The Invisible Man (2020)

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Watching this film wasn't originally on my list of things to do at first, but I will admit that when it comes to good, modern horror, that Blumhouse logo is one to constantly watch out for. They've had their share of weaknesses, but they show a lot more strength in the genre. This time around, we're taking a stab at resurrecting another old Universal Monster, but scrapping the whole "Dark Universe" idea, since 'The Mummy' was apparently horrible. THIS is about how that universe should have started - simple, capable of expanding, and most importantly, metaphorical in some way. More on that later.

The film opens up with our heroine, Cecelia Kass (Elizabeth Moss) escaping the expensive and well-secured home of her abusive boyfriend, Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). In just a few minutes, we know what there is to know about the guy just by taking a short tour of the house during the escape. The most obvious things we get are that he is wealthy, possessive of her, and works with advanced technology. Managing the escape with the aid of her sister, Emily (Harriet Dyer), she finds sanctuary with a strong cop friend, James Lanier (Aldis Hodge) and his daughter, Sydney (Storm Reid).

Upon a visit from Emily, Cecelia learns to Adrian's death. He has apparently left her a fortune, and she tries to rebuild her life, offering a college fund for Sydney as a thanks for their help in her time of need. Just as things are starting to go right, however, strange occurrences start happening throughout the house. Of course, as we already know, Cecelia becomes suspect of Adrian, still living, and causing all of this trouble. No one wants to take her seriously, and suspect that Adrian's abuse is what's haunting her. But little by little, Adrian ruins her life, dragging out a long and harsh revenge for walking out on him.

​I will say that I was pretty iffy on this one to begin with. It's a movie I can see in two lights. One light sees it as a positive albeit harsh message, really running with things like the #metoo movement. This is not only how the character of Cecelia (Elizabeth Moss) handles both mental and physical abuse that she can't escape, but about how far it can go. You completely empathize with Cecelia through this movie, and the concept of invisibility makes for a good metaphor about how we can be blind to the abuse going on right under our noses. It also covers not listening to the victim the way we should. In that sense, it's actually really well done, and I'd say it's a strong film.

The other light is the nitpicky one that says "Dear stupid: you're invisible, leave this girl alone and go rob a bank or do something useful". Hell, it's a technology that could be sold to the military for God knows how much, and we would never put it past Adrian's character to be that crooked. Point being, invisibility lends itself to so much more than taking your sweet time for revenge. But, with that said, I like to lean towards that first light and give this one a pass because the message overpowers any potential problems. If you'd rather watch a mischievous Invisible Man, the 1933 Clause Rains classic is a great way to go. But this does make for a good modern-day thriller if you're willing to forgive some of the nitpickiness of it all.

​4/5

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