The Marvel cinematic universe has done rather well financially ye may have heard. Other films studios wanted some of that sweet sweet windfall so started looking at what they could do with their existing properties. Warner Brothers dove straight in with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman etc and failed miserably with the Justice League movie and Universal studios decided to delve really far back and rejig their old monster films from the 1930's and 1940's and give them a contemporary sheen. The resulting films, Dracula Untold (2014) and The Mummy (2017) were disasters and Universal quietly shelved their plans for a shared cinematic universe consisting of Dracula, The Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster, Dr Jekyll and The Invisible Man who would have been played by Johnny Depp. A new plan of action was formed when Blumhouse pictures, a new horror themed production house got involved and this brings us to 2020 version of The Invisible Man. H.G. Wells, who wrote the original story would have been proud.
Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) is on the run from her controlling and abusive boyfriend Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a multi millionaire tech designer. She's had enough of his coercion and finally made a break for it but he's left a serious psychological imprint on her. Holed up with her friend James (Aldis Hodge) she's understandably a mess but eventually she comes to see he's no longer a danger to her. Until little things start happening and she comes to fear for her safety and the safety of those around her.
Now that's how you make a horror film. The Invisible Man is a genuinely effective watch from start to finish. Unnerving, unsettling, and ultimately very very satisfying. Basing it's scares on a very relatable scenario is a smart move and from the off you'll be on edge. We're thrown in at the deep end with a nailbitingly tense escape from a relationship a lot of people will find familiar. Then come the mindgames and the gaslighting and the film ups the tension to the nth degree as as we watch Cecilia threaten to come apart at the seams. It's all done cleverly, through suggestion and "Did I see that" little practical effects. Director Leigh Whannell's camera panning across empty rooms filled with detail that we scan desperately in the hope of spotting something before it jumps out and freaks us. Cheap jump scares that never come, the film instead building the suspense in a slowburn fashion that pays off in spades as the movie progresses.
The film's revelations may feel a bit far fetched but a tremendous turn from Elisabeth Moss keeps it all grounded. The film is named after a man but it's her show. Her Cecilia's never a victim, turning the male gaze back on itself, copping from the start that something's not quite right and growing massively frustrated at the people around her not noticing. Instantly we're on her side, even before we know there's a genuine substance to her fears. She's Peggy Olsen, Zoe Bartlett, Offred, definitions of feminine resilience, she's earned our trust on TV and now she's showing us how capable she is of carrying a movie too. That well earned smile, a shocking shower moment, a rather upsetting restaurant breakdown. The woman has got serious range and she gets to use it all in this movie.
The novel this film is based on is 123 years old but it's lost none of it's power in this modern day update. It's a story about bad men doing bad things making it a very topical tale to tell in a #metoo era. There are scenes in here people will find genuinely troubling. It's a dark (and startlingly violent in places) story of a woman fighting to regain her agency in a world where powerful men can get away with pretty much whatever they want. It's a real horror film for a modern age.
In cinemas now and really worth your time. Oh, and so much better than a Johnny Depp version could ever be.
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