The Invoking (2013): watch the full film free, legally

Samantha returns to Sader Ridge

The Invoking, also known as Sader Ridge, is a 2013 American psychological thriller directed by Jeremy Berg. Trin Miller plays Samantha, who inherits a rural house in Sader Ridge from an estranged aunt. She brings three friends to the property: Mark, played by Brandon Anthony; Caitlin, played by Andi Norris; and Roman, played by Josh Truax.

At the house, the group meets Eric, a young army veteran who had been Samantha's aunt's neighbor. D'Angelo Midili plays Eric. He shows Samantha around the property and joins the group for their first night there. Eric tells her that she was born at Sader Ridge and lived there for her first five years, though Samantha has no memory of it. He also tells her that her aunt died in the house.

The following day, Samantha, Caitlin, Mark and Roman explore the grounds and surrounding area while Eric remains behind. As sunset approaches, Mark becomes separated from the others and disappears. Caitlin, who has a crush on him, presses the group to look for him. Eric goes with her, while Samantha and Roman wait at the house. Samantha falls asleep, then wakes to her car alarm and finds Roman gone. When she returns from silencing the alarm, Roman appears on the front steps, panicked and screaming. But when Mark, Caitlin and Eric return, Samantha turns back to find that Roman was never there. He soon comes out of the house as the others question what Samantha was shouting about.

Disturbing visions at the inherited house

Events at Sader Ridge continue to unsettle Samantha. Mark and Caitlin go to the property's garage, and Samantha hears noises inside. Believing Mark is attacking Caitlin, she attacks him by mistake. Roman later learns that Mark and Caitlin were hooking up in the garage, and his jealousy becomes clear because he has feelings for Caitlin.

That night, Samantha wakes to yelling in the next room. She sees Mark violently beating Caitlin, then he shoves Samantha away and slams the door. Samantha runs to find Roman in hysterics, only to discover Mark, Caitlin and Roman sitting together in the living room and drinking beers. They help Samantha to bed and consider what they should do for her.

Early the next morning, Samantha wakes from a nightmare in which Mark behaves as her father and punishes her with cigarette burns. Eric, who has been watching her sleep, tells her about her abusive father after she mentions the dream. Outside the room, she hears Roman and Mark arguing following a night of drinking by Mark and Caitlin. Roman leaves the house angrily in their car. The film's cast also includes Carson Holden as Young Sam and Rafael Siegel as Officer Bindara.

A 2013 premiere and divided reviews

The Invoking premiered at the Sun Valley Film Festival in March 2013. Image Entertainment released it on DVD in the United States on February 18, 2014, followed by a United Kingdom DVD release on May 12, 2014.

Reviewers differed sharply on the film. Paul Mount of Starburst rated it 5/10 stars and criticized its renaming, which he said suggested a traditional horror film. He called it “an interesting idea and a decent character study” working from horror clichés, while describing it as flawed. Chris Alexander of Fangoria gave it 4/5 stars and called it a “slow, scary, ambiguous descent into the darkest part of the human psyche.”

Mark L. Miller of Ain't It Cool News wrote that the film is slow-paced, perhaps too slow for some viewers, though he said it pays off at the end. Patrick Cooper of Bloody Disgusting rated it 2.5/5 stars, calling it suspenseful and free of clichés while finding the acting, apart from Midili and Miller, too raw. Ben Bussey of Brutal as Hell called it “painfully dry and full” and wrote that nothing interesting happens during its runtime.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “The Invoking”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.