Movieman Madness: Cinema Spotlight VIII - Leigh Whannell (Part 3): "The Invisible Man"

Cecilia "Cee" Kass (Elizabeth Moss) unaware that
someone is watching her.

Since the success of The Mummy films starring Brendan Fraser, Universal has tried to revive their classic monster movies with no avail from Van Helsing, The Wolfman and Dracula Untold, Not even a third attempt of a mummy movie from Tomb of the Dragon Emperor or the Tom Cruise starring vehicle, that was meant to jump start a cinematic Dark Universe. Had the Dark Universe proceeded as planned, Johnny Depp would have been next in line to portray the Invisible Man but since that ship sunk, Universal pushes the reboot button once again with the project now in the hands of Leigh Whannell.

After Cecelia "Cee" (Elizabeth Moss) escapes a toxic relationship from her abusive husband Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), the news of his suicide reaches her a few weeks later. Just when Cee thinks she can start her life again, she makes a horrifying discovery that Adrian is alive and what's worse, he's made himself invisible. Determined to make Cee suffer, Adrian stalks her endlessly from ruining a job interview, watching her sleep at night and pushing away her friends and family to make it look like she's insane.

James (Aldis Hodge) and Sidney Lanier (Storm Reid) concerned over Cee's behavior.

This is the perfect film for Whannell. The villains in his past movies have possessed powers of invisibility to an extent. Jigsaw makes his presence well-known in the first Saw film but we never see his face until the end. The ghoulish Man Who Can't Breathe in Insidious Chapter 3, starts invisible as it stalks a frail young woman who is aware of his existence but no one else believes her. STEM, an AI computer chip in Upgrade who can be heard but no seen, wishes to take control of Grey's life in body and mind whether he likes it or not. In addition to their invisible abilities, Whannell takes their creepy qualities and applies them for his titular Invisible Man.

Cee being taken into psyche ward.

Past iterations of this tale have shown the horror of such power in the hands of a madman. The original 1933 version starring Claude Rains, wastes no time on introducing the Invisible Man and the joy he takes on tormenting those who oppose him. The same goes for slasher-horror Hollow Man starring Kevin Bacon as that Invisible Man is self-contained and yearns to use his new power in public only to descend in a mad killing spree on those who won't allow him. Whannell's version is more of a silent thriller with the focus not on the Invisible Man but on Cecelia the victim. This is her story with the movie slowly building up to the Invisible Man's presence who uses his power on a stalker level. From there it's a sad, scary and stressful watch as Cecilia's life falls apart. Moss captures the desperation and fear of Cecilia as she starts to crumble mentally with no one believing her of Adrian's actions. A gaslight parable for those who suffer real abuse and injustice. While I wish there was more of the Invisible man in action like in the Rains version I respect Whannell for going in more quiet and realistic approach as the point of this version is to toy with the protagonist's mind as well as the audience. The less ominous movement of household items, the more anxious we are to know if he's there or not.

Cee trying to convince James that Adrian is alive.

I was on board with the movie until the ending. Without going into spoilers the start of the third felt more satisfying then the rest that followed being more problematic. Like Whannell's last film Upgrade, there are a few twists and turns, some brutal action, and an ending that will take the viewer by surprise. It took a second viewing for me to appreciate Upgrade and could be what I need for this film. Leigh Whannell's Invisible Man is more darker than the original and less hammy than Hollow Man but keeps intact on what made H.G. Wells' story such a memorable masterpiece and told countless of times. If such power can corrupt the human mind imagine what it can do to an already corrupted mind.

Out in the rain trying to fight back her invisible foe.

Trademarks:

Opening Credits

Invisible Man callbacks

Two callbacks to the outfits of the original Invisible Man from the 1933 movie.
The first when Cee thinks she see's the Invisible Man but its a hat and trench coat on a stand.
The second is at the hospital with a patient all bandaged up.
Adrian's last name is Griffin, the same as the Invisible Man in both in the original novel and movie.

Invisible Villain