Invitation to Hell

Matthew Winslow, an engineer, moves his family to a California town for a new job. He is an inventor whose spacesuit work is tied to a nearby research facility, and he and his wife Patricia settle into an affluent community where the residents seem content. Matt's friend Tom Peterson and Tom's wife Mary urge him to join an exclusive country club run by Jessica Jones, though Matt is wary of the place. Patricia and their children become increasingly involved, and he begins to notice troubling changes in his wife and son. What Matt uncovers points to something far more sinister behind Jessica's club and her influence over the townspeople.

The film was directed by Wes Craven, released in 1984, and it is the seventh of the twenty-five films he directed in chronological order, following A Nightmare on Elm Street and preceding The Hills Have Eyes Part 2. Richard Rothstein wrote the screenplay, and Robert M. Sertner produced. Robert Urich leads as Matt, with Joanna Cassidy as Patricia, Susan Lucci as Jessica Jones, Joe Regalbuto as Tom, Kevin McCarthy as Mr. Thompson and Patty McCormack as Mary. Made for television and running 100 minutes, it blends fantasy, horror and mystery. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.1 from around 2,500 votes, and on TMDB it stands at 5.1 from roughly 45 votes, pointing to a modest reception from both audiences.