Movie Review: The Invisible Man

By Ryan Grow | March 18, 2020

What do you do when yuh know someone is there, but you can’t see them? Elizabeth Moss finds out the hard way in The Invisible Man, now playing in theaters.

The film follows Cecilia (Elizabeth Moss), who receives the news of her abusive ex-boyfriend’s suicide. She begins to rebuild her life for the better. However, her sense of reality is put into question when she begins to suspect her deceased lover is not actually dead.

Universal Pictures has recently started to reimagine their classic monster movie arsenal. The Invisible Man is the latest endeavor for Universal. Based on the book by H.G. Wells, The Invisible Man was originally supposed to be a part of Universal’s planned Dark Universe of connected monster films like Dracula, The Mummy, and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. 2017’s The Mummy starring Tom Cruise was supposed to kick things off, but after becoming a box office flop the studio decided to change directions.

Partnering with Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Production, Universe takes The Invisible Man in a new direction – which sadly includes dropping original star, Johnny Depp. The Invisible Man gets a fresh new spin on the classic story, delivering a cleverly intense movie with a fantastic lead performance.

The film was written and directed by Leigh Whannell (Insidious) /and The Invisible Man is just another example of Whannell’s ability to create high tension and smooth action. Whannell uses the empty frames of the film to build suspense and turns them into possible threats that hide the monster. He also does his best work when he puts viewers in Cecilia’s shoes when the action starts heating up. The filmmaker’s abilities help The Invisible Man become an immersive and heart-pounding horror film.

Even though Jackson-Cohen does great in his role as the Invisible Man and mixes charm and menace in the few scenes her gets, the movie really belongs to Elizabeth Moss’s brilliant performance as Cecilia. This new reimagining of the classic film turns the Invisible Man into an abusive husband who uses the ability to become invisible as a tool towards his abuse. This allows Moss to carry the emotional weight of the film, which she does phenomenally. 

With all the twists and turns that happen, The Invisible Man is still at its core a horror film, but it’s also a psychological thriller that dives into a survivor’s mind and delivers a very satisfying ending. 

Critic Rating: 4.5/5 stars

What did you think of the film? Sound off in the comments.