“The Invisible Man”: A must-see for horror fans

Story by Will Hanson, Arts and Entertainment Editor

“The Invisible Man” is a horror/thriller film written and directed by Leigh Whannell. The film stars Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen as the titular villain.

The film follows Cecilia (Moss) after escaping from her abusive ex, a millionaire, named Adrian (Jackson-Cohen). When he takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she begins to think that Adrian’s death was a hoax. After an increase in strange events, Cecilia begins to think she is being hunted by someone that cannot be seen.

Following the financial and critical failure of 2016’s “The Mummy,” Universal’s original plan for an extended monster universe was scrapped. Several years later, Universal announced that rather than focusing on creating multiple interconnected films, they would be making modern adaptations of the universal monsters that would focus on horror and story. “The Invisible Man” serves as Universal’s newest attempt at reimagining their most famous characters.

“The Invisible Man” is a fantastic horror movie with brilliant performances, great directing, strong themes and a pulse-inducing soundtrack. Made with a seven-million-dollar budget, the film is proof that a great movie with great visuals does not take hundreds of millions of dollars.

Although being an adaptation of the original “The Invisible Man” film and novel, the 2020 adaptation has little similarities to the originals, instead having a completely original story with new characters.

With each member of the cast giving a great performance, the entire film is held on the shoulders of Moss. Moss gives a breathtaking performance that aids in grounding a film with a premise that could easily have been cheesy and not scary.

Moss sells her terror to the audience, by having interactions with a character that the audience cannot see. Moss creates a character the audiences can easily relate to, even with her being in a far-fetched situation.

Whannell is in total control of his craft, with “The Invisible Man” being his third directing job. The incredible action scenes are filmed in a unique way, that provides an extra layer to the film. It takes immense skill to create an extremely terrifying movie with the scares coming from a man that is not even there. Whannell does a great job taking an over-the-top premise and making it completely realistic.

Whannell’s great directing is made even stronger by his excellent script. While it contains a few genre tropes, Whannell does a great job at subverting audience expectations. The film is two hours of nonstop thrills, with a sinister twist ending.

The taut direction and amazing shots are effective in prompting fear in the audience. The focus on empty spaces and chairs is excellent in creating the understanding that the invisible man is in the room.

Along with the great acting and visuals, a brilliant soundtrack aids in creating tensions. Composed by Benjamin Wallfisch, the soundtrack utilizes ambient noise and technological themes to properly fit the film.

“The Invisible Man” is an excellent monster-movie that serves as a great story about the realistic horrors of domestic abuse. Through an exploration of themes of gas-lighting and PTSD, the film is a perfect #MeToo revenge story.

The film is a must see for horror-fans, with great scares, tension, performances and violence. Fans of Alfred Hitchcock will enjoy the incredibly crafted thriller about an unseen man.

“The Invisible Man” is now playing in theatres everywhere.