DEATH BY INVITATION

“If you are into low-budget witch-reincarnation-vengeance movies, this is your jam right here.”
— nathaxnne wilhelmina, LETTERBOXD

If Peyton Place had more witches, it would feel a lot like DEATH BY INVITATION. A slowburn soap opera shot on Staten Island and produced by adult film wildman Leonard Kirtman (CARNIVAL OF BLOOD), this movie lives and dies by the magnetic and touching performance of Shelby Leverington as Lise — a reincarnated witch out for revenge. Although it was written by a man, DEATH BY INVITATION features a refreshing depiction of woman protagonist in a position of power. And that, combined with the experimental touches (freeze frames, primitive synthesizers, artsy photography) and sudden stabs of gory violence, is what makes this movie so satisfying. (Joseph A. Ziemba, Bleeding Skull!)