The Invisible Man review: Two straight hours of nail-biting tension

Sharp camerawork and a dedicated performance from Elizabeth Moss make The Invisible Man a paranoia-filled nail-biter that revitalizes a classic story for a new generation.

When the first trailer dropped online, we were admittedly unsure of what to expect from Leigh Whannell’s reimagining of the classic horror story The Invisible Man. The film has had somewhat of a tumultuous production history – originally slated to be a part of a much bigger franchise until The Mummy bombed and sunk the Dark Universe before it even truly began. The film was shelved temporarily until it was picked up and reworked, and now a few years later, it’s finally in theaters.

While the film maintains the terrifying premise central to the character in H.G. Well’s original short story – a man discovers a way to turn himself invisible and proceeds to wreak havoc and terrorize innocents – it also updates the plot for a much modern era.

The 2020 version follows the story of Cecelia (Elizabeth Moss), a young woman who flees from a relationship with her abusive, sociopathic genius boyfriend Griffin. Weeks later, news reaches her that Griffin has committed suicide, but Cecelia finds herself haunted by an unseen foe hell-bent on destroying her life (and her sanity).

It would be impossible to review The Invisible Man without talking about the performance of its leading lady, Elizabeth Moss. While it’s hardly news that Moss is a stellar actress ( her leading turns in Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale have cemented her as an undeniable talent), her performance in The Invisible Man is mesmerizingly tragic.

As Cecelia, she is perpetually haunted – with bags under her eyes and a gaunt pallor, she shakes like a leaf in most scenes and her eyes are constantly jittering around every room she enters – suspicious of her unseen enemy. Her performance singlehandedly carries the film – from the very first shot, the audience is immediately on her side, despite the fact that the first sequence is almost entirely silent.

The decision to center the plot around an abusive relationship is one that works on both a literal and figurative level – it not only provides the proper motivation for its characters but also speaks to how a harmful relationship can haunt its victim long after it’s over with.

Unfortunately, however, the film’s trailer does undercut what we believe was supposed to be one of the film’s central tensions – whether or not the Invisible Man is real or in her head. Should the trailer have been cut in a different manner it would’ve provided for a much different moviegoing experience because the audience would be unsure whether or not Cecelia is telling the truth.

However, the decision to include explicit explanations of how the invisibility works fairly early in the film also negates the possibility, and in doing so aligns the viewers much further in Cecelia’s favor. It’s an incredibly paranoid viewing experience because the audience is just as unsure about who’s in the room at any given moment as she is.

The cinematography and editing are also integral to what makes The Invisible Man work so well as a horror film – there are sequences of long, still shots, where virtually nothing is happening in frame and no noise, can be heard, but nonetheless, the entire theatre is holding a collective breath because deep down we know that Griffin must be in the room. Special credit must be given to Stefan Duscio, the cinematographer, without whom The Invisible Man would be nowhere near as horrifying.

On the less terrifying side of things, supporting actors Aldis Hodge and Storm Reid bring a surprising amount of warmth and humor to the film – the pair play the father-daughter duo that takes Cecelia in when she initially leaves Griffin. Reid and Hodge have such believable chemistry that every scene with them feels like it’s plucked right out of old home videos, and they bring just the right amount of pathos to offset Cecelia’s struggle for revenge and freedom.

As we walked out of the theatre, though, it wasn’t the plot or characters that stuck with us the most. The Invisible Man is two hours of pure paranoia and tension, and the feeling of fear and uncertainty it instills in its viewers isn’t something that will leave even after you exit the theatre. The film’s particular brand of dread is a lingering one… executed to such perfection that as you drive back home, you can’t help but wonder if nobody else is really in the car with you.

Did you see The Invisible Man? What’s your favorite horror movie? Sound off in the comments below.