The Invisible Man Movie Review
A Fun and Chilling Re-Telling of the Classic Story
The Dark Universe was supposed to be Universal’s answer to Marvel, DC and even the MonsterVerse that Legendary Entertainment has put forth. It was going to feature all of the classic horror characters many of us have grown to love: Dracula, the Mummy, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide, The Wolf Man and more. But ever since the first movie hit theaters with Dracula Untold in 2014, things have not gone as planned. After that film flopped, Universal went back to the drawing board and re-tooled and were ready to re-launch things with The Mummy, featuring Tom Cruise in 2017. Strike two. At that point word started to trickle out that all of the movies which were in conception and slated to be made were off the table.
One film that was supposed to be in that line of movies was The Invisible Man. Originally this movie was to feature Johnny Depp in the leading role, and was to carry the story deeper into The Dark Universe. Obviously, that didn’t happen. So instead of continuing down the path of films that were all somehow tied together, Universal decided to go in a different direction and just create films and stories that were individualized. Fortunately for movie goers — strike three doesn’t happen. The Invisible Man is really good, and hopefully is the re-start to what Universal had in mind with these great characters.
The storyline in this new adaption from H.G. Wells’ original novel is familiar, but modernized in a way that allows the film to really focus mainly on one character: Cecilia Kass, played terrifically by Elisabeth Moss. The film is lean, and doesn’t really get a lot into subplots or side stories. It is simple in its approach: Moss’ character is trapped in an abusive relationship that she wants to escape, and her boyfriend, who doesn’t deal well with rejection, finds a way to haunt and abuse her further. On the surface, that would seem thin, but the way the movie is filmed, the outstanding musical score, special effects and Moss’ performance — build the tension up just enough to provide some genuine goose bump moments and even a few scares.
The film starts off with Cecilia waking up in the middle of the night and tiptoeing around a gigantic and opulent home, as if she fears that any wrong move will be the end of her life. It doesn’t take long to figure out that she is running from her boyfriend, and the home is like a prison to her, complete with tall walls surrounding it which she must climb to escape. Once she does get away, she lives with a friend and his daughter, with strict instruction to them and her sister that no one is to know where she is, as her ex has the power and capabilities to track her down. She is even fearful of going outside to get the mail. After some time in hiding, her sister arrives to tell her that her old boyfriend has offed himself, and that she is safe to re-join the world. Just as she begins to let her guard down, however, things start happening that make her look crazy, violent and as if she is an unsafe person to be around. Cecilia has her suspicions — but proving them is another matter.
Elisabeth Moss is a perfect selection for the role of Cecilia Kass, as her character in The Handmaid’s Tale seems as though it has prepared her specifically for this movie — even down to the blank close up stares into the camera. She is able to pull of the persona of someone who is scared of her own shadow in the beginning, to someone who is willing to do anything to get their life back as the story unfolds. The other character, if you can call it that, driving the movie is the sound score. Sometimes the music in a movie is just as synonymous with the film as the characters in it, and Benjamin Wallfisch has composed a masterpiece for The Invisible Man. As I left the theater, I heard as many people talking about the music as I did about the movie.
This film admittedly caught me off guard. I just wasn’t expecting much, and perhaps because of those lowered expectations it seemed better than it really was — but I thoroughly enjoyed it and really hope that if Universal is looking at continuing more individual movies featuring these classic characters — that The Invisible Man will be the catalyst to enable them to do so.
The Invisible Man is now playing and is Rated R for some strong bloody violence, and language.
