‘The Invisible Man’ moves the Classic Monsters into modern horror, suspenseful and thrilling
Universal Studios’ Classic Monsters franchise dates back to the glory days early cinema, scaring audiences with Dracula and Frankenstein. Now partnering with Blumhouse to deliver a new, updated and scary version of The Invisible Man.
Elisabeth Moss (Us, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale) stars as Cecilia, who escapes her wealthy, genius scientist boyfriend named Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), who is extremely abusive and destructive in their toxic relationship. She flees in dead of night to disappear into hiding, aided by her sister (Harriet Dyer), their friend (Aldis Hodge) and his teenage daughter (Storm Reid).
Just two weeks later, Cecilia learns Adrian commits suicide, leaving his fortune to her, but sh’es not convinced he’s gone.
A series of bizarre moments and eerie coincidences quickly turns lethal, threatening the lives of those she loves and, more importantly, Cecilia’s sanity. She thinks she’s being hunted by someone nobody can see.
Elisabeth Moss in Leigh Whannell’s ‘The Invisible Man’
Director Leigh Whannel (Insidious films, writer of Saw) helms the dark and edgy thriller which is rooted in more suspense rather than graphic horror. Whannel’s stalker movie is very innovative and interesting, using “empty” shots (he’s invisible) to keep the audience tense and on edge.
The Invisible Man deals with abuse and the mental trauma resulting from these destructive relationships. Moss is just incredible, bringing Cecilia’s dissent into madness into the audience’s mind’s eye that “jump scares” work well due to the tension and emotional connection.
Unlike the classic film, Adrian uses technology to disappear and reek horror on Cecilia. Whannel delivered in an amazing way and the trailers/teasers don’t ruin a thing.
H.G. Wells’ novel is one of my favorite books of all-time, but the 1933 film with Claude Rains is not particularly re-watchable for me. I enjoy a few scenes, of course, but this version is truly incredible.
“Spine-chilling” and “edge of your seat” is exactly how you will feel during this film. That said, this never becomes overtly gross (like a Saw film), graphic or profane. Best horror film since A Quiet Place for me.
Some reviews might expect or harp on the theme of “toxic masculinity,” a term I despise. Adrian is NOT a toxic male, he is a CRIMINAL abuser and should be in jail. That said, don’t shy away because Whannel never gets preachy or side-tracked down any rabbit hole. In fact, I could see version where the tech gets overly explained in a scene and screen time is wasted with “the stuff which really doesn’t matter.”
Universal tried to copy the MCU with an all-star cast and massive film slate for their Classic Monsters, but Tom Cruise’s The Mummy fell flat and the entire Dark Universe was scrapped.
If Blumhouse is going to lead the Universal creatures into 21st century, then audiences can expect more great films.
The Invisible Man gets 9 stars out of 10 stars
Admittedly that’s soft score and want to see it again. I’m more inclined to move it UP to a 9.5 rather than demote it to an 8.5. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FILM.
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