"The Invisible Man" (2020) Movie Review

When a film has you on the edge of your seat from the opening moments, you know you've found a real gem. The Invisible Man revives an aspect of horror that's been lost for some time now and that's surprise. Even though you know who the invisible man is and you know what's going on, the film still manages a fantastic twist and a lot of mystery.

The Invisible Man follows Cecilia, an abuse victim who has finally gotten the courage to leave her husband Adrian. A couple weeks later, Cecilia receives news that Adrian has committed suicide and has left her 5 million dollars. She thinks that's finally the end of her suffering, but pretty soon she starts feeling like she's being watched. Soon enough, strange things start happening which leads Cecilia to believe that Adrian is still alive and is stalking her. With her sister and friends convinced that she's delusional, Cecilia's mental stability declines as she tries to prove that her abusive husband faked his death and is coming after her once again.

Leigh Whannell has written and directed a real masterpiece. You know who the villain is and you know that Cecilia isn't crazy, but the way certain moments were filmed and approached still gave you that shadow of disbelief, made you doubt your instincts and made you second-guess your own eyes. Is Cecilia telling the truth or was she traumatized so horribly that she's developed a split-personality? Or, did her husband actually find a way to cheat death and become invisible? The film is so well-written and masterfully crafted that, even though you should see what's coming, you're still surprised by the outcome.

I loved Whannell's choice of camera angles. He films a couple scenes in a way that makes it feel like you're peeking around a corner. Every now and then he pans over to what appears to be an empty doorway or hallway...but is it really empty?

Elisabeth Moss, who plays Cecilia, is at her best here. Yes, she's fantastic in The Handmaid's Tale and Mad Men but The Invisible Man took her talents to a whole new level. She made you believe that the events unfolding were real. She sold you on the desperation Cecilia had and she pulled off her crazed paranoia perfectly.

The film plays on the fear that we all have at least once in our lifetimes: are we really alone when we think we are? Or is someone watching us? When we feel the hair stand up on our necks, when we feel uneasy or anxious out of nowhere, is our sixth sense warning us? Are we ever truly alone?

In conclusion, if you're a horror/thriller fan, this is a film you can't miss. It has everything you'd want from a good fright fest and reinstates hope that the horror genre is indeed making a comeback. I give the film a 4 out of 4.