Invasive – Tubi Review (3/5)

INVASIVE on Tubi is a new horror-thriller by the director of SLAY. While that one was a horror-comedy, this one is much darker and more sinister. Still very character-driven which is something I applaud. Read our full Invasive movie review here!

INVASIVE is a new Tubi Original, and this one is a horror-thriller by the writer-director of SLAY. You should not expect the same kind of movie as the previous one was a horror-comedy. However, the production quality and character-driven plot are still very impressive with this one.

I wasn’t sure what to expect and almost feared that I would get stuck on the thought of Slay (2024). However, this is entirely its own beast and the villain of this movie is fascinating in his own right. Extremely entertaining and with a few very creepy surprises up its sleeve.

Continue reading our Invasive movie review below. Find it on Tubi from May 10, 2024.

A new kind of squatter story

Actually, I call it a squatter story, but the term phrogging is more appropriate. Phrogging (pronounced “frogging”) is when someone is living secretly in another person’s home. In Invasive, two friends end up spending the weekend in a huge mansion after having worked there at a party for a catering company.

This clearly isn’t their first rodeo as phroggers, but they are having a lot of fun in the house. Located on a mountain, which the owner of the house has also bought. In other words, the owner is filthy rich and no one is around for miles.

The owner is a pharma bro who clearly has most people fearing him. This much is obvious from the first scene with him. A journalist is writing a portrait of him but has opted for a cover photo that he did not approve of. The reaction from everyone – including the journalist – is palpable. Only his girlfriend tries to get him calm.

Perfect modern-day villain

As a “tech bro” or “pharma wiz”, he is a hero to many fanboys and the comparisons to Elon Musk are as elegant as they are obvious. Talk of going to Mars and sending cars into orbit, while also talking about how the amazing discoveries and advances in medicine and technology.

However, this particular billionaire is hiding a secret in his lavish mansion. A very dark and sinister secret that our main character, Kay (Khosi Ngema), stumbles upon and definitely wants to expose. To do that, she will need to fight for survival first. And our billionaire does love to play with his subjects!

The billionaire pharma bro is the perfect modern-day villain. Everyone is constantly telling him that he is a genius who can do whatever he wants. While he didn’t need anyone telling him this, it didn’t hurt either. Especially not his ego, which can always get a bit bigger.

Francis Chouler plays this role to perfection – even his dialect and speech rhythm are spot-on!

Fun fact: The movie was shot in South Africa and the above-mentioned actors are South African.

Watch Invasive on Tubi now!

Invasive is the latest movie from writer-director Jem Garrard, who created one of the best (and most popular) Tubi Originals with Slay. If you haven’t watched that one yet, then you really should. It’s a horror-comedy with drag queens versus vampires, and it’s even better than that sounds.

And it sounds damn good to me!

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Our list of the best Tubi horror movies >

In any case, Invasive is a much darker and sinister horror movie, and I loved to see that Jem Garrard can go that route within horror as well. And, trust me, there is a lot of dark horror in this one. Sure, there’s also some social commentary, which works better than I expected, but the straight-up horror element is also there.

I would’ve liked to see it be just ten minutes shorter with a bit tighter pace in the final half. Then it would’ve been a 4 out of 5, which obviously also means that you should watch Invasive!

Invasive is on Tubi from May 10, 2024.

Details

Director: Jem Garrard
Writer: Jem Garrard
Stars: Khosi Ngema, Matthew Vey, Francis Chouler, Alex McGregor, Grant Ross