatures to create chilling atmosphere and spooky vibes. Although her most recent effort wasn’t overt horror, it looks like Kusama’s next project definitely is, as she’s attached herself to helm Breed for executive producer Scott Frank.

After a few ups and downs in Hollywood, director Karyn Kusama returns with The Invitation, an exquisitely intense and torturously intimate thriller that meditates on grief, propriety and courtesy. Starring Logan Marshall-Green, Michiel Huisman and Emayatzy Corinealdi (to name a few), the film centers on a man who takes his new girlfriend to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife and her new beau, and it's not long before his misgivings give way to something truly unnerving. We had a chance to sit down with Kusama and co-writer Phil Hay to discuss their fantastic new film, which hits select theaters and VOD on April 8.