Spoiler Warning: This discussion contains some spoilers. It could be an entire gag from a comedy or in-depth conversation concerning events in the second act.
"Surprise."
The Invisible Man is one of the more recent rave horror films that I missed in its initial 2020 COVID run and have been desperate to see it ever since it left theatres. Given that I very much enjoyed Leigh Whannell's previous venture (science-fiction infused action joyride, Upgrade), I was super curious to see what he would do with horror. I don't think this is the next Hereditary or The Lighthouse - but I really don't see it as far away from the quality of Us, or A Quiet Place. It fits very nicely into quite the saturated modern revival of horror cinema.
Whannell's very rigid, calculated camera stylings make their appearance in this film, much like they do in Upgrade, though they achieve entirely different effects. The Invisible Man is a horror with a social message - like film school tells you, the best horrors do. This is a pretty blatant metaphor for domestic abuse and toxic relationships cleverly done within a matter of minutes. Whilst Moss' Cecilia does eventually talk about her abusive partner, it is clear from the opening sequence, one lacking dialogue and without a drop of contextualisation, of the dynamic at play. The level plain of vision, the stable and precise camera movement are very effective ways of showing how restricted Cecilia is in Adrian's presence. This intelligent level of filmmaking is present throughout. The decision to show empty spaces frequently in sequences makes your mind race about where the titular invisible man is in a room, or even if he is in the room.
Elisabeth Moss is remarkable in the lead role, managing to take a screenplay that is rather unkind to her character's development and making a complete performance out of it. I wish the studio had just given the screenplay another go around - it's trite in the dialogue department and falls flat in the second act until the appearance of the invisible man. It feels like it holds out just a tad too long because the third act is absolutely killer - in more ways than one. It's gloriously violent with a unique way of creeping out an audience and vitally picks up all the slack from the middle third.
The Invisible Man is a really good time; it holds its own in a sea of horrors with high production value, and filmmakers competent enough to move beyond jump scares and old tactics. This takes those tropes and uses them against you whilst also having the nouse to pay homage to H.G. Wells' original novel and the 1933 Classic Hollywood B-movie. It's a tidy watch, but more than anything, it makes me excited to see more by Whannell, who is quickly becoming one of my favourite directors on the rise.
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