Form wins out over formula in The Invoking, a low-budget psychological horror picture from director Jeremy Berg and co-writer John Portanova. While a lot of calling-card-type independent genre productions overreach in an effort by the makers to confirm their genius with a splashy, authoritative stamp, sometimes merely solid albeit familiar storytelling is the best way to make a statement.

The Invoking centers around Samantha Harris (Trin Miller), a young girl raised by foster parents who inherits a house in rural Sader Ridge from her late aunt. Gathering up friends Roman (Josh Truax), Caitlin (Andi Norris) and Mark (Brandon Anthony), Samantha leads a road trip to inspect the property. Not long after arriving and meeting the requisite creep caretaker (D’Angelo Midili), however, Samantha starts to experience horrific visions that seem related to her buried past. Bad happenings ensue, with broader consequences for all involved.

Berg keeps things moving at a decent clip (the movie is a mere 82 minutes), sometimes so quickly that one wishes there were a chance to sink into moodiness to a greater degree. But if The Invoking treads mostly familiar territory, its cast is game, all delivering naturalistic, relaxed performances that help give the material a greater emotional mooring and resonance.

Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case in turn stored in a complementary cardboard slipcover, The Invoking comes to DVD presented in a 1.78:1 widescreen transfer, with a Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio track. Bonus features consist of two separate audio commentary tracks — one with Berg and producers of the movie, heavy on shooting and pre-production anecdotes, and the other a bit more loose-limbed, with the actors — as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette that thankfully sidesteps the lazy recycling of movie clips. To purchase the DVD via Amazon, click here; if Half is more your style, click here. C+ (Movie) C+ (Disc)