The Invisible Man

I'm not entirely sure what Universal's strategy is with their monsters after The Mummy bombed so hard several years back. Their "Dark Universe" was an intriguing concept that could have competed with other universes - to a certain degree - and there were a plethora of monsters to call upon. 

It was strange to me that one bad film (I didn't see it surprisingly, so I don't know how bad) would scrap that entire plan. 

Either way, perhaps The Invisible Man is what we got out of it. A standalone film, re-imagined for 2020 where the focus is clearly on how controlling the man in this woman's life is. 

Early reviews seemed to be kind of all over the board and then the consensus emerged that this was a good film and, if I'm being honest, it's better than it has any right to be for being a remake of a monster that I've always thought would be easy to beat. 

It's hard to speak to just one thing that makes this movie so effective and entertaining because, as I watched and mentally took notes, it's really good at a lot of stuff. All of that adds up to a film that you quick;y forget is a remake, and instead turns into an awesome, intense thriller with a dash of sci-fi. Particularly in the film's back half, when things get ratcheted up a notch, it's effortlessly moving from scene to scene and twist to twist and I was (as well as my nearly packed theater) totally along for the ride. 

The adapted screenplay and Elisabeth Moss deserve praise first. I've not been very familiar with Elisabeth Moss in my movie/TV watching career because it almost comically seems like whatever platform she's on (i.e. Hulu) I don't have, or I'm not interested in the film itself. Here she goes full out and treads this fine line where we believe her, because of what we're seeing on screen, but she also seems so crazy I half wondered if one of the twists was that she was making it up the whole time. Before seeing the film I'm not sure she would have been my first choice - I actually feel like this could have been a good addition to Blake Lively's quality library (Rhythm Section not included) - but Moss proved me wrong and is a strong anchor for the film. The screenplay, totally designed for a 2020, Me-Too world, is thoughtful and strangely while we still do get a film with an invisible man killing people, it's also another good example of a female empowerment on the big screen. The icing on top is that it's got some effective twists (of varying degrees), one of which was so shocking, I could hardly believe what I was seeing. My theater's gasp was loud. 

No....you don't look crazy at all...

Ooooo steamy!

What shocked me even more however, was just how well made Invisible Man was overall. Subtly, I began to notice that the cinematography and editing were top notch. The horror scenes were effective because the camera was allowed to linger and play tricks on the audience. The special effects, heavier in the back half of the film, were tremendous, even if they're comparatively small to a big scale blockbuster (think Ex Machina; subtle, but incredibly effective). The action is well choreographed and hits brutally hard. And the original score practically blew me away with it's aggressive horror-blasts and emotionally swelling themes. It's a lot of these less obvious things that I expected to be half-assed in something like this, but it's a pleasant surprise to report back that Invisible Man nails most all of them. 

The Invisible Man may represent a reset for Universal's monster house - I'm not quite sure; they're not advertising it as such - but either way the result is a compelling, well designed, and at times, shocking horror/thriller that gets so much of the "little" stuff right it ends up being a great movie. I wouldn't mind seeing this be the direction they go after abandoning their own universe. 

CONS

• Goes on a little too long, felt like it dragged in the first half setting everything up
• Some annoyingly dumb character mistakes/decisions. Most are early on, so it's not a big deal

PROS

• Wonderful screenplay that brings it to life in 2020 with some truly great twists and turns
• Elisabeth Moss balances the line between crazy and empowering and it drives a lot of the effectiveness for the film
• A shocking moment I'm not soon to forget, nor is my audience
• Gets so much of the little, but important stuff right
• Cinematography
• Editing
• Action choreography
• Special effects
• And that original score...damn!
• An update on a classic horror monster that's as effective as it is well-made

Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10