Of the Universal classic monsters is The Invisible man the first you think of? Probably not since you have Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, and so many more. But out of all the attempts to bring back these classic monsters writer-director Leigh Whannell understands what truly makes these iconic horror characters work.
This revamp from Blumhouse and Universal finds writer and director Leigh Whannell (Upgrade, Saw) altering this classic into a terrifying modern take which instead studies on abuse, paranoia and trauma, that results in a brilliant cool two hours of tension and fear. Instead of focusing the story on the mad genius, Whannell is more interested in focusing on the victim. And with Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale, Us) as your lead you have a realism to the terror that will unnerve you.
From the very opening scene to the very last shot of the film this movie holds no punches. It’s tense open is just the start of what will become a journey into madness. The work that Whannell does with the camera is near brilliant as he creates tension and allows certain shots to linger as you try to find any piece of evidence that will help you see the worlds hardest person to see like a game of “Where’s Waldo?” He’s also able to shift the direction from a sobering and empathetic direction to straight panic.
This version of The Invisible Man, finds a women Cecilia (Moss), fleeing late in the night from her abusive scientist boyfriend Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, The Haunting of Hill House), aided by her sister (Harriet Dyer, NBC’s The InBetween), their childhood friend (Aldis Hodge, Straight Outta Compton) and his teenage daughter (Storm Reid, HBO’s Euphoria). But when Cecilia’s abusive ex 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.
Leigh Whannell and company deliver a truly distressing and nerve wracking film who’s DNA is composed of trauma, pain and hopelessness. It subtracts the big budget that most of these classic monster revivals have gone (The Mummy, Dracula Untold) and engages with an old monster in a new and truly scary way.
4.5/5
