The Invisible Man

Official Australian release date: 27/2/20. Viewed: 3/3/20.

Director: Leigh Whannell

Actors: Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer

Genre: Drama  

Rating: MA

  

  

‘The Invisible Man’ is probably about the 10^th remake of one of the original sci-fi/monster concepts, coming 87 years after the original film. Thankfully, it’s a very modern take, with no supernatural elements – just a well put together thriller. Cecilia (Moss) basically carries the film, and it starts with her escaping her controlling husband, Adrian (Jackson-Cohen), with the help of her sister, Emily (Dyer). She stays with their friend James (Hodge) and his daughter, Sydney (Reid), when she finds out that Adrian is dead.

With all apparently fine, things start to unravel, as Cecilia starts to believe Adrian is somehow stalking her from beyond the grave. Adrian’s brother, Tom (Dorman) assures Cecilia that Adrian’s dead. We’re left guessing, as we don’t get much insight into Adrian & Cecilia’s relationship or his motives, other than the fact he’s a Tony Stark-type rich inventor. This is where the idea of the invisibility coming from a high-tech suit is more plausible than supernatural powers.

After the great, almost-silent and very dark, start, the film establishes a good rhythm, until it kicks into overdrive for the final 30min or so. The tension, suspense and guessing “where is he?” throughout is handled really well, with it never getting too boring or predictable. There’s certainly a few really good jump scares! Better than ‘Hollow Man’, which I also liked, at least when it came out.

Overall: Enjoyable, suspenseful thriller re-imagining.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.