The Invisible Man (2020)
Rating – 4/4
*SPOILERS*
At first glance, this movie felt like another pointless remake of a classic movie. The first Invisible Man movie back in the 1930’s was a classic, pioneering, horror movie, albeit dated and a bit cheesy. Now, with remakes and sequels being the main moneymaker in the film industry nowadays, it was inevitable that The Invisible Man would be considered for a remake as well.
So, in the hands of director Leigh Whannel (Insidious, Upgrade), and Blumhouse Productions (Get Out, Us, Whiplash), there was a potential for a good story…and by God, did it deliver fully on its premise. Besides, an invisible man, there were also themes of emotional abuse and stalking, something that is very real, very painful, and like the main antagonist, can hide in plain sight with no one the wiser.
Weeks after leaving her abusive boyfriend Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), Cecelia (Elisabeth Moss) learns that he has killed himself and left her a substantial amount of money as an “apology” for the suffering. But as she begins to recover and get her life back on track, she feels like she’s being watched. During every hour and every day, Cecelia’s life begins spiraling out of control, convinced that Griffin faked his own death and is out to torment her. She alienates her friends, her relationship with her sister becomes strained, and everyone thinks she’s crazy. And worst of all, she has no one who believes her.
And unlike many low-budget horror films, this one is scary. There is nothing scarier than fear itself, never mind the themes of abuse. There are many scenes where the camera just lingers on an area like the corner of a room or down a dark hallway. And as a viewer, you can’t help but start trying to find a sign of the invisible man like a footprint or a faint outline. And you never know if someone is there or not, making the paranoia levels rise.
But the best part of the movie, in my opinion, is not the special effects, not the acting or the directing, but the themes of what abuse and stalking can do to a victim. Moss’s performance deserves the most praise here, as she comes across as a struggling woman, who can’t let the thought of her abuse go, even when others tell her to. They think it’s PTSD, she believes it’s Griffin haunting her. And like many abuse victims, they too are haunted by their experiences. And like Griffin, you can’t always see the abuse. There are times where she feels like it was her fault that she was abused. There are also times where it’s shown how much Griffin wanted to control Cecelia, like how she dressed and what she ate. And horrifyingly, she doesn’t elaborate on what he did when she didn’t follow his rules. It’s what you don’t see, right?
The Invisible Man (2020), could’ve been a cheap remake to cash in on the high numbers of horror movies being made today, but instead, the film decided to explore serious themes and topics, rather than just going for blood and gore. And to my relief, there were a surprisingly low amount of jump scares. In my opinion, this is how horror movies should be made: using tension to build scares. But for fans of blood and gore, there’s plenty of that in this movie too. Also worthy of note is the score and the cinematography, all adding to the tense and paranoid atmosphere. The film is also not devoid of any humor or clever lines as well, highlighting how this movie is cleverer than one would think at first glance. And I firmly believe that this remake is better than the original. It’s scary, it’s tense, and explores subject matter that is presented in a fresh and exciting way.
And that begs a question: are you really alone right now?
