After the ill-advised The Mummy remake in 2017, no one could be blamed for lacking enthusiasm toward Universal Studios' intended "Dark Universe" slate, which would aim to resurrect all of their classic monster movie properties in one shared film universe, a la the Avengers. What I'm sure Universal intended to be an enticing promise about The Mummy kicking off a new monster-mash movie series now felt like a threat, after seeing Tom Cruise awkwardly scream his way through a halfhearted assembly-line action/adventure remake. In early 2019, it was announced that the "Dark Universe," had been vanquished, presumably by poor reviews and box office numbers. But the announcement came with a caveat: that classic monster movie remakes were still in the pipeline, but with "a more individualized approach," according to Universal president of production Peter Cramer.
A less jaded observer of the industry might have breathed a sigh of relief, but for me it just felt like a way of continuing their plan of cashing in on old properties while making an empty attempt to dissuade people from thinking future installments would be the similar in quality to The Mummy.
As such, it pained me to see a trailer just later last year for The Invisible Man, the next in line for resurrection. The 1933 adaptation, starring Claude Rains, was one of my favorite movies growing up, and I was doubtful that the schmucks in charge of the Universal monster revamp could do it any justice, even if it didn't have the "Dark Universe" logo slapped on it.
Well, color me impressed. It's actually pretty good.
The newest rendition of the classic H. G. Wells story takes a decidedly different approach than the 1933 version, opting to frame the titular monster as the mysterious, impending threat, and focusing on his primary victim as the subject. That's where this Invisible Man draws its power.
Cecelia Kass (Elisabeth Moss), called "Ce" by her friends, has cooked up a plan. She's finally going to escape the clutches of her maniacally obsessive and abusive boyfriend Adrian. His career as a "world leader in optics technology" has allowed him to create a high-tech fortress in which to live and hold Ce prisoner. One night, she manages to sneak out of the sprawling, high-security complex. Her cop friend James (Aldis Hodge) offers to let Ce stay with him with his daughter Sydney (Storm Reid) until she feels comfortable enough to venture into the outside world. Ce is naturally grateful for her friends' support and protection, but understandably, she has a hard time imagining a reality where Adrian doesn't come for her, wherever she goes.
When Ce begins hearing noises around James' house, and undiscernible forces begin taunting her when she's alone, James and Ce's sister Alice (Harriet Dyer) grow increasingly suspicious of Ce's mental and emotional stability. But Ce is certain that someone — Adrian — has found a way to torment her in ways that no one will believe.
It's a substantially more potent and allegorical take on the "Invisible Man" story, and one that's fitting for the modern social climate. Honestly, it's kind of refreshing to see a horror-thriller tackle — or at least play with — issues like abuse, its victims, and our cultural tendencies around listening to them. Perhaps these issues could have been more deeply investigated and more carefully unpacked, as writer-director Leigh Whannell (Saw, Upgrade) sometimes feels unsure of what exactly he's trying to say about them. Perhaps fleshing out Ce as a more multi-dimensional person beyond her victimhood could have made Whannell's use of her trauma as a device feel less manipulative. It's by no means the precise commentary of Get Out. But nonetheless, Ce's trauma and resulting paranoia heighten the terror of The Invisible Man, and make it that much more tragic, horrifying, and relatable.
Despite lacking a surgical dissection of the issues at its center, The Invisible Man is undeniably more effective for discussing them. Is it for everyone? I doubt it. Whannell absolutely weaponizes the fear and trauma from abuse as a way of making some seriously haunting and uncomfortable moments, and that may have unintended side effects on some people. But it is viscerally suspenseful as a result.
Whannell also brings with him some fascinating camera tricks, employing Upgrade cinematographer Stefan Duscio to craft some intense one-shot sequences in which Ce faces her invisible attacker. I wouldn't necessarily call the whole film "pretty," but The Invisible Man has more than its fair share of visual power to aid in the tension.
The film's greatest strength, unsurprisingly, is Moss. The Handmaid's Tale actress is horrifically empathetic, seeming absolutely shredded down to her last thread of sanity at times, and in the other, more uplifting moments, she's genuinely charming. We spend almost every scene with Ce, and the film couldn't have worked without the raw and agonized performance. Even the supporting roles, though much smaller, give this film an earnest humanity that is often neglected in the genre. Hodge is a lovable, deeply caring (even if sometimes misguided) older-brother-figure James, and Storm Reid is an adorable addition as his daughter.
It's the film's ending that feels the most confused however, going for a cathartic but admittedly one-sided and morally gray resolution. That's never inherently a bad thing, but in a film so clearly attempting to leverage the subjects of domestic violence and trauma as thematic meaning in the story, it feels somewhat off-putting — or at least concerning — to roll credits without making a definitive statement about said subjects.
It's not the cleverest social-commentary-thriller out there; for now, it seems like Jordan Peele might still be the closest thing we've got to a maestro on that front. Nor is it the most bone-shakingly terrifying, burn-images-into-your-brain, keep-you-up-at-night horror experience; Robert Eggers, Ari Aster, and others have done it better. But The Invisible Man is an entertaining, taut, and suspenseful blend of both, even if that blend is low-calorie. It makes for a solid, somewhat more thoughtful B-movie slasher thrill ride. The Invisible Man will have you rooting for its hero, and it might just have you second-guessing that random noise you hear in the corner of your room at night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO_FJdiY9dA&w=585