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Seeing Is Deceiving

We are a mere two months into 2020 and there has already been an onslaught of horror films populating the multiplexes. As it goes, most of the January releases are terrible at worst and forgettable at best, so it's easy to go into a reboot of "The Invisible Man" with some skepticism. Luckily, under the craft and care of director Leigh Whannell, "The Invisible Man" offers slick entertainment, genuine thrills, and an all-around fun time at the movies.

The movie wastes no time getting started. In a tense opening sequence, Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss) is performing a tightrope walk of an exit out of her boyfriend Adrian's (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) home. They live together in a heavily secured compound on a hill and it's quite the process just for her to get out the front door. She's scared and she's panicked. We aren't immediately sure why, until Adrian attempts to thwart her getaway by smashing the car window and attempting to pull her out of it. Cecilia is clearly trying to escape an abusive man.

Cecilia's relationship has left scars no one could imagine. She moves in with her friend James (Aldis Hodge) and his daughter (Storm Reid), in the hopes of Adrian not finding her there. She can barely step foot outside to get the mail, fearing Adrian may be lurking around the corner. Her trauma is palpable, and her fear is heartbreaking. When Cecilia learns Adrian has died, it's hard to determine how she feels. Is there a sense of relief? Likely. However, the monster dying doesn't erase what happened to her and Cecilia must navigate through those feelings. Any sense of freedom Cecilia experiences is short term because strange things start happening to her. She feels an invisible presence, which begins to torment her at unexpected moments. She is convinced Adrian has come back to continue terrorizing her but, of course, it's hard for anyone to believe such a seemingly outlandish story.

Narratively, "The Invisible Man" unfolds as one would expect. Cecilia's sanity is questioned, and she must try and prove herself right. However, Whannell has structured the film in such inventive ways that familiar narrative beats feel fresh and exciting. There are several prolonged sequences of Cecilia trying to find where an invisible Adrian may be hiding. Whannell captures these in long takes, without using the soundtrack to try and dictate how the audience should be feeling. The silences are the scariest parts of "The Invisible Man."

Moss has rapidly become one of the screen's most committed actresses. Whether she is playing deeply unlikeable in movies like "Her Smell," or giving agency to Cecilia's story and elevating it above being just plot elements, Moss leaves her dedication on the screen. It has been a trend lately for celebrated actresses to give lauded performances in horror movies. Toni Collette received awards attention for "Hereditary" and Lupita Nyong'o just missed an Oscar nomination for last year's "Us." Moss' performance deserves to be mentioned in their company

Clocking in around two hours, "The Invisible Man" lags a bit but that is probably just a testament to how effective several sequences in the film are. Jump scares are utilized throughout but rarely feel cheap. Whannell directs and moves with a purpose, and he finds a balance between providing thrills and telling a nuanced story about abuse and its aftermath. It's rare to have a multi-layered horror film, which makes "The Invisible Man" worth seeing.