The Invisible Man originally started as being a part of the Dark Universe but when The Mummy bombed in the way it did, the Dark Universe got shelved and Johnny Depp was suppose to play the titular character. However they decided to continue with the idea and instead decided to turn into a story of an abused girlfriend/wife who at the beginning of the film decides to escape and two weeks later he apparently kills himself but she thinks he has faked his death and is trying to ruin her life by convincing people she is mad.
This is loosely based on the novel by H.G.Wells and he doesn’t actually get credited and that’s probably for the best because I think this film has a rather loose association to the novel which isn’t a bad thing. I have no issue with a film distancing themselves with a familiar novel as long as they do something different with it and they do with this film.
I think that Elizabeth Moss is very good as Cecilia. She plays vulnerable and in complete control very well and flips from one to the other with ease. Aldis Hodge was also good as James. He was the one person who a) doesn’t die and b) helps Cecilia. I thought that Michael Dorman was quite creepy as Tom because it was clear something was up with him and I thought that he was actually in with Adrian.
The effects used in this are very good. The fight that the invisible man has with Cecilia in James’ house is quite rough and I like how the camera would look away at something almost making you think something was there or was going to happen when nothing does. If you have seen a Blumhouse film before then you would know that when the camera holds onto a particularly thing for more than two seconds then something will appear in the darkness or in the corner of the screen but that doesn’t happen her which was a nice play on expectations.
There are problems with this film. Firstly it asks you to take a leap of disbelief with certain things such as how easy Cecilia is able to escape and how long she is able to avoid being caught. There were a couple of moments where I thought that logic wasn’t being used but things were just happening to progress the plot. Apparently there was about three seconds cut from the scene where Cecilia self-harms which I could believe because it was quite a grim moment. It’s the only moment which made me look away which I suppose was the point.
The final act sees Cecilia trying to get Adrian to admit that he was the one terrorising her and not Tom. This doesn’t happen and moments later an invisible person cuts Tom’s throat and there is meant to be a question mark over whether it was Cecilia who put on the suit but bearing in mind that James was in the car, the only person it could have been was Cecilia. The final shot of Cecilia walking out was a good moment and it seems to suggest that this may not be the last time we see her (forgive the pun!).
Overall I quite liked this film. I think that whole relationship abuse aspect was perhaps a bit too much but it served a purpose and I think that this is a good adaptation of a very well used idea. This isnt your typical Blumhouse film but I think that this was an enjoyable film to watch.
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