By Freeman of Portsmouth
If there are three genres of movies I will watch, no matter the quality, they are: 40’s romantic comedies, 70’s gialli slashers, and 30’s monster movies. Why? I can’t explain but if you know me, it makes a lot of sense. In my adoration of 30’s monster movies, (and I don’t mean to BRAG here) I’ve seen all the classic Universal monster movies. All the Mummies, all the Frankensteins, all the Draculas, and all the Invisible Persons. While not my favorite of the classic monsters (*cough* Bride of Frankenstein *cough, cough*) the ‘Invisible Man’ movies are some of the more consistently entertaining.
ENTER Leigh Whannell’s 2020 reboot ‘The Invisible Man’, out now 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, and DVD courtesy of Universal Studios.
Small in its scale, cunning in its design, and ingenious in its execution; writer/director Whannell has delivered an excruciatingly intense chiller. Hot off the success of his 2018 action-thriller ‘Upgrade’ (which, if you’ve seen it, that detail alone should pique your interests), the co-creator of ‘Saw’ crafts another fable about the dangers of modern life. In ‘Upgrade’ it was over-reaching technology, this time it’s abusive relationships.
Elisabeth Moss stars as Cecelia, a woman recently escaped from a dangerous relationship with a violently unstable and manipulative optics pioneer. Her ex subsequently seemingly kills himself but soon Cecelia finds HERself tormented by a diabolical, unseen presence. She says it’s her ex, everyone else says she’s traumatized. Now Cecelia must prove her sanity and protect her and her loved ones’ lives in the process.
What I’m going to say next confirms whether or not there is actually an Invisible Man. I don’t think it’s a spoiler but if you would rather not know, I’ll treat it as such…
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– Oh yeah, there’s an Invisible Man. It’s the title. It’s a reboot. There was going to be an Invisible Man.
I’ve had my share of bad relationships but nothing close to as bad as the kind depicted in ‘The Invisible Man’ so I will tread lightly here. What I will say is Whannell’s handling of the subject matter reminded me a great deal of Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’. Both films frame very real societal problems through the lens of a horror movie. And in both it works very well. Never in ‘The Invisible Man’ does Cecelia’s plight feel exploited. Rather her extraordinary circumstances highlight and comment sympathetically on the experiences and treatment of traumatized ex-partners. I think Whannell deserves commendation for that alone.
But the movie is also properly scary and never forgets its genre. The special effects are cleverly utilized but most of the time the main effect is the cinematography by Stefan Duscio. It vilifies the dead space in every shot’s composition, keeping the audience guessing and on edge. And when the titular antagonist makes his presence known, GOD does he.
If I have a complaint about the movie, though, it IS the villain. The way it works with the archetype of the Invisible Man is very clever, finding workarounds for classic logistical problems I will not divulge here. BUT, due to the nature of the piece, he’s not really allowed to be a character. He’s a force, for sure. Terrifying, lethal, and unpredictable. But he isn’t really a character. I don’t need (or want) to sympathize with the guy but by the end, we don’t have a clear idea of him.
It’s a minor complaint in an otherwise truly great modern horror movie. The performances (particularly Moss, Aldis Hodge, and Harriet Dyer) are across the board terrific, the plot is meticulously well crafted, and it’s smart. It’s very smart. If you’ve been putting it off, I highly recommend checking it out now.
Categories: Random Stuff
Bull Moose 