The Invisible Man review

Even though the antagonist in “The Invisible Man” might be unseen, the fear he creates permeates throughout the film. He is everywhere and sometimes nowhere. This kind of suspense prepares the viewer to experience a quiet buildup and then all of a sudden it grabs your attention even if you expect it. The Invisible Man is a sophisticated and harrowing sci – fi horror film with twists and turns that causes the viewer to sympathize and empathize with the protagonist as she tries to deal with trauma from a toxic relationship at the beginning of the film and escapes her partners home to find out two weeks later he dies and left a will of ten million, but the money is part of this I’ll call him a vengeful spirits plan. Whenever she tries to break her silence to her friends and sister they find it difficult to believe her but the fear she experiences is tangible and unrelenting. The film’s momentum is derived from the constant psychological dread that is supplemented with the visible pain and Leigh Whannell’s brilliant genre entry amplifies the pain the protagonist Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) experiences with ever scene even if little action is happening and that it all credited to Moss’s performance wherein scenes with no dialogue her uptight body language and facial expressions will cause the viewer to empathize with her frightened state. We believe Cecilia Kass and don’t refute her paranoia but this crazy woman cliche in horror/thriller films eventually builds up to making sense in the conclusion.

Now onto the cinematography. There film is sharply edited and has brilliant cinematography where camera work in the bedroom, attics, and a secluded mansion keeps the attention on Cecilia but the camera work creates a lot of suspense when close-ups on certain objects such as a chair or a hallway created impending dread and terror. Cecilia’s isolation when she’s in places such as the secluded mansion is intensified by Benjamin Wallfisch’s haunting score. Equally important are the aspects I didn’t enjoy which were scenes that didn’t make sense. These scenes created tension, confusion, and guilt in Cecilia and the villian kept his control on her by incriminating her in acts that weren’t believable to her character even if the viewer didn’t have a solid backstory to her life. Having said that, there are a few scenes where Cecilia is in a vulnerable state and is a target to the villain’s actions that will make her as evil as he is. This is a ploy some horror films villain’s have done in the past and when I saw a scene where she fell victim to the perpetrator actions I had to somewhat chuckle because it reminded me of the film Candyman where the protagonist not only was to be the victim of the Candyman but became sort of his partner in his killings. Even though unoriginal it did add an interesting element because in this film you can’t see the villain setting her up for her demise. Another thing I want to note is something I’ve mentioned before. Cecilia didn’t have a fleshed out backstory to explain the torment she had to endure within her toxic relationship with her husband. On the subject on the husband who becomes “The Invisible Man” there isn’t much to evaluate his character development because he doesn’t have much screen time and the only thing viewers will sympathize and empathize with and I believe the women more so than the men is her trepidation towards him even though we don’t know to what extent the torment in the relationship had gone. Having said that, for what the film delivered as a horror/thriller/sci-fi film I can say that it did a proficient job and the supporting actors balanced the pace of the film with captivating performances. If you’re into horror/thriller/sc-fi film then definitely check this film out. Leave a like and comment if you would like to chime in. Follow my page so you can stay up to date with future posts. As always peace, stay safe during this quarantine we’re going through, and keep it real.

My rating for the film 4/5, Grade : B+