The Invitation delivers a modern-day spin on one of the fundamental stories of 20th-century horror. Adapting characters and concepts from Bram Stoker's Dracula, Jessica M. Thompson's new film focuses on a clever young woman named Evie who finds herself invited to a surprising wedding by some unexpected relatives. There, she meets -- and begins to fall for -- the dashing Walter, lord of the manor she is staying at. As her romance with Walt blossoms, she also discovers the secret that's been keeping him alive for far longer than she could ever expect.

Ahead of The Invitation's Aug. 26 debut in theaters, CBR sat down to speak with Nathalie Emmanuel (Evie) and Thomas Doherty (Walter) about the other vampire films they watched to prepare for the movie, finding the right tone for the story, and what's it like to tackle a modern take on one of the most famous horror stories in the world.

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The Invitation Film Sony Horror 4

CBR: Considering the history that this genre has and that these characters have, was it important to reference previous takes on similar material or carve your own path forward with these characters?

Thomas Doherty: Well, I was definitely... I jumped in last minute, so it was important for me to obviously get the tone right. The tone was very important to get, so [Director Jessica M. Thompson] suggested movies to watch. I had Interview with a Vampire -- I watched that one quite a lot, watching Tom Cruise as a vampire. So once I kind of had the idea of the tone that she wanted, then you can definitely put your attention back onto the text and onto this character of Walter and really develop something from the grassroots up with Jess.

Then you just kind of find [the tone] as you go along the way. That's the really cool thing about acting that you just kind of love. It's trial and error, and you make mistakes, and we learn from them. This works, this doesn't work, and obviously, it's affected by the dynamic you have and with other characters and stuff. So it was definitely a process, but yeah, physicality was the first thing for me [and] tone inflections, and then it just kind of grows from there.

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Nathalie Emmanuel: Yeah, I definitely watched some vampire movies and sort of saw the, I guess, style of them. Jess also sent me a list of films to watch as well. I guess where my focus really was, was just trying to get to know this woman, Evie, before we even meet her -- her story and her background and her passions. So I was learning how to do ceramics -- and experiencing how hard that is, by the way.

Just having an understanding of how we... [deliver] the tone and style of revealing all of these sorts of fun horror/thriller sort of moments for the fans, for the people who love this genre, but also kind of keeping our story sort of grounded and authentic in itself. I think we just had a really great job of doing that and nodding to certain things but also having her own kind of cool take on it as well. It's very modern and obviously, it's a very female-focused telling of a story that traditionally isn't so.

The Invitation debuts in theaters on Aug. 26.