The Invisible Man (2020)
Directed by Leigh Whannell
I was intrigued by The Invisible Man from the moment I saw the first trailer. Sure, that intrigue wasn’t always because I thought the movie would be great, a good part of it came from discussions about what different strategies you could use to fight someone invisible and those were all great fun! Now that the film is finally out I am glad to report that there’s more to this movie than a one-note joke about how you would ‘Home Alone’ your house against an invisible menace. There’s an actual good movie in here, which I am happy to talk about. Please note this review is spoiler free but the comments section is not. Venture down there at your own risk.
You’ll Probably Know Most Of This From The Trailer
For those of you who haven’t seen the all much explaining trailer, The Invisible Man is the tale of Cecilia Kass, a woman trying to get out of an abusive relationship who is played by Elizabeth Moss. After fleeing in the middle of the night, Cecilia gets the startling news that her abuser, Adrian Griffin, has committed suicide and left her a large sum of money from his estate. Wary that this might be another one of Adrian’s mind games, Cecilia has trouble believing that someone like him would take his own life. Her suspicions grow even greater as she begins to notice strange things happening around her as her mental state spirals into uncertainty.
Generally, Pretty Big Fan.
This may sound like a backhanded compliment, but The Invisible Man is such an interesting movie! It takes a premise that could easily be a goofy and campy retread and presents it as a serious horror flick that, while sometimes being a bit out there, manages to ramp up the tension and provide a lot of thrilling and pulse-pounding moments. Not everything here works but when the pieces come together, The Invisible Man is a great moviegoing experience.
Oh Elizabeth Moss, You’ve Done It Again.
The glue that holds the Invisible Man together is twofold, and that is the performances, to be more accurate THE performance, and the filmmaking. Elizabeth Moss doesn’t steal the show, she IS the show. Every emotional moment, every bit of dread, every sinking feeling you get in your stomach as reality spirals out of control comes from Moss’ mastery of human misery. There’s raw humanity to Cecilia’s desperation, anxieties, and vulnerability that anchors the story and invites everyone present to identify with this person’s story and that alone would make The Invisible Man worth watching.
Cinematography That Reminds Me Of Other Stuff…In A Good Way
Another great piece of The Invisible Man is the excellent anxiety-inducing cinematography. There are so many simple tricks used to heighten the tension and establish a threatening oppressive atmosphere, and even though the shots feel influenced by a lot of classic horror movies, the end result is totally unique. Some shots are reminiscent of The Shining and others that look ripped out of Halloween, and even one sequence that was very reminiscent of Terminator 2, and even though these all sound very different, they are brought into harmony to craft an actually frightening film.
The Story Is Mostly Good…With Some Issues
I haven’t commented too much on the story yet so let’s get into that. There isn’t anything too complicated going on here storywise, but that isn’t an issue, I’m a big fan of simple stories told well and this is a great example of that. The refreshing simplicity of the narrative frees up a lot of time to showcase the cinematography and Moss’ skills. There is more going on below the surface though, as there are many important and relevant themes about the nature of abusive relationships and what the best ways to provide help to people in those situations would be. There is something about the writing that doesn’t hold up though, which is that occasionally things get pretty goofy.
Sometimes Issues Of Logic Crop Up.
This is a no-spoiler review so I will not get into detail here. Suffice it to say, there are a few sequences where the logic of the movie starts to break down. I am biting my tongue here because I’d really like to get into specifics here but I just can’t because it would spoil entire plotlines by describing any of these details. If you really want to talk about spoilers then leave a comment below, the comments section is not going to be spoiler-free. Anyway, there are sometimes problems with logic or realism but these aren’t ever enough to break the movie for me or ruin the experience.
Overall, I Would Very Much Recommend.
Even though there are a few problems here and there, there are also a lot of things that I liked that I can’t really go into detail about. The ending was mostly really great, a very satisfying conclusion to the story. Also, there were some plot elements I was worried would be present from the trailer, but what I was worried about happening did not end up happening. Without delving any further in, let’s wrap this up and say that I strongly recommend The Invisible Man. It’s a timely and tense horror story that delivers on scares and could be the start of a great new wave of Blumhouse/Universal Monster remakes. And I’m all in for it.
Ok let’s talk about the issues you had…. I didn’t have major expectations and was pleasantly surprised that the trailer didn’t blow the entire movie. I did think, like some reviewers, that it would have been interesting if they had let Cecilia’s mental state be in question for a bit, but we knew more or less or of the gate…
Yeah, it definitely would have been interesting had there been more ambiguity with the reality of the situation, but I can see why the movie tended more towards the movie being about her trying to get people to believe what she was already sure of.
Sometimes it definitely felt like it should have been way easier for Cecilia to prove what she’s seeing. Like when she dropped that paint bucket on him. You’re telling me he got paint out of every nook and cranny of that suit within seconds with only a kitchen sink? That he can walk through heavy rain completely undetected and these amazing cameras are also perfectly adjusting and waterproof? That no one would feel someone grab a limb of theirs and not instinctively resist even if they can’t see the person? That stuff felt a bit silly and tonally out of place. Not enough to break the movie but enough to dent it.