I didn’t realize the last review I wrote on here was for Joker (2019)… I guess it was so bad it put me off writing reviews for 3 months… sorry about that. But considering we’re living in a completely new world considering the state of this virus thats been infecting the world. I figured I’d review the last movie I got to see in theatres The Invisible Man.
“He said that wherever I went, he would find me, walk right up to me, and I wouldn’t be able to see him.”
Release Date: February 28th, 2020 (on VOD for 19.99 to rent!)
Length: 2H 4M
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
MPAA: 14A
Leigh Whannell has been in the horror scene for a while. He is extremely good friends with director and writer James Wann and they created the SAW franchise together (Whannell actually plays Adam in the original Saw film (2004). His first film he directed was Insidious: Chapter Three, which i thought was pretty alright. Ever since his fully original films directorial debut: Upgrade (2018), I’ve been extremely interested to see what he was going to do next. When I found out it was this Invisible Man remake, I was definitely intrigued but skeptical, I never saw the original film, but I know its a classic Universal Monster. I didn’t even watch the trailer for The Invisible Man (2020), I went in as blindly as I could.
The Invisible Man (2020) is a horror, mystery, Sci-Fi, and Thriller movie about Celia’s abusive ex takes his own life. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone no one can see.
The Invisible Man (2020) is written and directed by Leigh Whannell. His filmography consists of Saw {Writer} (2004), Saw II {Writer} (2005), Saw III {Writer} (2006), Dead Silence {Writer} (2007), Insidious franchise {writer} (2010-2018), and Upgrade {writer and director} (2018). Whannell with The Invisible Man has cemented himself in this reviewers mind as one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. Using similar camera techniques that he utilized in Upgrade (2018) and made an extremely effective horror movie. I did not see the original Invisible Man, but Whannell’s version is all from the perspective of the woman, which I thought ramped up the tension and the horror.
The Invisible Man (2020) stars Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia Kass, Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Adrian Griffin, and Aldis Hodge as James Lanier.
Elisabeth Moss’s filmography consists of Girl, Interrupted (1999), The Missing (2003), The West Wing {TV Series} (1999-2005), Get Him To The Greek (2010), Mad Men {TV Series} (2007-2015), and Us (2019). Elisabeth Moss has been everywhere lately and I am absolutely here for it. It seems to me that she does not want to be typecasted, so she has been trying to do as many different genres as possible and it is fantastic. I thought she absolutely NAILED the role of Cecilia, she was so vulnerable but still a badass at the same time.
Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s filmography consists Going The Distance (2010), The Raven (2012), and The Haunting of Hill House (2018-). I’ll be honest I do not remember his other roles much, I haven’t watched The Haunting of Hill House yet… yup I know, but I’ll fix that soon… not like I have anywhere to go.
Aldis Hodge’s filmography consists of Die Hard: With A Vengeance (1995), Straight Outta Compton (2015), Hidden Figures (2016) and NBA 2K19 {Video Game} (2018). I thought Hodge had great chemistry with Moss and I felt like they had a true friendship that has been going on for many years.
The sheer design of this movie just got to me, and I think thats why I thought it was effective. The camera lingers on scenes for a bit longer than you anticipate so your brain starts getting paranoid and you’re looking all over the screen to notice anything move… I think Whannell plays with this trick very well as you almost get comfortable with it and then what you’ve been dreading actually starts happening and then it resets. I thought it was effective.
There are a couple of points in this movie that you really question Cecilia’s actions, but they are there because its movie logic… it may not annoy you but it got to me after a bit, but I won’t take away points for that.
I don’t want to say too much more with fear of ruining anything in this movie. It was effective and if you’re in the mood for a well made and told horror movie… have a night in and rent The Invisible Man (2020) now steaming via On Demand! I think its 20$ though, but its totally worth it.
The Invisible Man (2020) gets a 5/5 from me, easily the best movie I got to see so far this year. definitely check it out.
Until next time! Stay safe everyone!
-Andrew