The Invisible Man Review (2020)
MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING FOR DEPICTIONS OF ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS.
I'm not too familiar with the H. G. Wells story or its many adaptations. But The Invisible Man 2020 is one incredible movie. For the most part. It's probably a good thing that Universal abandoned its Dark Universe monsters cinematic universe (or so it seems). Instead of a movie that focuses on building a franchise and setting up 5 other films, this one takes things slow and tells a very small story.
At its core is Elizabeth Moss' transcendent performance as a woman escaping from an abusive relationship and the scars of the aftermath personified by the titular Invisible Man. It's bleak and tense and is phenomenally put together by Leigh Whannell and Moss (who was also given script doctor duties). The movie is scene after scene of none stop tension and fear and it truly doesn't let up until the credits roll. Every pan to an empty corner of a room and every moment of silence build off of a very primal fear of something or someone that may not be there, forcing the viewer to pay close attention to every sound or movement in the shot. It also does a fantastic job at showing and not telling and feels vague enough for people to suspend their disbelief in some minor issues involving security cameras, characters who move from one location to another at an impossibly fast and convenient rate, etc. When the story is this effective and alarming, its smaller flaws can easily be forgiven. But the same could not be said about where the movie ends up going. Minor spoiler: there's a series of twists towards its final moments that, makes you rethink what you've just seen and Leigh Whannell gets off on those twists. However, I think he takes things too far and there wasn't enough proper setup to earn its payoff. Instead, it feels like a twist for the sake of a twist. It makes things borderline nonsensical in my opinion but the message, despite how sloppily it was delivered, is a dark and worthwhile discussion in how the system treats its women.
I really feel that if it had just ended another way and if the last 15 minutes were not what it was, 2020's Invisible Man would've been one of my favourite horror movies ever. But as it is, it's still definitely worth watching if you can handle it and it's legitimately traumatizing and terrifying.