By Jackson Cooperman
“The Invisible Man” is a modernization of the classic story by H.G. Wells. The film opens with aggressive waves smashing into tall rocks. Appearing to be on the outskirts of an intimidating island, high up on the summit is a beautiful mansion. Cut to the inside of the home and we meet Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss), who’s coordinating a meticulous escape from her wealthy inventor—and unhinged—husband Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). There are few words spoken in the first several minutes, as it’s just silent tension. Of course, it doesn’t go as planned and Adrian learns of her escape before she can make a getaway. He chases her and nearly kills her, but she escapes just in time and her sister saves her.
Two weeks later, Cecilia is staying with friends and is too afraid to leave the house. Then, she discovers that Adrian has committed suicide and she is to inherit five million dollars, according to the will; there is a catch to her receiving the money, of course. Based on the title, you can probably predict who will come after her and how he will do it (he has designed an invisible suit).
“The Invisible Man”, for the first half at least, is a routine thriller. We’re easily able to predict what’s going to happen and where all the jump scares are going to be. I even found myself accurately predicting several lines of dialogue. However, it’s filmed with an undeniable charge and passion that we can sidestep its basic formula. Written and directed by Leigh Whannell who, along with James Wan, is now among the kings of the horror genre, Wan has real talent behind the camera. He does a good job showing us exactly what’s going on without telling us explicitly through dialogue. There is an effective moment where Cecilia is cooking breakfast and steps out for a moment. The camera stays planted as we subtly see the fire is turned up on the frypan until suddenly, it bursts into flames. Whannell makes us feel like a bystander, who helplessly watches terror unfold.
Once Moss’s character figures out what’s going on, the screenplay stays strong; It doesn’t have her make obviously stupid mistakes. She’s at a loss of what to do and so are we. We can’t laugh at her, or the plot, because we don’t know what we would do in her shoes either. Of course, there are the obligatory formulas: the characters who won’t believe her, the people who think she’s crazy, and the people who the antagonist manages to trick, etc. But in every scene, we can strongly feel Whannell’s love for horror and filmmaking that we don’t care about clichés. We’re just having a fun time.
The second half of the film gets more creative with its twists and turns. There is a scene where Moss meets her sister in a restaurant and she is angry at her for a threatening email that she received, that Adrian actually sent. The scene ends in a way I certainly did not see coming and was blindsided. There were one or two more moments like this later in the film that really got me, as well.
There’s a lot of nice camera work in the film and some skillful unedited shots that help accentuate the realism. Whannell has several moments where the camera stays on a chair or a corner for an extra five seconds. At first, we wonder why, but then we realize, he’s trying to show us the man we cannot see. The ending is fairly predictable but satisfying and it’s not the type of ending where everything is suddenly resolved and happy. The film stays strong and holds an uplifting but dark tone, leaving the rest to the audiences’ perception.
“The Invisible Man” is not masterful cinema or a landmark in horror by any means, but it’s a good, fun, entertaining rollercoaster. It’s a popcorn movie, where no matter how dumb or implausible things may get, you just don’t care because it’s fun and exciting. It is a satisfying way to spend a Friday night, especially with someone else to go on the ride with you.
