The Invisible Man Director Ignored Test Screening Criticism

Leigh Whannell’s latest entry into the horror genre debuted this week. The Invisible Man is a hit with the critics and audiences all around. In fact it’s neck and neck on Rotten Tomatoes with a 90% critics score and 89% audience score. Why does this matter you ask? Well it seems during test screenings, audiences wanted more, and instead of caving in to what audiences want, Whannell stuck to his vision.

Spoiler Warning if you haven’t seen the film yet.

During the opening scene of the movie we see Elisabeth Moss’s character Cecilia making her escape from her partner Adrian. Now we as the audience know something must be pretty bad for her to want to escape. We don’t need to see it to know. Well during test screenings that was one of the major gripes. Audiences wanted more set up. Even execs told Whannell that it wouldn’t work.

“We did get that note along the way. In test screenings, one thing we would hear was, ‘Well, I need to see more,’” Whannell tells The Hollywood Reporter. “There almost seemed to be this need or a request for that scene of ‘Let’s spend five minutes with them before she escapes.’ And I just didn’t want to write that scene where it’s like, ‘You call these dishes clean!? (Whack.)’ I’m never going to be able to write a scene that will make Adrian as scary as the audience can make him. In my mind, I hoped that Cecilia’s reactions and the way she was acting told you everything you need to know.”

Trust me when I say the scene works perfect the way it is. I do wish we could have seen more screen time from Oliver Jackson-Cohen but the movie is about Cecilia and her trying to over come abuse and the PTSD it has caused her. The movie also boasts a hefty run time for a horror film. I think it’s best you go see the movie for yourself and judge.

Who knows?! Maybe we will see additional footage in the home video release. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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