I watched this during week two of Quarantine 2020. Wow, I really wish I would have seen this when theaters were still open. Invisible Man is a really good watch. I have to admit that I didn't pay the obnoxious $20 for the two-day rental. That's price gouging at its finest. Soap2Day came in clutch.
Starting with my positives, Elizabeth Moss is great in the lead. Her character, Cecilia Kass, is a great character that is portrayed even better. She's presented as a strong, intelligent, yet vulnerable woman. I love when films present strong, female characters without beating the audience over the head with that she is, in fact, a woman. Great screenwriting and direction produce this.
Leigh Whannellcontinues to impress me. His direction is fantastic. I've liked to loved nearly everything he's been attached to writing and directing-wise. The way Whannelluses the camera is simply fantastic. He makes the camera be a character in a way. It's apparent to the attentive viewer that the camera lingering signals that Adrian, the titular Invisible Man, is present. These small details are examples of great filmmaking and direction.
All of the characters in The Invisible Man have great chemistry and writing like I previously said. I especially liked the scenes when Cecilla is at Aldis Hodge's (James) house. Their dialogue and chemistry was great. There were a lot of heart-warming moments between Cecilla and James. It's rare for me to actually enjoy these types of scenes in horror films due to extremely generic writing. The way that Adrian, the antagonist, was presented was also great. We don't explicitly see what he has done to Cecilla, yet it is presented that we know the severity of the abuse. This is accomplished with a great cold open. The threat of Adrian is introduced right away. Less is always more when it comes to showing domestic abuse in film. Implying it well always works well compared to actually showing it. It can become exploitative quickly.
Like I said while talking about Leigh Whannell, I loved the camerawork throughout the film. There's a lot of unique shots and camera movement. My favorite of which is quickly becoming a staple of Leigh Whannell. He shoots certain action/movement sequences as if the camera is attached to the characters, creating a great effect and look. I also liked the way interior shots were created. The camera will often span/cross across multiple rooms at once. We get a good feel for both the Hodges' apartment and Adrian's mansion.
As for my negatives, I only have some minor complaints. One of them is the common horror cliche of characters not believing the protagonists. This is an extremely common cliche in almost all sub-genre of horror. It typically never works, and it definitely doesn't here. There are some moments where it simply doesn't make sense that characters don't believe Cecilla. One of these is a scene in a restaurant. I won't get into spoilers, but "movie-logic" is definitely at play here.
In conclusion, Leigh Whannell crafted a great horror/thriller. The Invisible Man should be a shining example on how to blend technology and horror. Some great tension-building and a great performance by Elizabeth Moss make the film a must-watch during Quarantine.
8/10
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