Featured, Movie Reviews

‘The Invisible Man’ Review – Gripping and Heart Racing Horror At Its Finest

Synopsis:

When Cecilia’s abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.

There are good relationships and there are bad relationships, and then there is the relationship between Cecilia and Adrian. A toxic, manipulative, abusive situation that would have most dying to escape. The Invisible Man not only flexes Blumhouse’s suspense muscles but also highlights the real effects of mental and physical abuse. It also champions the support system one may need to get through such a traumatic experience. Firstly, I would call this a suspense movie. It’s listed as horror/sci-fi but it’s not quite the case. Suspense, while under the horror umbrella, I think when people hear horror there’s a certain expectation they want to be met. Secondly, the sci-fi aspect is very small yet big, but because we didn’t get any explanation or focus on the science part, I won’t call it sci-fi either. However, labels aside, I will call it great.

The acting by Elisabeth Moss was incredible, the score was perfect, and the twists and climax were satisfying. Also, the effects were great. The movie was able to avoid being predictable by omitting some of the more cliche jump-scares. It definitely plays with your emotions by setting up scenes as if to make you think the jump-scares might happen with its wonderful cinematography paired with that chilling score. It was done in such a way that you could feel the tension in the theater as people braced for a scare that didn’t happen when they expected it. Nonetheless, the film is a tad slow in the first act. It’s not something that particularly bothered me with this story because I felt it was necessary to show the mental torment of Cecilia and the relationship she has with her friends and family. It also builds perfect tension between the audience and the movie.

That said, I understand how some may feel. Lastly, there is a good balance in this screenplay. It initially starts quickly then mellows out and right as positive things begin to happen for our main character, everything starts to unravel in the worst way. Well, worst for her and compelling for us. Then the drama really starts. Overall, I found The Invisible Man to be greatly entertaining and would definitely see it again.

Sidenote – If you can, view the movie in a Dolby Cinema at an AMC theater, as I did, it makes the experience twice as great.

Plot & Pace

As I said previously, the pacing is a little slow in the beginning but not in an unpleasant way. The film follows Cecilia as she escapes the house of her abusive and controlling, wealthy scientist boyfriend. As she lays low at a friend’s house, she finds out that he is now dead from an apparent suicide and is now going to receive a large amount of money. However, she is suspicious of the whole situation as she recalls a past conversation and strange occurrences are starting to happen. She believes his death is a hoax while those around her believe she is losing her mind. Now, that her life and those around her may be in danger, she must do what she can to put a stop to it all. Can she outsmart the genius?

Characters & Chemistry

Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss) is jumpy, smart, and stronger than she knows. James (Aldis Hodge), the best friend is protective, a father, and a great friend. The chemistry between the two feels amazingly genuine. She feels incredibly safe around him and he wants nothing but the best for her. Moss puts on a terrific performance throughout the film and shows why she is one of the best. Michael Dorman as Tom puts on a surprising transformative performance that I wasn’t expecting. Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), the ex is a great villain and plays manipulative abuser perfectly, even though we don’t see him much… wink wink.