The Invisible Man Review
R: Some strong bloody violence, and languageRuntime: 2 Hours and 4 MinutesProduction Companies: Blumhouse Productions, Nervous Tick, Goalpost PicturesDistributor: Universal PicturesDirector: Leigh WhannellWriter: Leigh WhannellCast: Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman, Oliver Jackson-CohenRelease Date: February 28th 2020
Trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with a wealthy and brilliant scientist, Cecilia Kass (Moss) escapes in the dead of night and disappears into hiding, aided by her sister (Harriet Dyer), their childhood friend (Aldis Hodge) and his teenage daughter (Storm Reid). 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 turn 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.
I wasn’t keen on an Invisible Man remake, especially after the recent failure of Universal’s attempt to create their own Dark Universe with The Mummy. It was even more embarrassing to have a bunch of famous actors take a group photo to announce their casting within this universe only for The Mummy to be a major flop. The only good thing about The Mummy was that I met my future BFF/editor/partner in crime/podcast co-host Myan Mercado. Other than that, the film was an epic fail. But leave it to director Leigh Whannell — heels high after directing his sleeper hit Upgrade — to helm an Invisible Man remake. He has contributed so much to the horror genre that I was intrigued by what he could possibly bring to the table. Holy shit. Not to say I had completely low expectations, but I didn’t expect him to knock it out of the goddamn park.Leigh Whannell might just be the most resourceful filmmaker today. He knows how to save money and use whatever budget he’s given to his advantage. He’s become the MacGyver of filmmakers in the sense that you can give him the bare minimum to work with, yet he’ll get the job done and look cool while doing it. This movie was made on a $7 million budget but every nook and cranny was meticulously crafted. All of the inventiveness and inspirations are worn on its sleeve and they bleed into Whannell’s camerawork in every sequence. He hones his skillset as a filmmaker, combining the best aspects of his previous works in the horror and thriller genres to influence his gripping edge-of-your-seat action sequences. From the pulse-pounding intro that plays like a prison escape sequence, to long takes of badass action reminiscent of the techniques that we loved in Upgrade, Whannell obviously had a clear vision for this. The most resourceful and impressive aspect of it all is that he can take the most simplistic settings and frame them in a way that works in tandem with the lead and their perspective. There are about six different locations in total and Whannell takes full advantage of his limited settings through impressive blocking and great camerawork, which always puts you in Cecilia’s shoes, seeing everything through her eyes while she’s being terrorized.The premise is very enticing, for it weaves itself into the #MeToo era where a woman named Cecila who leaves her abusive wealthy optics visionary boyfriend named Adrian and is stalked and terrorized by his presumably dead invisible body, which is admittingly extremely terrifying. Even from a screenwriter standpoint, he executes it damn near perfectly. I don’t know what happened between Insidious: The Last Key and Upgrade, but Whannell truly upped his screenwriting skills. Seeing as this is from the same guy who single-handedly wrote all four Insidious movies, this is a major improvement from EVERYTHING he’s done in the past… including Saw. This is his best script to date.
For a silly, classic horror property, Whannell applies just the right amount of realism to his take, keeping the story grounded in its atmosphere, maintaining consistency to make the sci-fi, horror, and thriller elements completely plausible. As the story progresses and it becomes grander, it still treads in the realm of reality. Even though this is Cecilia’s story, her dynamic with the people she confides in makes the film come alive. It goes against the traditional norms of thriller stereotypes where they’re all written as people instead of characters. The early moments with Cecilia and her friend James (Aldis Hodge) and his daughter (Storm Reid), whom she resides with until she can get back on her feet, are so charming that you immediately become endeared to them.
I don't know if I aired this out yet, but Elisabeth Moss is undeniably the best actress working in Hollywood today. She tops my personal list of favorites and right below her is Margo Martindale. This is the first time in a long time where she’s not exuding dominance but is channeling the psyche of an abused partner who has to navigate to recovery and then a heightened state of paranoia. Much of what keeps the atmosphere grounded weighs on Moss’s performance and she executes perfectly on all cylinders. She exhibits the attributes of a person in this state of physical and emotional trauma so chillingly, from her rapid eye blinking, anxious back-and-forth rocking, and tics where you sense that she’s too disturbed to function even in her day to the day actions. The sound mixing plays a key part in it as it keeps you in Cecilia’s headspace while feeling her high anxiety levels. This is the most accurate depiction of someone going through an anxiety attack onscreen and I got triggered. You feel overwhelmed by the weight of dread Cecilia is in, for you’re able to easily comprehend her PTSD, her trauma, and her anxiety. Moss never overdoes it while being in absolute control, keeping you on your toes with how great she captures this performance through and through.
Cheap jump scares. This was working so well without them for so long. Some of the jump scares are well executed because of how Whannell naturally raises your tension, but some of the biggest fakeouts would be for the smallest things. It felt like he had to deliver the signature Blumhouse brand jump scare and it didn’t really do it for me. The scenario is already terrifying as it is and you don’t need the jump scares at all.Also there are some questions I have about the invisibility functions itself such as where the hell is The Invisible Man’s shadow in all of this? That’s the only area of silliness that I couldn’t blindside honestly. It didn’t completely disrupt the realistic atmosphere of the narrative but it did had me questioning ample times.
Goddamn, Leigh Whannell. Two features in a row and he knocks the ball out of the park both times. So far, The Invisible Man is one of the strongest thrillers of 2020. I know the year has just begun, but you know that when Universal Pictures releases a horror flick in late February, it’s their Ace card. I’m still amazed by how Leigh Whannell managed to take a famous existing property, modernize it, apply his own original take, and craft it in such a meticulous sense with both slick direction and a fully developed story while only working on a $7 million budget. Bravo, Leigh Whannell! You have created your own renaissance. I’ll call it “The Whannellissance”. You’re two for two right now. But honestly, there’s no way he can top this for me… until he does Upgrade 2. Can we please get that to happen?Rating: 4.5/5 | 90%
