The Invisible Man: A Chilling Modern Reworking Of The Universal Classic
Writer/director Leigh Whannell reteams with Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions to bring the Universal Monsters’ Invisible Man into the modern era. Unlike 2017’s abysmal The Mummy, Whannell’s take on this Universal classic succeeds at nearly every turn, creating a horror film that’s both palpable and deep. Full of allegory, psychological thrills, and pulse-pounding tension, The Invisible Man is a reimagined reboot done right.
Trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with a wealthy and brilliant scientist, Cecilia Kass (Elizabeth Moss) escapes in the dead of night and disappears into hiding. But when Cecilia's abusive ex (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) commits suicide and leaves her a generous portion of his vast fortune, Cecilia suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of eerie coincidences turns lethal, threatening the lives of those she loves, Cecilia's sanity begins to unravel as she desperately tries to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.
The Invisible Man mixes the mad scientist angle of James Whale’s 1933 classic with the toxic male ego of Paul Verhoeven’s Hollow Man but presents H. G. Wells’ beloved story from the female perspective, creating a reimagining that’s perfectly modernized to reflect our current times. It doesn’t just present a fresh angle either; it’s got something deeper to say about domestic abuse, post-traumatic stress, and society’s frequent discrediting of women by calling them crazy. By taking on deeper subject matter, The Invisible Man is effectively unnerving in more ways than one; as a straight-up horror film and in its all too real depiction of the lingering effects of violence caused by a supposed loved one.
From the film’s first moments, the viewer understands Cecilia’s position as she stealthily makes her carefully planned escape from her husband, Adrian, a wealthy optics engineer and businessman. From the way in which she carries herself, holding her breath and conscious of every step, trembly with fright at even the tiniest movement the slumbering Adrian. Her frantic escape from his isolated seaside mansion is visceral, and it perfectly sets the stage for both Cecilia’s character and the horrors that follow. Jumping forward two weeks, Cecilia is hiding out with childhood friend, Detective James Lanier (Aldis Hodge), and his teenage daughter Sydney (Storm Reid) and crippled with paranoia that clever and resourceful Adrian will somehow find her. She’s so traumatized by him that she can’t shake this feeling even after learning he’s killed himself, feelings which are only exacerbated when strange things begin to happen. But is it all in Cecilia’s head, or is Adrian really stalking her from beyond the grave?
Whannell plays with the notion of Cecilia being crazy, winding the tension by slowly building up to the mystery of Adrian’s death and the mechanics behind his invisibility; however, there’s never really a doubt in the viewer’s mind that Cecilia is perfectly sane — in fact, the film would still be highly successful even if Cecilia wasn’t being literally stalked by an invisible ex. We are always on her side, locked firm into her perspective and effectively shaken by the idea that there could be something lurking sight unseen, and part of the film’s horror is watching Cecilia’s unraveling due to Adrian’s extreme gaslighting. Whannell’s direction is smooth and fluid, full of pans that build and ratchet tension. Occasionally, his direction veers into moments of flashy style, which doesn’t entirely mesh with the pared down minimalism of the rest of the film’s approach, but he is successful at making the audience feel dread and anxiety, making a shot of an empty doorway feel like an imposing threat.
The story is full of twists and turns, some of them weaker than others, but we were always along for the ride, whether it veered into camp or remained more realistically grounded. A lot of that is due to Elizabeth Moss’ go-for-broke performance as Cecilia. The role is extremely physical, and Moss uses her eyes and body language to convey what words just couldn’t do justice. She makes Cecilia fully-rounded and wrings every drop of pathos out of her situation, locking the audience in every step of the way. While she’s without a doubt one of the greatest actresses working out there today and can do just about anything spectacularly well, she may have found her true calling in horror, which allows her to experiment and perform in ways that other genres don’t permit. Storm Reid and Aldis Hodge also give quality performances, often giving the film some much needed levity by filling out the story’s inherent heavy darkness with some much needed lightness and warmth.
Interestingly enough, the special effects is where the film runs into turbulent waters. After revisiting Verhoeven’s Hollow Man in anticipation, we were surprised to find that the invisibility effects on display there (not to be confused with the skeletal-muscular effects which haven’t aged well) look a bit better than the ones on display in The Invisible Man — although that’s the only thing Hollow Man does better. At the end of the day, The Invisible Man is a damn fine film, both as a horror film and a psychological-driven feminist thriller, and it reaffirms Whannell as a talent to keep your eyes on.
Recommendation: If you’re fans of Leigh Whannell and Elizabeth Moss, and/or want to see a quality modernization of a classic Universal Monster movie, definitely give this a watch.
Rating: 4 hot breaths outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!