I'm just going to come right out and say it. The Invisible Man is a horror masterpiece, and it cements director/writer Leigh Whannell as one of the best, most exciting filmmakers in the genre today. It's the best movie of the year so far (granted, that's not saying too much right now, but it still counts for something), and there's a good chance it'll stay that way.
When I first heard about this movie, I was a bit surprised. While I love the original Invisible Man, and I knew Universal Studios was still trying to find a way to successfully reboot its classic monsters, I wasn't expecting them to reboot this particular one just yet. But I'm really happy that they did because they found the perfect way to update this classic character and bring him into the 21st century.
This one is about a woman named Cecilia who leaves her abusive boyfriend Adrian in the middle of the night, and she lives in fear of him for two weeks until she finds out that he killed himself. She thinks she's finally free of the mental and emotional hold he had on her, but she couldn't be more wrong. Pretty soon, weird things start happening, and at first the movie feels almost like another entry in the Paranormal Activity franchise. Eventually, Cecilia figures out that Adrian faked his death, found a way to make himself invisible, and is stalking her. From there, things get more and more intense, as the invisible man makes everyone think Cecilia is going crazy, and he does some pretty terrible things while making it look like she was the culprit.
On the surface, that may sound silly, and in the hands of a lesser director, it probably would be. But Leigh Whannell handles the story perfectly, milking the concept for all its worth without ever letting it become a self-parody. He keeps the creepiness and tension high throughout the entire movie, as you never know where the invisible man might be. He can strike at any time, and the movie hammers this home with an ingenious use of camera angles. There are times when you look at Cecilia and her friends from weird angles that let you know you're seeing them through Adrian's unseen eyes, and there are even times when the camera focuses on seemingly empty parts of the room, letting you know that Adrian is there even though you can't see him.
But The Invisible Man isn't just camera tricks and scares. Leigh Whannell also found a way to make the titular character more culturally relevant than I ever thought he could be. The movie is clearly a metaphor for abusive relationships, a timeless issue that unfortunately never goes away, but it also hones in on an element of this problem that is uniquely modern. Nobody believes Cecilia that her supposedly dead boyfriend is actually alive and invisible, and only recently has society come to realize the pain we cause when we dismiss women's claims of abuse.
In typical horror fashion, this movie takes that idea and amplifies it so the point is impossible to miss. The worst part about Cecilia's ordeal isn't Adrian's mind games; it's the fact that nobody believes her. Everybody thinks she's losing her grip on reality, and that causes both her friends and her relatives to cut her off and leave her to face her tormentor alone. I've never experienced that kind of abuse and mistreatment myself, but I imagine that what Cecilia feels in this movie must be exactly what real-life women feel in these kinds of situations. It's heartbreaking to watch, but it's important that we see it because it gives us a glimpse of just how much pain we cause when we nonchalantly dismiss women's allegations of abuse.
In particular, this metaphorical element works so well because of Elisabeth Moss's performance as Cecilia. While the acting is good all around, she's the clear standout here, and she makes you believe that she's really going through this psychological torture. Her performance is phenomenal, allowing you to really feel her pain and get a glimpse of what it's like not just for her character but for all women in similar situations.
As I said before, this movie is a masterpiece, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. In my opinion, it has two main flaws. First, some of the events in the movie rely a bit too heavily on "movie logic." For example, Cecilia figures out what's going on a bit too easily. While the movie tries its best to make you think this is a reasonable inference on her part, a moment's reflection on the absurdity of the whole idea of an invisible man is enough to make us realize that no matter how well it might fit with what we know of Adrian, it's just too much of a leap to get it right on the first guess. There are a few other things like that as well, but these are admittedly more nitpicks than genuine problems.
Secondly, and much more importantly, the final scene stumbles quite a bit. I don't want to spoil anything, but the filmmakers made a big narrative decision that doesn't fit with the rest of the movie. I see what they were going for thematically, and I appreciate the effort, but in my opinion it just doesn't work. I can't say anything else without spoiling it, so suffice it to say that this was a pretty big misstep. But it was the only real misstep of this movie, and since the rest of it is so good, I'm willing to forgive the ending and still consider the movie a masterpiece of the genre.
So if you're a fan of horror but you didn't get a chance to see The Invisible Man when it was in theaters, definitely check it out now that it's available on home video and online rental platforms. It's one of the best horror films I've seen in years. Hell, even if you're not a fan of horror, I'd still say you should check it out. This is one of those movies that can transcend the genre and appeal to people who aren't normally horror fans. It's just a great movie in general, so unless you're absolutely opposed to anything creepy or suspenseful, you don't want to miss out on this one.
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